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Egyptian Minister of Transport Kamel al-Wazir (left) and Hyundai Rotem President and CEO Lee Yong-bae sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate on building a hydrogen-electric tram system for Egypt's New Administrative Capital during the Korea-Egypt Business Roundtable held at The Grand Lotte Seoul on the 7th. / Hyundai Rotem

Hyundai Rotem announced on the 8th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 7th with Egypt's National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) to cooperate on establishing a hydrogen-electric tram system for the New Administrative Capital during the Korea-Egypt Business Roundtable held at The Grand Lotte Seoul.

The signing ceremony was attended by key dignitaries, including Egyptian Minister of Transport Kamel al-Wazir, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan, Ambassador to Egypt Kim Wan-joong, and Hyundai Rotem President and CEO Lee Yong-bae.

Under the MOU, Hyundai Rotem and NAT agreed to maintain consultations on supplying hydrogen-electric trams to operate in Egypt's New Administrative Capital. A pre-feasibility study for the project is currently underway; once the initiative moves forward, Hyundai Rotem plans to provide comprehensive turnkey solutions required for commercial operations, spanning rolling stock supply, systems, operation, and maintenance.

Egypt's New Administrative Capital is a large-scale smart city under construction approximately 35 kilometers east of Cairo, designed to house over 6 million residents upon completion. Hydrogen-electric trams are envisioned as a primary mode of public transit, with plans under review to deploy 44 tram trainsets across an estimated 28-kilometer route.

With this agreement, Hyundai Rotem has laid the groundwork for its first overseas expansion in hydrogen-electric trams. Once vehicle supply contracts are finalized, the company envisions securing early market demand and cementing its leadership in the global railway market.

The move is also expected to serve as a springboard for South Korea's hydrogen and railway sectors to expand abroad. Deploying hydrogen trams creates joint overseas expansion opportunities for domestic partners involved in rolling stock manufacturing, alongside the construction of essential hydrogen production and refueling infrastructure.

This development is widely viewed as a potential catalyst for expanding the global market for hydrogen-electric trams. Leveraging its capabilities in hydrogen trams alongside integrated solutions across the hydrogen value chain from Hyundai Motor Group's dedicated hydrogen business platform HTWO, Hyundai Rotem plans to accelerate its global expansion by consistently identifying business opportunities abroad.

A Hyundai Rotem official stated, "Egypt's New Administrative Capital is a flagship future city project capable of adopting new railway mobility solutions like hydrogen-electric trams," adding, "We will develop a hydrogen-electric tram business model optimized for local operations and work closely with NAT until the project is finalized."

                                                                                                               Kim A-yoon