Bahrain is launching the region’s first solar powered seaport by year end

Good morning, friends. It’s another busy start to the week with lots of updates across all sectors and parts of our region. Let’s jump right in.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORIES- APM Terminals Bahrain, the operator of the Khalifa Bin Salman Port, plans to launch a USD 10 mn, 18.5 GW solar power plant to help the seaport reach energy self-sufficiency by the end of the year. Also, the African Development Bank’s five-day annual meeting of the board of governors concluded on Friday with the release of new reports, one of which reveals the bank fell short of its climate financing target for Africa.

^^ We have the details on these stories and much more in the news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY- The Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit will kick off today and run until this Wednesday, 31 May in Abu Dhabi. The conference will bring together state representatives, industry players from the EV sector, as well as engineers and researchers to discuss policy trends and tech innovations in the industry and provide attendees with networking opportunities across value chains.

Over in Qatar, the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Forum will kick off today and run until this Thursday, 31 May in Lusail City. The event aims to spotlight MENA’s CCUS regulations and policies, map out paths and business models that would bring down CCUS project costs, promote regional and international cooperation to advance the international carbon capture sector, and discuss the role CCUS will play in helping Gulf countries meet their net zero targets.

---

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- More than 1.5k climate activists detained for blocking the A12 highway in The Hague: Over 1.5k climate activists from the Extinction Rebellion movement were detained by police forces on Saturday for blocking the A12 freeway The Hague in protest against continued fossil fuel subsidies. Dutch police — who later released 850 of the demonstrators without charge — used water cannons for hours to disperse the crowd and managed to clear the motorway by Saturday evening, hours after the demonstration began at noon that day. Dutch celebrities — including Carice van Houten, best known for her role as Melissandre in hit HBO series Game of Thrones —- partook in the demonstration and were among those arrested by police. Police have not yet revealed the identities of the protestors who remain in custody, but noted that 40 will be prosecuted on charges including vandalism. Extinction Rebellion says more than 6k activists participated in the demonstration.

The story snagged headlines over the weekend: France 24 | BBC | Euro News | CNN | Deutsche Welle | The Guardian

---

OVER IN COPLAND- The UAE’s COP28 presidency has identified four paths to unlocking green finance, the National quotes COP28 Director General Majid Al Suwaidi as saying at the Net Zero Delivery summit in London. The four paths include reforming international financial institutions, leveraging private-sector finance, establishing well-functioning carbon markets, and raising finance for innovation. The summit linked the agenda of Egypt’s COP27 with the upcoming climate conference in the UAE. The full preliminary thematic schedule was published on the official website last month.

ALSO- Brazil’s Belem is set to host COP30: The UN has officially tapped Belem — located in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest region and the country’s second most populous city — as the host of the COP30 climate change summit in November 2025, Reuters reports. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended COP27 in Egypt last year as president-elect and signaled interest in hosting an Amazonian COP30.

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Second round of Loss and Damage talks conclude: The second meeting of the COP27 Transitional Committee wrapped up in Bonn, Germany on Saturday. The three-day meeting aimed to move beyond general discussions about the crucial loss and damage fund agreed upon during COP27, bringing together multiple stakeholders to share views on issues related to the L&D funding arrangements, modalities, structure, and governance. The Bonn-hosted transitional committee meeting concluded with members receiving an internal co-chairs document that attempted to determine the “emerging points” needed to guide discussions in the upcoming meeting in August.

What went down: The three-day meeting saw developed and developing countries still at odds over the fund and related funding arrangements. Developed countries’ vision focuses on existing institutions, or what they describe as a “mosaic of funding arrangements” especially for those outside the UNFCCC's Equity and CBDR-RC Principle. This vision could be built upon through major roles played by the multilateral development banks, existing humanitarian agencies and anticipatory finance through the G7. On the other hand, developing countries demand that the fund becomes an operating entity of the UNFCCC governed by COP and the CMA. They see sources of funding coming from developed nations and alternative sources such as levies to accommodate for the hundreds of bns needed by the fund. The funding should be provided in the form of grants and not loans that are delivered at the scale of needs, developing countries said. The fund should focus on three windows of climate crisis: one on extreme events, slow onset events and long term recovery and rehabilitation.

You can watch the first day here (watch, runtime: 8:56:10) and the second and third days here (watch, runtime: 9:28:57 | watch, runtime: 4:11:07)

Looking ahead: The committee will meet again on 29 August-1 September, and 17-20 October for the third and fourth transitional committee meetings, with a workshop planned on 22-23 July in Bangkok. The 2nd Glasgow Dialogue on Loss and Damage will be held June 8-10 in Bonn.

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- IMF to offer USD 100 bn climate foreign-exchange guarantee: The IMF and other multilateral development banks are planning to offer currency guarantees that could unlock USD 100 bn in climate finance for developing countries, Reuters reported on Saturday. The plan — sent to the world's governments in preparation for the upcoming Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris — will cut the excessive macro-risk premiums imposed on developing countries by providing foreign exchange guarantees on domestic currency loans. The guarantees will be for green transition investments, which are likely to include green bonds, blue bonds, and sustainability-linked bonds.

SOUND SMART- Guarantees issued by development banks provide a safety net for investors by hedging the risk of volatile local currencies. For example, the guarantor is obliged to “step in and compensate international buyers of the green bonds if the country involved devalued its currency and effectively cut the USD-value of its bond payments,” Reuters explains.

REMEMBER- Premium added on loans due to risks is one of the highest barriers to climate finance access. A recent report on methods to achieve low-cost finance for the energy transition found that the biggest reasons for the discrepancy in financing cost between G20 countries were non-technical variables, including country risk, exchange rate risk, and off-take risks (risk of off-taker not paying for energy generated), which adds a premium to the cost of capital and makes borrowing for renewable related projects more expensive.

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Tunisia touts its green hydrogen export capacities: Tunisia will be able to export between 5.5-6 mn tons of green hydrogen to Europe by 2050, Tunis Africa Press Agency quotes Director General of the Industry Ministry’s Electricity and Energy Transition Belhassen Chiboub as saying on Friday. The amount of green fuel accounts for over half of the 11 mn tons the bloc is looking to source from Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia by the middle of the century under the European Hydrogen Backbone initiative. The country’s roster of solar and wind energy projects and proximity to Europe — coupled with a planned green hydrogen transport network spanning from the country — will help it realize its export target. However, the expected USD 25 bn price tag for producing 1 mn tons of green hydrogen will require foreign investments, as “Tunisia cannot shoulder these costs alone,” Chiboub said.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- Bad news for climate activists: French oil giant TotalEnergies’ shareholders rejected an activist resolution that aimed to accelerate the company’s efforts to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, Reuters reported on Friday. The annual general meeting took place in a charged atmosphere that saw French police fire tear gas at climate protesters outside the company’s headquarters. Over 30% of investors backed the resolution filed by Dutch activist shareholder Follow This urging Total to accelerate cuts by 2030. This is a step up from a similar activist motion that garnered support from 17% of investors in 2020, signaling investor revolt over the company’s climate targets.

WATCH THIS SPACE #5- Everything’s lined up for Neom’s mega green hydrogen plant: Construction of the first phase of Neom’s USD 8.4 bn green hydrogen plant in Saudi Arabia’s floating industrial complex Oxagon will commence “within the next four months,” Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) CEO David David Edmondson told Asharq Business last week. The plant — which achieved financial close last week — will have a 1.2 mn ton annual production capacity once fully operational in 2026. All of the plant’s output is planned for global export, mainly to the EU and specifically Germany, through an exclusive 30-year offtake agreement with US-based gas supplier Air Products. To date, NGHC has spent c. USD 900 mn on the project, completing 60% of the green hydrogen plant’s engineering works and will likely source the machines to power the facility within the next three months, Edmondson said in an interview with Al Arabiya. The price tag for construction, engineering, and project-associated purchases stand at USD 6.7 bn, he added.

WATCH THIS SPACE #6- Investors untempted by Europe’s hydrogen hype: Hundreds of hydrogen projects proposed by governments in Europe are failing to lure in investors on the back of a lack of clarity and the technology’s early research stage, Bloomberg reported last week. Only 7% of the hundreds of floated projects have received necessary funding to begin construction, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The lack of interest reflects growing doubt over Europe’s ability to economically produce large amounts of hydrogen amid a lack of lucrative subsidies compared to those in the US. Energy firms say there is not enough infrastructure in place to use hydrogen for utility-scale investments, stressing the necessity for greater regulatory clarity and financing from governments for the projects. The technology’s early research stage is also a hurdle, with some energy companies expressing doubts over the outlook on production.

Get Enterprise Climate

***
YOU’RE READING ENTERPRISE CLIMATE, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the world’s most important industry. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 5am Cairo / 5am Riyadh / 6am UAE.

EXPLORE MORE OF ENTERPRISE ON THE WEB — tap or click here to read EnterpriseAM, EnterprisePM, and The Weekend Edition on our powerful new website packed with reader-friendly features.

Were you forwarded this email? Get your own subscription without charge here or reach out to us on climate@enterprisemea.com with comments, suggestions and story tips.
***

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host The Arab Green Summit on Tuesday, 13 June to Wednesday, 14 June in Dubai. The two-day summit will bring together industry players and experts for conversations on climate change and sustainability and solutions for concurrent climate-related issues in the region. Key themes to be addressed during the summit include industry decarbonization, renewable and clean energy potential and implementation, sustainable building and construction and others.

Morocco will host the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa on Tuesday, 13 June to Wednesday, 14 June in Marrakech. The event will bring together stakeholders from the private and public sector to discuss the world’s most pressing topics and assess potential solutions. Those include the impact of a decelerating global economy, spiking food and energy prices, supply-chain shocks and risks of distress among sovereign borrowers.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

The region’s first port fully powered by renewables? APM Terminals Bahrain, the operator of the Khalifa bin Salman Port, plans to launch a USD 10 mn solar power plant to help the port reach energy self-sufficiency by the end of the year, Al Watan reported on Sunday. The project will help slash the port’s carbon emissions by 65% while securing a reliable and sustainable source of energy. This will be the region’s first seaport to fully rely on renewable energy, the news outlet notes.

What we know: The port’s operator will install 20k solar panels capable of generating 18.5 GW of electricity annually. The electricity will be used to power various operations at the port, including container handling, cargo transport by cranes, and lighting.

All part of a decarbonization push by APM Terminals: The project is part of plans by APM Terminals to slash total emissions by 70% by 2030 and reach zero-carbon emissions by 2040. The project in Bahrain is among its main decarbonization efforts, the operator was quoted as saying.

And a decarbonization drive by Bahrain: Bahrain has pledged to reduce emissions by 30% by 2035 through decarbonization and doubling renewables targets. It is also committed to reaching net zero by 2060.

AfDB annual meeting concludes: The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) five-day annual meeting of the board of governors concluded in Sharm El Sheikh on Friday, with the release of the Annual Development Effectiveness Review (pdf) and the African Economic Outlook report (pdf). Egypt’s International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat and Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Hani Sewilam held a marathon of meetings on the last two days, and saw the UK’s announcement of a EUR 80 mn guarantee for Egypt’s El Gabal El Asfar water treatment plant. Egypt’s Central Bank Governor Hassan Abdalla handed over the chairmanship of the bank’s Board of Governors at the closing ceremony, according to a statement released on Friday.

AfDB financed 113 MW of Africa’s renewable projects, falling short of its 560 MW target, the bank’s 2023 Annual Development Effectiveness Review revealed. While the bank achieved only 20% of its renewable funding target compared to a 2015 baseline, it managed to exceed its emission reduction target which reached some 2.6 mn tons CO2 in 2022. 75% of Africa’s electricity is still generated by fossil fuels, despite efforts from Kenya and Morocco who generate more than 10% of their energy through renewables — a higher percentage than China, India, and the US. The report also noted that the continent will play a critical role in global EV expansion as it holds over 40% of the world’s cobalt, manganese, and platinum reserves.

But it's putting the pedal to the metal on its climate financing initiatives: The annual review outlined some of the bank’s crucial climate initiatives, including its partnership in the COP26 Energy Transition Rapid Response Facility, the Africa Hydropower Modernisation Programme and flagship Desert to Power G5 Sahel Financing Facility — both supported by the AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, and finally its 2016-2025 Strategy for the New Deal on Energy for Africa (pdf).

Some USD 27.2 bn in annual private climate financing could close the gap for climate needs in North Africa by 2030, the African Economic Outlook 2023 report calculated. This is based on the scenario that the residual climate finance needs will fully come from the private sector.

The numbers: Countries have identified the annual private sector investment required taking into account what the public sector can contribute. Algeria needs USD 2.4 bn a year, Egypt will require USD 19.8 bn a year, Morocco needs USD 93.9 bn a year, and Tunisia USD 24.4 bn per year, the report finds.

Blended finance is crucial, but North Africa falls short: Blended finance — finance that combines official development assistance with private funding to leverage funds and reduce risks — is crucial in unlocking the needed climate financing, the report suggests. North Africa has failed to tap into the de-risking tool, having one of the smallest proportions of climate blended finance compared to East and South Asia, Latin America, and Sub Saharan Africa. The rate in North Africa has not changed in the last 5 years.

Meetings dominated the final day: On Friday, Egypt’s Al Mashat met with the UK’s Minister of State for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell to discuss progress on the Climate Finance Accelerator, and with Norway’s Development Minister Bjorg Sandkjaer to discuss pathways to increasing bilateral cooperation in the renewable energy sector, according to a statement. A meeting with German Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Barbel Koffler was also held to review the debt swap program to support Egypt's Nexus of Water, Food and Energy program of which two tranches worth EUR 160 have been implemented. Al Mashat also touched on the debt swap program with Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for international markets Alexia Latortue amidst a discussion on stimulating private sector participation.

Water issues made an appearance: Egypt’s Sewilam met with the Vice President of the African Bank Beth Dunford on Friday to discuss Egypt’s presidency of the African Ministers' Council on Water and its efforts to enhance climate adaptation and the use of renewable energy in water pumping and treatment, according to a statement. The irrigation minister also sat with the Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States for the UN Development Programme to discuss the Green Climate Fund, and the joint project, “Promoting Adaptation to Climate Changes in the Northern Coast and the Nile Delta,” another statement added.

The UK provided a guarantee of EUR 80 mn to the AfDB to support phase 3 of Egypt’s El Gabal El Asfar water treatment plant under its Room2Run initiative, the bank’s website reported. The Room2Run guarantee was announced in 2021 during COP26 to enable the AfDB to give out USD 2 bn of climate finance in Africa by 2027, with a 50-50 split between adaptation and mitigation, the website notes. The UK also allocated EUR 37 mn to a water sanitation project in Senegal.

KSA and the UK will partner to shore up their mineral capacities: KSA’s Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Al Khorayef and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch signed a bilateral cooperation agreement last week aimed at jointly developing their critical minerals supply chains, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

What will happen: The agreement will see both countries strengthen the global supply of critical minerals and prioritize the sustainable production of critical minerals essential to EV, wind turbine, and solar panel manufacturing. Both countries will collaborate on critical minerals strategies while promoting the repurposing of rare earths critical to the clean energy transition, SPA quotes Badenoch as saying. The UK and Saudi Arabia will also join forces on advocating for the freeflow of critical minerals at multilateral forums in a bid to reorient the global mining industry toward adoption of ESG standards, Badenoch added.

And it’s needed: “Lithium supply will need to increase by approximately 700%, nickel production by around 100%, and copper production by roughly 50% between 2020-30 compared to 2010-2020 within a 1.5°C pathway,” Al Khorayef said, adding that the transition to net zero and meeting the 1.5°C Paris-agreed warming target will require a considerable increase in mineral production capacity.

Months in the making: Back in January, Saudi Arabia and the UK put pen to paper on their first-ever partnership on critical minerals during the Future Minerals Forum which took place in Saudi Arabia that month. Both sides had noted they would finalize the details of the partnership agreement “in the coming months.”

REMEMBER- KSA is looking to tap into its full mining potential: A joint venture between State-owned Saudi mining company Ma’aden and the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is reportedly prepared to deploy over USD 15 bn of capital for investments in the coming years, upping its previous target of SAR 11.9 bn (USD 3.2 bn) for the venture, almost 5x. KSA says it has untapped metals and minerals — including copper, zinc, phosphate, and gold — collectively worth USD 1.3 tn

MAF pulls trigger on green sukuk: UAE retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) raised USD 500 mn through its fourth green capital market issuance under its latest sustainable financing offering in the region, it said in a statement on Thursday. The proceeds from its third green sukuk issuance will be used to refinance an older USD 800 mn bond commitment.

What they said: “The issuance of today’s green sukuk is a testament of the global investment community’s continued confidence and robust support in our company, the sustainability of our debt portfolio and the inherent strength of our long-term strategic focus,” MAF Holding CEO Ahmed Galal Ismail said in the statement.

Advisors: Citigroup, HSBC, and Standard Chartered have been appointed as coordinators on the issuance, and they will be joined by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, and First Abu Dhabi Bank as lead managers.

Morocco is investing in 17 new national projects, including in renewables: Morocco’s National Investment Commission has approved the allocation of USD 7.6 bn for 17 projects across several sectors including renewables, Morocco World News reported last week.

The breakdown: Some USD 304 mn will be invested in renewable energy projects, representing 4% of the newly approved budget. Seawater desalination projects will get 14% of the pie, and the majority of the remaining investment will go to the industrial sector, the news outlet said. Six other projects with a potential value of USD 5.4 bn are in the process of being reviewed by the Technical Committee for Strategic Investment Projects, including four projects in the EV and battery manufacturing sector.

REMEMBER- Morocco has been attracting foreign investment in the renewable and EV sectors, with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations eyeing a number of potential investments in Morocco’s renewables sector. China’s BTR is investing USD 1.2 bn in a EV battery components facility in Morocco and the International Finance Corporation extended a green loan of EUR 100 mn to Moroccan state-owned fertilizer and phosphate giant OCP Group to help finance the development of four solar plants. Taqa Morocco also plans to sink USD 1.6 bn into renewables projects by 2030.

Oman courting Korean interest in green fuel and renewables sectors: A Omani delegation is in South Korea to meet with government officials and private sector firms to explore potential partnerships in green hydrogen, renewables, transport, and minerals, The Times of Oman reported on Saturday. The visit — headed by undersecretary of Oman’s Energy and Minerals Ministry Mohsin bin Hamad Al Hadhrami — included meetings with representatives from Samsung, Hyundai, Posco, and SK with aims to advance Omani plans to invest in energy and develop local value chains. Hadhrami also discussed investment opportunities in hydrogen production and related technologies with Korean officials.

KSA + Azerbaijan looking to increase green cooperation: Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed an agreement with Azerbaijani counterpart Parviz Shahbazov to expand cooperation in renewable energy and develop new potentials in carbon capture and storage projects, the Saudi Press Agency reported last week. The agreement includes collaborating on research and organizing working sessions, panel discussions, seminars, and multilateral conferences in the energy field.

There is already cooperation in place: Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power is developing a 240 MW wind farm in Azerbaijan with a reported investment of USD 300 mn. Acwa Power signed a cooperation agreement with Azerbaijan that will see the company set up a 1.5 GW offshore wind energy project as part of a plan to build wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.5 GW and develop the country’s first battery storage systems.

EU, UK looking to fund textile recycling by taxing clothing companies: The EU and the UK government are preparing to follow the lead of Sweden, the Netherlands, and Italy in taxing fashion companies in a bid to crack down on discarded textiles clogging landfills globally, Bloomberg writes. The governments are reportedly preparing to enact legislation to have fashion brands fund textile recycling programs to ease the clothing waste burden suffered by countries like Ghana, which receives some 15 mn discarded garments on a weekly basis. Fashion companies would pay a tax based on the volume they produce, similar to schemes for other hard-to-repurpose products like batteries and mattresses. Textile waste averages some 4 mn tons annually in the EU, and in the US reached 17 mn tons in 2018 — an 80% increase above levels recorded in 2000, Bloomberg notes.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• A slowdown in a major ocean current — approximately 30% since the 1990s — on the back of melting Antarctic ice could have an adverse impact on the earth’s climate and sea levels. (The Guardian)

Ma’aden will ship blue ammonia to India: Saudi mining company Ma’aden has signed an agreement with Indian agricultural chemicals maker Coromandel International Ltd for the supply of low-carbon blue ammonia, Ma’aden said on Saturday. No financial details, amounts of blue ammonia, or the timeline for shipment were disclosed.

All over Asia: Ma’aden exported its first shipments of low-carbon blue ammonia to Chinese petrochemical producer Shenghong Petrochemicals earlier this month as part of an agreement to supply 25k tons of ammonia, which is in line with the company’s goal of becoming a green leader globally. The Saudi company has since last year shipped 138k tons of blue ammonia products to countries including Korea, China, Japan, India, Thailand, and the EU.

---

Power link between Iraq, Jordan to begin soon: An electric grid connection project between Iraq and Jordan will start on 1 July, Iraq’s Electricity Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Moussa told INA on Saturday. Production will start with 50 MW as a first phase, Moussa said. Construction on the project, which is part of efforts by Iraq to tackle its chronic electricity crisis, began last year. The project is part of a wider plan to connect the power grids of GCC countries with Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq.

Another bid for zero-emission mobility: UK-Moroccan tech startup Atlas E-Mobility Group has announced plans to launch the first African-designed and engineered Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), according to a statement on Thursday. The tech company said it plans to combine British automotive industrialization expertise with Morocco’s manufacturing capability and technology to create a “superior-engineered, affordable, and all-electric vehicle” for customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) markets as a first phase. Production at Morocco’s facilities is slated to begin in 2026, with the EVs making it to market in 2027.

REMEMBER- Morocco has transformed itself into a regional automotive powerhouse through smart incentives and consistent government policy, and it is now a key exporter to Europe as well as to other MENA countries, including Egypt. It currently has a thriving EV assembly industry, with plans for expansion. Recently, Morocco’s NamX unveiled a hydrogen-powered vehicle prototype designed in collaboration with Italian design office Pininfarina, Maghreb Arab Press reports. The prototype will be powered with hydrogen through a central tank complemented by six removable capsules, facilitating a quicker hydrogen recharge.

---

French power group Engie began construction last week on its 10 MW waste heat recovery (WHR) project at Holcim UAE’s cement plant in Fujairah, according to a statement released last week. The 10-year contract to design, finance, construct, and manage the system was signed last year with Holcim subsidiary LEC, which operates and owns the cement factory. The project is expected to begin generating electricity by year end, and intends to slash power-related emissions from the grid by 28%, the statement notes. The financials for the project were not disclosed.

SOUND SMART- WHR systems generate power by capturing waste heat — a byproduct of carbon-intensive heavy-duty machines, chemical reactions, and hot streams — using a variety of methods including the integration of ductless ventilation systems and integrated heat pumps to stop low-utility heat from escaping factory furnaces. The heat recovered capitalizes on energy that would otherwise be unused to generate additional heat, electrical, and mechanical power. Engie’s WHR system is based on the organic rankine cycle (ORC) system, which involves a number of thermodynamic processes carried out in specific sequences while applying pressure at scalding temperatures to restore waste-heat to the potency of its original power source.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• US-based VTOL company Odys Aviation has joined the UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative, which helps digitally-led companies set up and scale their businesses in the UAE. (Wam)
• Morocco’s Marrakech Transport and the Korea International Cooperation Agency have signed an MoU to provide Morocco with 20 eco-responsible electric buses at a total cost USD 7.5 mn. (MAP)
• Sweden-based automaker Volvo Cars is interested in increasing its investments to Egypt after a successful venture in manufacturing electric buses in the country. (SCZone Statement)
• UAE’s Tadweer has launched a 100% electric-powered waste truck in Abu Dhabi. The first-of-its-kind truck to be released in the region was manufactured by Renault Trucks under the dealership of Al Masaood. (Wam)
• Audi Oman and Oman’s Electric Vehicles One (EVO) have rolled out 48 electric chargers in various locations across the country as part of the company’s plans to install over 250 charging points in Oman by the end of 2023. (Zawya)
• Oman has issued a new bylaw regulating EV charging, setting out technical requirements to connect charging stations and devices to the network. (ONA)
• UAE’s Space Agency is collaborating with leading US-based satellite imagery company Planet Labs to develop a satellite data-driven Loss and Damage Atlas. The atlas will quantify damages caused by extreme weather events and provide data on climate risk to help countries make informed policy decisions. (Wam)
• The Oman Environmental Service Holding Company (Be’ah) signed an MoU with Omani digital management company Rihal to develop an AI-based system that automates waste monitoring and inspection. (Times of Oman)
• Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer met with UAE Singapore Business Council President Brian Shegar to discuss partnership opportunities in renewables, energy storage, and grid efficiency. (Wam)

A USD 1 bn processing facility for Uzbekistan: US-based industrial gas company Air Products has signed a USD 1 bn agreement with Uzbekistan and state-owned energy firm Uzbekneftegaz to acquire, own, and operate a natural gas-to-syngas processing facility in the country, it said in a statement on Thursday. The industrial complex, which will be part of Uzbekneftegaz, will have the capacity to produce 1.5 mn tons per year of high value-add synthetic fuels for domestic use and potential exports. Under the agreement, Air Products will acquire, own, and operate two large-scale air separation units, two large-scale auto-thermal reforming units, and a hydrogen production unit within the Uzbekistan GTL complex, supplying oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and syngas under a long-term contract.

Why this is important: Syngas — synthetic gas containing hydrogen, CO2, and carbon monoxide — can be used for the production of power in many types of equipment, from steam cycles through gas engines and turbines, according to Biogreen. It can also be used to make hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and synthetic hydrocarbon fuels.

---

Namibia pushes forward with planned USD 10 bn green hydrogen hub: Namibia-based green hydrogen developer Hyphen signed an agreement with the Namibian government to start the next phase of a planned USD 10 bn green hydrogen plant in catering to EU and regional energy demands, Reuters reported last week. The plant — located in the Tsau Khaeb National Park — will be powered by some 5 GW of wind and solar power and produce some 2 mn tons of green fuel annually with 750k tons earmarked for Europe. It is expected to come online by 2030. Hyphen — whose shareholders include German-based energy firm Enertag and the UK’s Nicholas Holdings Limited — was expected to sign an implementation and assessment agreement with the Namibian government last Friday, but no updates have been released.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• The government of Mozambique has chosen a consortium led by TotalEnergies, Electricite de France, and Japan’s Sumitomo for a USD 4.5 bn hydroelectric power plant project — set to reach financial close in 2024 — which will produce in excess of 2 GW of clean energy once operational in 2030. (Bloomberg)
• South Korean automaker Hyundai and LG Energy Solutions will break ground on a US-based USD 4.3 bn EV battery factory in 2H 2023 that will have an annual production capacity enough to outfit 300k EVs. (Reuters)
• Austria, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands have called on the EU to tighten laws on private jet travel in a document shared with EU members ahead of a transport ministerial meeting scheduled this week. Private flights generate 20 times more CO2 per passenger than commercial flights. (Reuters)
• France has banned short-haul domestic flights if a train journey of 2.5 hours is available as an alternative in a bid to slash its aviation sector’s carbon emissions. (Statement)