AMEA Power Closes Financing for Egypt’s Pioneering 300-MWh Battery Project

• AMEA Power secures financing for Egypt’s first 300-MWh utility battery in Aswan, set to enter service by July 2025 and bolster grid reliability.

The quiet desert plain that flanks the Nile near Kom Ombo will soon host a piece of Egypt’s energy future. Dubai-headquartered AMEA Power has sealed financial close for a 300-megawatt-hour battery energy-storage system (BESS), the first utility-scale project of its kind in the country. The installation will sit next to the developer’s 500-MW solar park in Aswan Governorate, soaking up surplus daytime power and releasing it after dark or during summer demand peaks.

A mixed package of equity and debt underpins the deal, with the International Finance Corporation providing a USD 72 million loan alongside smaller commitments from regional lenders. AMEA Power’s chairman Hussain Al Nowais framed the transaction as proof that “bankable renewables” can move quickly when regulation and capital line up; the gap between term-sheet signing and financial close was just six months.

Engineering plans call for lithium-iron-phosphate battery racks housed in climate-controlled containers, each connected to the existing solar inverters and step-up transformers. Once commissioned—target date July 2025—the site should deliver roughly 100,000 MWh of dispatchable electricity a year and trim an estimated 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions by limiting reliance on gas-fired peakers. Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity has folded the project into its 4-GW Emergency Renewable Energy Programme, a policy created to strengthen grid resilience during extreme heatwaves.

Grid operator Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) will purchase stored power under a 20-year tolling arrangement that mirrors the solar plant’s existing offtake contract. By coupling storage with generation, EETC gains the flexibility to shift clean electrons into evenings when household air conditioners push consumption past daytime levels. Sector analysts point out that this hybrid model could become the template for a string of projects clustered along Upper Egypt’s high-irradiance corridor.

Construction is scheduled to start within weeks. Local subcontractors are expected to handle civil works and medium-voltage cabling, while the batteries themselves will be imported under a supply agreement finalised earlier this year. AMEA Power says it will host quarterly town-hall meetings in Kom Ombo to share progress updates and recruit technicians for long-term operations and maintenance roles. If timelines hold, next summer’s sun will be stored—not spilled—marking another step in Egypt’s gradual pivot away from fossil fuels.