Companies news
EDF, GIBB form GIBB Power partnership
Through a new partnership between EDF and GIBB, finalised last week, GIBB Power aims to become a reference-engineering platform, specialising in supporting energy projects and offering solutions to overcome the challenges of Africa’s energy transition.
GIBB Power is owned 70% by GIBB and 30% by EDF, with the partnership to build on the skills of GIBB’s energy division and on EDF’s multi-skill expertise.
Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a growing challenge to reconcile its increasing energy demand with the need to further reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. To support this transformation, EDF Group and GIBB have decided to cooperate in several areas of engineering, both for public and private stakeholders.
This includes thermal engineering, such as the decommissioning of coal-fired plants in South Africa, with the country’s energy policy making provisions for the closure of 12 GW of coal-fired generation capacity by 2030.
It also includes hydraulic engineering, supporting hydropower projects, notably in Zambia and Mozambique.
Further, there will be collaboration in electricity transmission and distribution networks, to facilitate the integration of renewable energies and to modernise and develop urban electricity networks, as well as interconnections between countries.
Lastly, GIBB Power will aim to support the rapid development of solar and wind energy sources throughout Africa.
GIBB Power will be supported by EDF engineering competences covering the entire value chain for energy projects, as well as by EDF subsidiaries that are already established in South Africa.
GIBB boasts 60 years’ experience in the design, planning and management of infrastructure projects in various sectors including but not limited to water, power and transport.
The synergy between EDF and GIBB’s expertise is expected to increase four-fold the companies’ activities in engineering services in Africa.
Moreover, GIBB Power will enable EDF Group to identify, screen and develop greenfield projects in Africa.
EDF Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean senior VP Valérie Levkov enthused that the company’s investment in GIBB Power will be a catalyst for the development of EDF in Africa through low-carbon projects that are consistent with EDF’s Cap 2030 strategy.
GIBB Holdings CE Richard Vries indicated that this investment is a natural progression of GIBB’s history of partnerships with EDF in delivering major projects.
“GIBB Power is now poised to deliver world-class solutions to clients by bringing the necessary breadth and depth of technical skill across the full spectrum of the energy value chain.”
