Oman starts operations for its mega Salalah e-waste recycling facility

Good morning, friends. The news cycle has picked up with several climate stories emerging from across the region, with a focus on Oman…

THE BIG CLIMATE STORIES- Operations have kicked off at Oman’s 20k ton per year e-waste recycling plant, The Evergreen Gulf Recycling Hub, and the sultanate launches operations at a 17 MW solar power plant to power its Sur desalination facility.

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

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- The UK plans to mandate annual North Sea oil licenses: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to use King Charles speech to Parliament on the country’s legislative agenda today to set out a bill mandating yearly awards for oil and gas drilling rights in the North Sea. The move would set a fixed period between licensing rounds and create certainty for the oil industry during the green energy transition while minimizing reliance on “hostile foreign regimes” such as Russia. Greenpeace dismissed the plan as “backward-facing” and vowed to take the government to court if it moves forward with the strategy.

The story grabbed headlines in the international press: Reuters | The Guardian | BBC | Bloomberg | The Washington Post | Financial Times

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Shell is re-prioritizing green investments: Shell will no longer “pretend to lead” in parts of the energy transition where it did not have the right competencies, taking on a “selective” approach instead, Shell CEO Wael Sawan told The Financial Times. “In transport and industry we already have a significant market share there, and we think it is only natural for us to lead as we support the decarbonisation of those sectors,” Sawan said, adding that Shell will focus its low-carbon spending on projects such as EV charging, biofuels, and carbon capture and storage, while taking a partnership approach in renewable investments. According to Sawan, the new plan does not take away from the company’s goals to become a “multi-energy” company or reach net-zero by 2050.

REMEMBER- Shell said it is axing 15% of its workforce at its Low Carbon Solutions unit in 2024, a week after CEO Wael Sawan said he will change the company’s approach to carbon neutrality to go in line with its “ruthless” focus on performance. The shift in focus has already led several senior executives to leave the company’s green divisions in the past six months, according to FT.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Only 4% of the world's largest listed companies’ climate pledges meet UN guidelines for net-zero emissions by 2050, Reuters reports, citing independent data consortium Net Zero Tracker. Nearly half of the world’s biggest 2k listed companies have set zero emissions goals by mid-century. Of the companies that have set targets, roughly 37% have goals that cover Scope 3 emissions and 13% have a quality threshold for using carbon offsets.

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HELP SUPPORT GAZANS-

Want to support relief efforts in Gaza, but don’t know how? We’ve got you. More than a mn people in Gaza have been thrown from their homes and every human being there lacks access to food, water, and fuel amid the most intense bombardment any population has endured this century. The charities we’re listing below are regional organizations working on Gaza relief that we think you can trust if you want to make a donation.

#1- Egyptian Red Crescent Society is one of the nation’s leading providers of humanitarian and emergency medical services. The Egypt Red Crescent accepts donations in EGP online and is on Fawry with the service code 99981. You can also donate to the organization through this Banque du Caire account: 49/403/30 (EGP) or 1065/601/30 (USD — code: BCAIEGCX030).

#2- The Emirates Red Crescent Authority has launched the Tarahum — For Gaza campaign and is accepting donations online via What’s App, SMS, Apple Pay, credit card, or bank transfer to ADIB (AE370500000000020000417).

#3- The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has launched the Sahem campaign accepting donations via their website, mobile apps on Apple Store and Google Play, or bank transfer to Al Rajhi Bank (SA5580000504608018899998).

#4- UNICEF has been on the ground in Gaza since the start of the crisis, providing urgent supplies and aid. You can donate to the agency directly in your local currency using your credit card here.

ALSO- The folks at Talabat are processing donations for a range of Gaza relief appeals by charities including the Egyptian Food Bank, Misr El Kheir and the Emirates Red Crescent Authority’s Tarahum campaign. You can make the donation via the Talabat app using your credit card.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Turkey will host the GCC-Türkiye Economic Forum from Saturday 11 November to Monday, 13 November in Istanbul. The forum aims to bring together key ministers and state officials from the Gulf countries and Turkey to explore areas of potential investments and commercial ties and to establish a network for joint projects in the energy, defense, banking, retail, and transportation sectors. The event is organized by the Gulf Research Center and Turkey’s International Cooperation Platform.

The UAE will host the MENA Solar Conference from Wednesday, 15 November to Saturday, 18 November in Dubai. The event will focus on all things photovoltaic, with a full programme on PV materials and devices, future technologies, PV reliability, and forecasting for performance assessment. The conference will also touch on how developments in system operations, concentrated solar power, and grid integration are necessary for the green transition. This will be the first scientific and technical conference specializing in solar energy systems in the region.

The UAE will host the Aviation and Alternative Fuels conference from Monday, 20 November to Friday, 24 November in Dubai. The event will bring together senior government officials and international organizations to assess progress in the development and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and lower-carbon aviation fuel (LCAF) measured according to the targets outlined in the 2050 Vision for SAF, agreed upon at the last Aviation and Alternative Fuels conference in 2017.

The UAE will host the Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) from Monday, 27 November to Thursday, 30 November in Abu Dhabi. The event will gather government officials, banks, financial institutions, and VCs to delve into today’s economic, technological, and sustainability conversations.

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

Oman inaugurates its largest electronic recycling facility in Salalah: Operations have kicked off at Oman’s 20k ton per year e-waste recycling plant, The Evergreen Gulf Recycling Hub (EGRH), the Oman Daily Observer reports. Sparta Group’s ERS International serves as technical partners on the project.

More about the plant: EGRH is equipped to process and recycle a wide array of e-waste including computers, microwave ovens, ACs, cables, and motors. The facility uses AI-enabled technologies to sift and separate the e-waste collected for molecular recycling — a process that uses solvents, heat, enzymes, and even sound waves to purify or break down plastic waste.

Your data is safely destroyed: EGRH also has onsite shredding of hard drives to ensure that any data remaining on the devices is permanently destroyed. The plant will also work on recovering materials such as ferrous metals, aluminum, plastic and printed circuit boards (PCBs) from the e-waste.

Collection system in place: The hub has inked an agreement with the Port of Duqm Company to collect e-waste from their Muscat and Duqm offices, the news outlet notes, and has launched an application through which companies and individuals can request collection of their e-waste.

We knew this was coming: ERS International said it was launching Oman’s first e-waste recycling facility in 1Q 2023 last December. The company said at the time that it aims to process at least 500k pounds of discarded electronic devices in its first year of operation.

Oman kicked off operations at a 17 MW solar power plant to power its Sur desalination facility, Oman News Agency reports. Veolia Water and TotalEnergies set up a JV in August to build the USD 14.8 mn solar farm which has a production capacity of 30 GWh annually and will offset some 300k tons of carbon emissions annually.

Is the tide turning on energy-intensive desalination? Acwa Power inaugurated KSA’s first large-scale solar-powered desalination plant in June and will construct and operate a solar-powered desalination project in Hassyan. Morocco plans to launch a tender for a desalination plant powered by renewable energy with an annual capacity of 250 mn cubic meters by the end of 2024. Tunisia’s Solartech Sud also inaugurated a pilot desalination plant powered by solar thermal energy to supply water to an oil mill in the southeastern town of Zarzis.

Algeria + Italy’s Zhero on renewables and green hydrogen: A delegation from Italy’s Zhero met with Algeria’s Energy Minister Mohammed Arkab to explore cooperation in solar energy and green hydrogen production, according to a statement. Zhero agreed to form a committee to facilitate knowledge transfer between the two sides and explore the viability of establishing an interconnector between Algeria and Italy for the transport of clean power to the EU, the statement notes.

REMEMBER- Algeria was recently axed by Spain from the European Hydrogen Backbone, which aims to transport green hydrogen from North Africa to Europe. Despite diplomatic tensions with Madrid, Algeria is exploring a separate hydrogen interconnector to the EU with Italy.

Not Zhero’s first rodeo in North Africa: The UK firm — co-founded by former Acwa Power executive Paddy Padmanathan — began work last month on two green hydrogen plants in Northern and Southern Africa. The two plants will have an annual production volume between 100-200k, Padmanathan said in October without disclosing the exact locations.

Egypt and Chinese firms partner on green public transport: Egypt’s National Authority For Tunnels signed a framework agreement with China’s Avic Project Engineering Company and the China Railway Engineering Consulting Group to establish the all-electric fourth phase of the country’s 10th of Ramadan City railway line, according to a statement.

And there’s more: Egypt also signed an additional two agreements with Avic to cooperate on the development of the project’s fifth phase and to establish an all-electric train extending from Al Rehab to Egypt’s New Administrative capital, the statement notes.

On the private sector side… : Egypt-based Delta Engineering Drilling inked an MoU with the China Real Estate Information Corporation to partner up on construction of a high-speed all-electric railway line, the statement notes. The line will span 250 km from Egypt’s Port Said to Abu Qir and be developed under a build, operate, transfer (BOT) format.

REMEMBER- China Exim and AFC are helping finance Egypt’s electric monorail projects: The Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim) reportedly said it would extend Egypt USD 400 mn to finance the third phase of Egypt’s all-electric light railway train (LRT) back in September. The loan was planned to finance the delayed project’s completion, adding 20.4 km and four additional stations to the line. The Chinese lender had agreed back in 2019 to extend a USD 1.2 bn loan for the LRT’s initial phases of construction. And back in February, multilateral lender Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) said it is looking to bankroll Egypt’s monorail and high-speed train projects with a USD 250 mn facility.

IN OTHER EGYPT NEWS- Tuktuk EVs? State-owned El Nasr Automotive is reportedly close to inking a partnership agreement with an unnamed Chinese investor to manufacture four-wheeled electric light vehicles as an alternative to the three-wheeled tuktuk, Al Mal reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter.

El Nasr has been preparing for this: The automaker has overhauled its production lines recently to accommodate for the shift to light-weight EVs, the news outlet writes. The restructuring strategy has been funded by an unnamed local investor, Al Mal’s sources said, with Egypt’s state-owned Metallurgical Industries Holding (MIH) also contributing an undisclosed sum to the financing package.

REMEMBER- El Nasr Automotive has been looking for an international partner to form a joint venture for locally-made electric vehicles for the past couple of years. The government began in May negotiations with Ashok Leyland, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, after talks with Chinese firm Dongfeng fell through in 2021.

TotalEnergies backs Oman LNG's decarbonization: French multi-energy giant TotalEnergies has committed to financing the decarbonization efforts of Oman LNG as part of the latter’s aim of becoming a low-carbon LNG producer, Oman Daily Observer reports. The commitment comes off the back of recent agreements with TotalEnergies to extend its 5.5% shareholder interest in Oman LNG for 10 years from 2024. Total will also increase its indirect interest in the adjoining Qalhat LNG by five years.

A step further: The agreements saw shareholders pledge to finance Oman LNG's initiatives to reduce emissions, the news outlet writes. Similar agreements were also signed with the Oman Investment Authority and a consortium including Shell Gas BV, Korea LNG, Mitsubishi Corporations, and others. A key initiative being promoted is the Sur Hydrogen and Energy Transition Cluster, which mainly promotes hydrogen use to help decarbonize industries.

Capitalizing on Oman's hydrogen potential: A feasibility study for the Sur initiative estimated its production capacity at 480 tons of hydrogen daily, allowing industries to switch to hydrogen and save natural gas volumes, according to the news outlet. “This would allow us to reduce our own gas consumption to power our plants, and dedicate the excess gas for LNG. We will shift from gas turbines to gas engines that can be enabled to run on green hydrogen,” Oman LNG CEO Hamad Al Naamany said.

About Oman LNG: Oman Liquefied Natural Gas (Oman LNG) is a joint venture company established by a royal decree in 1994 in Sur, Oman. The Company produces and sells Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and its by-product, Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs).

Amazon explores the use of EV delivery trucks in KSA: Amazon is considering using electric trucks for order deliveries in the Saudi market over the next seven years as part of a global transition plan, Al-Arabiya Business reports, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. The transition would be made through the American electric vehicle company Rivian.

Not the first time Amazon and Rivian work together: The retail giant plans to roll out 300 Rivian trucks in Munich, Berlin, and Dusseldorf over the next few years. This is part of Amazon’s plan to invest EUR 1 bn in electrifying its transportation network in Europe.

UAE startup electrifying classic cars: UAE-based green tech company Fuse is on a mission to replace the combustion engines in classic cars with all-electric alternatives, Zawya reports. The company designs EV drivetrains that are compatible with the make of any car models, according to their website.

How they do it: Fuse replaces combustion engines and drivetrain components and assesses if the vehicle needs upgrade to work well with the new drivetrains, their website explains. The company is particularly focused on developing conversion kits for combustion-engine classics in a bid to offer an affordable all-electric route for motorists who may not be able to spring for new EVs (watch, runtime: 0:25).

Retrofitting classics: The company’s focus on retrofitting older car models is also driven by the affordability of their conversion kits — compared to kits for newer models — due to less amounts of research required and development for engine design (watch, runtime: 3:22). The conversion process takes between three to six months and the company is currently working with the UAE government on regulations for usage of their electric drivetrains, which it says currently cost some USD 20k (watch, runtime: 4:45).

Expansion plans afoot: Fuse already has several clients in the GCC region, and plans to expand into the remainder of MENA and is also eyeing the African market in a bid to help decarbonize the continent’s taxi fleet (watch, runtime: 7:41).

We have another retrofitter in MENA: Egypt’s ShiftEV has developed a retrofitting process using locally manufactured batteries that can turn any conventional vehicle into an EV. The company’s retrofitting process takes less than a few hours per vehicle to do the conversion. ShiftEV takes an assembly-line approach to convert fleets of minivans and tricycles and is currently on to convert pickup trucks and microbuses into EVs. The conversion time goes down with every production cycle by 20-30%.