Egypt’s ECHEM explores silicon, nylon production partnerships with China
A delegation from the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) have held talks with leading Chinese industrialists to discuss progress on Egypt’s planned metallurgical silicon production project, which is set to produce 45,000 tons annually. The initiative aims to establish a regional industrial base by capitalising on Egypt’s abundant energy resources and its strategic reserves of high-purity quartz, exceeding 99 per cent SiO₂, in Marsa Alam and the Red Sea region—ideal specifications for metallurgical silicon production.
The discussions underscored the need to accelerate technology transfer and localise the value chain for metallurgical silicon, a critical input for aluminium, solar cell, and silicone industries.
In the city of Zibo, the delegation visited TCC’s nylon production plant, where they received a comprehensive technical presentation on the company’s use of Butadiene Hydrocyanation, a proprietary Chinese technology registered in 2015. The first phase of the project boasts an annual output of 300,000 tons of acrylonitrile, 200,000 tons of hexamethylenediamine, 200,000 tons of adiponitrile, and 200,000 tons of nylon 66 and its derivatives, with total investments reaching 10.4 billion yuan.
Meetings also explored the possibility of transferring this technology to Egypt and examined opportunities for industrial integration with fast-growing domestic sectors such as automotive, cables, technical textiles, and electronics. These sectors are seeing rising demand for specialised intermediate products like nylon 66, valued for its mechanical and thermal properties that make it ideal for use in automotive components, industrial machinery, protective clothing, cables, and electronic parts.
The visit also included a tour of Haihua’s soda ash plant in Weifang—one of the largest of its kind in China, with a production capacity of 3.2 million tons annually. The delegation reviewed the facility’s advanced production technologies, including heat recovery systems that have significantly reduced natural gas and electricity consumption. The company also presented expansion plans focused on enhancing operational efficiency and cutting costs.
Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
Subediting: M. S. Salama