H²Egypt Agrees with Chinese PERIC to Assemble Electrolyzers in Cairo

Electrolyzer for green hydrogen production. (Getty Images)
Electrolyzer for green hydrogen production. (Getty Images)
TT

H²Egypt Agrees with Chinese PERIC to Assemble Electrolyzers in Cairo

Electrolyzer for green hydrogen production. (Getty Images)
Electrolyzer for green hydrogen production. (Getty Images)

Dalia Samir, Co-Founder and Director of Hydrogen Egypt (H²Egypt), unveiled a partnership deal with Chinese PERIC to assemble and produce parts of the electrolyzer units in Egypt during the first quarter of 2024.

Globally, PERIC is the biggest company in terms of the production of electrolyzer units to produce hydrogen.

Samir informed Asharq Al-Awsat that, in the first phase, the partnership entails technical cooperation to assemble electrolyzer units and to significantly manufacture a portion of them within Egypt.

This partnership would contribute to passing PERIC’s expertise and advanced technology to the Egyptian market.

PERIC Hydrogen Technologies Co., Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Purification Equipment Research Institute of CSIC. It is headquartered in Handan City, Hebei Province. It is mainly engaged in the research, design, and manufacturing of hydrogen generation system, as well as the utilization and research development of hydrogen energy.

Currently, PERIC operates six commissioning and machining workshops. The annual production capacity amounts to 350 sets of alkaline-type hydrogen generators and 120 sets of PEM-type hydrogen generators.

Samir added that a high-ranking delegation from PERIC is expected to visit Cairo in September to determine the volume of the company to be established in partnership with H²Egypt and to set a specific date to start assembling and producing parts of the electrolyzer units in Egypt during the first quarter of 2024.

PERIC plans to provide training for the maintenance and operational staff, along with conducting studies aimed at obtaining a stake in the capital alongside other Egyptian shareholders.

Well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that PERIC signed deals to supply equipment to foreign firms that have previously signed hydrogen production projects with the Egyptian government in the past months.

The deals are at a value ranging between $200 and $300 million.

PERIC exported its products to over 30 countries and regions spanning Europe, North America, the Middle East, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

In mid-September, H²Egypt is organizing an international conference in Cairo dedicated to the hydrogen industry. The conference will see participation from both domestic and international public and private sectors.

Chinese company PERIC will be present with a high-level delegation to engage in the signing of agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs).



US Economy Grows at 3.1% Pace in 3rd Quarter, an Upgrade from Previous Estimate

FILE PHOTO: A sailboat passes by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, in New York City, US, September 20, 2024.  REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A sailboat passes by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, in New York City, US, September 20, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
TT

US Economy Grows at 3.1% Pace in 3rd Quarter, an Upgrade from Previous Estimate

FILE PHOTO: A sailboat passes by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, in New York City, US, September 20, 2024.  REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A sailboat passes by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, in New York City, US, September 20, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

The American economy grew at a healthy 3.1% annual clip from July through September, propelled by vigorous consumer spending and an uptick in exports, the government said in an upgrade to its previous estimate.
Third-quarter growth in US gross domestic product — the economy's output of goods and services — accelerated from the April-July rate of 3% and continued to look sturdy despite high interest rates, the Commerce Department said Thursday. GDP growth has now topped 2% in eight of the last nine quarters.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of US economic activity, expanded at a 3.7% pace, fastest since the first quarter of 2023 and an uptick from Commerce’s previous third-quarter estimate of 3.5%, The Associated Press reported.
Exports climbed 9.6%. Business investment grew a lackluster 0.8%, but investment in equipment expanded 10.8%. Spending and investment by the federal government jumped 8.9%, including a 13.9% surge in defense spending.
American voters were unimpressed by the steady growth under Democratic President Joe Biden. Exasperated by prices that remain 20% higher than they were when an inflationary surge began in early 2021, they chose last month to send Donald Trump back to the White House with Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
Trump will inherit an economy that looks healthy overall. The unemployment rate remains low at 4.2% even though it is up from the 53-year low 3.4% reached in April 2023. Inflation hit a four-decade high 9.1% in mid-2002. Eleven interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023 helped bring it down — to 2.7% last month. That is above the Fed's 2% target. But the central bank still felt comfortable enough with the progress against inflation to cut its benchmark rate Wednesday for the third time this year.
Within the GDP data, a category that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a solid 3.4% annual rate from July through September, an upgrade from the previous estimate and up from 2.7% in the April-June quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.
Wednesday’s report also contained some encouraging news on inflation. The Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge — called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — rose at just a 1.5% annual pace last quarter, down from 2.5% in the second quarter. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation was 2.2%, up modestly from the previous estimate but down from 2.8% in the April-June quarter.
Thursday's report was the Commerce Department's third and final look at third-quarter GDP. It will publish its initial estimate of October-December growth on Jan. 30.