The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide up to $63.5 million to support a solar power plant combined with battery storage at Benban, near Aswan in southern Egypt.

The financing, announced on Monday, 9 November 2026, will go to Nefer Benban for Renewable Energy, a special-purpose company owned by African renewables firm Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities Energy (HAU Energy). The two companies said the financing would support construction and operation of the solar plant and its battery system. The project will combine a 258.5 megawatt-peak (MWp) solar photovoltaic plant with a 120 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery storage system, making it one of the first solar plants in Egypt to include battery storage.

The plant will sell its electricity to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Once running, it is expected to supply electricity equivalent to the needs of about 310,000 homes and to avoid more than 349,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

How the financing is structured

The EBRD package comprises up to $56 million from the bank’s own funds and up to $7.5 million of concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund of the Climate Investment Funds, under its Accelerating Innovation in Renewable Energy 2.0 programme.

The new package builds on a $65 million construction bridge loan agreed by the EBRD with HAU Energy in April 2026. Germany’s development finance institution, DEG, is contributing an equal amount, bringing the aggregate debt package for the solar and storage facilities to up to $127 million.

Storing sunshine for the evening peak

The battery system is central to the project. It will store surplus electricity produced during the day and release it during peak demand after sunset, helping to improve the stability of Egypt’s grid as more renewable power comes online.

The investment supports the energy pillar, led by the EBRD, of Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food and Energy initiative. The Clean Technology Fund will also pay for two accredited green skills training programmes for young job seekers in Aswan governorate.

Benban, in Aswan governorate, is already home to one of Africa’s best-known solar sites, and the new plant adds storage to a location long associated with large-scale solar power. The EBRD announced the Benban financing on the same day as backing for two wind farms on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, as the country continues to expand renewable generation. Read the EBRD announcement in the Renewables Now report and the Reuters report.