Egypt is exploring co-operation with Belgian company Hydrovolta on seawater desalination and the treatment of saline groundwater, with a focus on reducing costs, producing chemicals locally and maximising the value of desalination byproducts.
To this effect, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat met on Saturday with George Brik, Chairman of Hydrovolta, and his accompanying delegation.
Discussions during the meeting focused on using existing power-plant infrastructure to support desalination projects and electrochemical treatment systems for saline groundwater.
Esmat reviewed Hydrovolta’s SonixED technology, which combines electro-separation with ultrasonic waves to remove contaminants and reduce salt scaling.
The system can also recover products including magnesium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, bromine and hydrochloric acid, potentially enabling highly saline groundwater to be treated for drinking or irrigation.
The discussions also covered Egypt’s two-phased plan to produce up to 10 million cubic metres of desalinated water daily by 2050. The first phase targets a capacity of 3.35 million cubic metres per day and could support local chemical production and reduce reliance on imports.
The second phase would include systems to extract, purify, dry and grade magnesium for commercial use.
Esmat stressed the importance of integrating desalination with renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power, to reduce long-term operating costs and enhance the economic value of projects.
He said desalination offers opportunities to attract foreign and private investment, localise related technologies and industries, manufacture equipment and components locally, and develop specialised technical skills.
Esmat reaffirmed the electricity sector’s commitment to improving efficiency, making better use of available resources and expanding private-sector partnerships, while welcoming co-operation with Hydrovolta to support the localisation of advanced desalination technologies.
