Schneider Electric, H2-Enterprises Hydrogen and Storage Partnership to Power Forbes International Tower 

French tech giant Schneider Electric and New York-based H2-Enterprises recently penned a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore projects to provide clean hydrogen and energy management for buildings in the Middle East and Africa. 

 

Forbes International Tower in Egypt will be the world’s first building powered entirely by clean hydrogen. Image used courtesy of Forbes International Tower (via Instagram)

 

Schneider Electric will contribute its energy management and automation expertise, while H2-Enterprises lends its hydrogen project development, system integration, component supply, and plant operation services. H2-Enterprises markets clean hydrogen production, conversion, and storage technologies for electrical and thermal energy. 

After the MoU was announced, Egyptian real estate developer Magnom Properties revealed that its proposed Forbes International Tower would be the world’s first project run entirely on H2-Enterprises’ Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) system, which allows clean hydrogen to be stored, transported, and dispatched safely. 

Magnom signed an MoU with H2 and Schneider Electric to use the former’s hydrogen solutions and the latter’s energy management services for the 55-story development in Egypt’s capital city of Cairo. 

 

A rendering of the upcoming Forbes International Tower in Egypt. Image used courtesy of Forbes International Tower

 

H2-Enterprises’ LOHC Solution

The MoU between Schneider Electric and H2-Enterprises entails joint project development and pilot programs to develop and deploy energy supply/management solutions for the building sector. 

H2-Enterprises will provide its LOHC technology for hydrogen storage and transport needs. The company also offers a waste-to-hydrogen system that converts non-recyclable plastics and other organic waste into hydrogen free of carbon dioxide emissions. Another one of its solutions converts flare gas from oil production into clean hydrogen. 

H2’s LOHC binds hydrogen with the fluid and transports it for commercial use on demand. When the LOHC is charged with hydrogen, customers can store it at ambient temperatures and pressures and transport it through trucking. H2’s website says that since LOHC can be recharged hundreds of times, it’s more cost-effective than conventional technologies, such as batteries. 

In 2025, H2-Enterprises plans to offer a complete hydrogen power and storage system for residential and commercial buildings. Comprising “ePOWER” and “eRELEASE,” the system stores hydrogen in the LOHC carrier medium in tanks and releases the hydrogen to be converted into thermal or electric power, depending on the customer’s needs. 

 

H2-Enterprises’ ePOWER and eRELEASE products enable safe hydrogen storage, transport, and release for commercial and residential buildings. Images used courtesy of H2-Enterprises

 

Forbes International Tower Deal

According to Magnom Properties, H2 Enterprises will supply its waste-to-hydrogen technology to produce renewable energy at the Forbes International Tower, featuring 55 stories of retail and office space. Schneider Electric will provide energy management services to handle the site’s 24/7 energy needs. 

According to the project’s website, the building is specially designed to reduce operational emissions and produce renewable energy. The developers aim to infuse low-carbon products into the structural frame, accounting for up to 70% of the materials used for the project. It will incorporate rooftop solar panels, automated HVAC field devices, and biophilic features promoting better air circulation. 

With clean hydrogen as its primary energy source, the tower will be among the world’s most sustainable developments, reaching net-negative carbon emissions and yielding surplus energy for third-party use. An Instagram post mentioned the project is establishing renewable energy infrastructure in other areas where the tower will be located. Though the upcoming tower will be based in Cairo, Magnom Properties plans to expand the project to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. (The company is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia-based Rawabi Holding Group.)

 

Video used courtesy of Forbes International Tower

 

The tower was first proposed in January 2023, but the estimated construction costs and timeline haven’t been disclosed.