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Egypt's Kemet has signed up with Chinese solar manufacturer GCL Technologies to build a 5GW solar cell and module manufacturing hub in the country. Along with cells and modules, the firm is also moving to make a 5 GWh capacity BESS manufacturing setup and inverters in the North African country with tie-ups with Chinese battery maker Cornex and inverter firm TBEA.
According to a statement by Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, the deal with GCL will involve investments of over US$500 million.
Kemet's battery manufacturing deal will inmvolve another US$200 million while details on the TBEA inverter deal were not shared.
For Chinese firms, the Egyptian deals due to start producing as early as 2028, follow a string of deals in other countries in the region, be it Saudi Arabia, South Africa or others. JA Solar had earlier confirmed start of work on a solar PV cell, module and energy storage manufacturing hub in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The setup is a joint venture between JA Solar, the Egyptian firm AH, the UAE investor Global South Utilities, and Infinity Capital from Bahrain.
According to a Wood Mackenzie report, module imports in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region doubled to 27 GW in 2024, driven by large-scale solar deployments in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman.
In response to the surge in demand, the region is rapidly adopting a vertically integrated model for solar manufacturing, similar to China’s successful approach.
While the hope is to deliver price competitve options to the rapidly rising middle east market , and by estension, the North African market consisting of Egypt, Morocco and others, Chinese firms look set to be locked into competition with each other here, as other majors like Jinko, TCL Zhonguan and more have also announced plans or are executing projects. Progress has not been uniformly fast though, as construction has been slow in some cases linked to the financial situation of the firms making investments from China.