UAE’s Adnoc and Kawasaki sign an agreement to develop a low-carbon hydrogen value chain for exports

Good morning, wonderful people. We have a busy morning with lots of news emerging from the UAE over the long weekend and a roundup of what happened on the climate front at the G7 meetings in Japan. Let’s jump right in.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- The UAE’s Taqa is moving forward with a two-tranche green bond estimated at least USD 500 mn. The issuance will reportedly include a five-year tranche at 120 basis points over US treasuries and a 10-year tranche at around 145 basis points over treasuries. In hydrogen news, Adnoc signed an agreement with Japanese manufacturing giant Kawasaki to explore joint production, liquefaction, and transport mechanisms for low-carbon hydrogen for delivery to international markets.

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

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HAPPENING TODAY- The two-day International Conference on Green Energy and Environmental Technology will kick off in Dubai bringing together stakeholders from academia, the healthcare industry, and the private sector to discuss energy conservation among other topics.

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THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- The G7’s ministerial meeting snagged headlines when it wrapped on Sunday, with many focused on the group’s failure to set deadlines for the phase out of coal and other fossil fuels. Two days of discussions in Sapporo saw G7 countries agree to wean themselves off fossil fuels entirely by 2050, but did not see the bloc offer revised deadlines hastening divestment from fossil fuels by 2035 beyond pledges made during last year’s G7 summit. We have all the details on the outcome of climate talks at the meetings in the news well below.

The story grabbed headlines over the past couple of days: CNBC | France24 | The Washington Post | Deutsche Welle | Financial Times | Reuters

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Piling pressure on ExxonMobil? Global asset managers Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and Christian Brothers Investment Services have partnered up to co-file a shareholder resolution demanding greater climate-related transparency from ExxonMobil, according to a statement. “We believe such level of disclosure is imperative for investors to better evaluate long-term risks and economic viability of the business in a carbon constrained future,” said Michael Marks, head of Investment Stewardship and Responsible Investment Integration at LGIM.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Iraq is pushing forward with renewables projects: An unnamed Saudi firm will build a 1 GW solar plant in Iraq’s Al Najaf city, the country’s Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadel told the Iraqi News Agency on Saturday. The ministry has already allocated land for the project, Fadel said. Former Electricity Minister Adel Karim had said back in 2021 that the ministry was closing in on an agreement with Acwa Power to develop a solar plant with the same specs.

There’s growing appetite for renewables in Iraq…: PowerChina will also build a 250 MW solar power plant in Iraq, Fadel said, without providing further details. The minister’s statements come a few weeks after TotalEnergies said it will develop a 1 GW solar power plant to supply the Basrah regional grid, after it sealed an agreement on a delayed USD 27 bn cluster of energy projects in the country. The French company will invite Saudi Arabia’s utility Acwa Power to take part in the project.

… Although one developer is out: Norwegian renewable energy producer Scatec has reportedly pulled the plug on two solar projects in the country, Iraq Oil Report reported, citing Iraqi officials. Scatec has pulled out of talks to build and operate two solar plants with a combined capacity of 525 MW in the south due to slow procedures and unclear legislation for solar, according to an Iraqi government source.

REMEMBER- Iraq wants to ramp up its solar energy generation: Iraq wants to produce 5 GW of solar power in 2023. The country signed solar power agreements over the past two years with several companies, lining up a total generation capacity of 7.5 GW.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #3- More ambitious NDCs for Egypt coming: Egypt is aiming to have renewables account for 42% of its power generation by 2030, instead of its earlier target of reaching that milestone by 2035, under its revised nationally determined contributions (NDCs), Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said in a statement released on Sunday. The revised NDCs, which will be submitted in June, will also slash the country’s dependence on natural gas in the electricity sector, the development of green hydrogen, and mulling the possibility of an ambitious 2050 long-term strategy for a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target, the minister said.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- Indonesia to join the G7 climate club: Indonesia will join a new climate club established by the G7 last year to accelerate the green transition, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a speech on Sunday, according to Bloomberg. Indonesia, which is Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, will receive EUR bns in the coming years from Western partners to speed up its transition from fossil fuels.

But Enterprise, what’s the climate club? Germany formed the G7’s climate club in December last year in a bid to fight global warming and accelerate industrial transition to cleaner energy forms and to further develop emission-reduction measures. The club also aims to give room for climate-friendly commodities, like green steel, to enter the market rapidly, according to German officials.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #5- Denmark to exit the Energy Charter Treaty over climate action concerns: Denmark intends to quit the 1998 Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) over the international agreement’s protection of oil and gas projects, the country’s Climate, Energy and Utilities Minister Lars Aagard said on Thursday, according to Reuters. France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain all announced plans to depart from the agreement over its strong protections of fossil fuel projects. Italy withdrew from the ECT in 2015. Although treaty members negotiated reforms last year in a bid to address climate concerns, the EU Commission said in February that a joint bloc exit from the agreement would be “inevitable.”

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COME TO OUR NEXT ENTERPRISE FORUM-

The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum, our latest industry-specific conference, is taking place on Monday, 15 May at Four Seasons, Nile Plaza in Cairo. The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will give insiders and newcomers alike the chance to talk about how to develop an export-centered business and how their companies can help Egypt build an export-led economy that makes it a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI).

What’s the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum? In the wake of successive floats of EGP, exports and FDI have never been more important to Egypt’s economy — or its businesses. We’re gathering some of the CEOs, top execs from local companies and multinationals, investors, bankers, and finance folks to speak on how businesses can adapt their strategies to be export-oriented and what Egypt as a country can do to draw foreign investment and much-needed FX. Expect it to be heavy on lessons learned in Egypt and other global growth markets — and lots of success stories. You can learn more on our conference website here.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, DFI staff, export executive, investor or banker, please fill out the form here to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Germany will host the first COP27 transitional committee workshop from Saturday, 29 April to Sunday, 30 April in Bonn. The workshop will address climate-driven loss and damage impacts, will spotlight the findings of a report prepared by the UN on current funding arrangements for climate mitigation efforts, and bring together a host of international financial institutions to discuss pathways to upping funding capacity for climate-induced loss and damage.

Turkey is hosting the International 100% Renewable Energy Conference from 4-6 May in Istanbul. The event will bring together experts to discuss the integration of renewables, renewable energy technologies and applications, and the Roadmap to 2050.

The UAE is hosting the UAE Climate Tech forum on 10 and 11 May in Abu Dhabi. The event will gather over 1k policymakers, CEOs, experts, and investors to discuss collaboration on innovative technologies and economic opportunities in advancing decarbonization across all sectors.

The first MENA Solar Conference is accepting applications from published researchers specialized in PV technology until Sunday, 30 April. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority will be hosting the conference from 15 to 18 November, in conjunction with the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition and the Dubai Solar Show 2023. Researchers can submit their papers here.

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

The UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) was set to price a two-tranche green bond yesterday, Reuters reported, citing a bank document it has seen. The move came a week after Taqa mandated banks for the senior unsecured bond issuance following the launch of its Green Finance Framework. This will be Taqa’s second green bond issuance after it raised USD 701 mn in green senior secured bonds last January with the Emirates Water and Electricity Company.

What we know: Taqa has released the initial guidance for the long five-year tranche, setting it at around 120 basis points over US treasuries, the newswire reports. The 10-year green bond was around 145 basis points over treasuries, with both tranches expected to be estimated at least USD 500 mn.

Where’s the money going? Proceeds from the five-year tranche will be allocated to general corporate purposes, while the 10-year bond will be used to fund projects outlined within its Green Finance Framework including renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water and wastewater management, clean transportation, and terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity.

Advisors: BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, Scotiabank, SMBC Nikko and Standard Chartered Bank were appointed as mandated bookrunners and lead managers, according to the newswire. First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank are acting as joint green structuring advisers.

REMEMBER- Interest in green bonds and green sukuk has been on the rise in the region in recent months ahead of COP28 in the UAE. Sources told Reuters earlier this month that the UAE federal government, Abu Dhabi, and its sovereign wealth fund Mubadala are looking into issuing green bonds. Adnoc is also considering putting its bond plans back on the table and Masdar looking into issuances this year, according to the newswire. Saudi Electricity Co raised USD 2 bn through USD-denominated green and conventional sukuk this month, while Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank also raised USD 1 bn from its five-year USD-denominated sustainable sukuk issuance the same week. Back in February, KSA’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF) sold USD 5.5 bn of green bonds in its second issuance of the debt instruments.

Adnoc + Kawasaki strengthen low-carbon hydrogen value chain: The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) signed an agreement with Japanese manufacturing giant Kawasaki to explore joint production, liquefaction, and transport mechanisms for low-carbon hydrogen for delivery to international markets, according to a company tweet yesterday. The timeline and financials of the partnership were not disclosed.

And there’s another agreement to certify standards: Adnoc also signed an agreement with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security, multinational trading firm Mitsui, Japanese oil company Inpex, and the Clean Fuel Ammonia Association to develop certification standards verifying the ammonia Adnoc produces as carbon-neutral, Adnoc notes.

UAE-Japan green hydrogen agreements have been heating up: Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsui & Co signed a shareholder agreement with Ta’ziz — a joint venture between Adnoc and ADQ — GS Energy, and Fertiglobe to construct a facility generating some 1 mn tons of blue ammonia annually last January. That same month, Adnoc signed a joint study agreement with Japan’s Tsubame BHB on new ways to manufacture ammonia, while renewables developer Masdar signed an MoU with Japanese power generation company Jera to explore joint hydrogen production potential. Later in February, Jera inked a similar agreement with Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) to explore the feasibility of low-carbon green hydrogen and thermal energy production projects in MENA.

Japan is also interested in Saudi and Oman: Saudi mining company Ma’aden inked an MoU with Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsui & Co to become the first commercial supplier of blue ammonia to Japan last month. Japanese trading and investment conglomerate Marubeni also signed an agreement last month with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to jointly conduct a feasibility study for a green hydrogen production facility in KSA, noting it would export some of the green hydrogen to international markets. Marubeni is the largest developer in a consortium working on the USD 1 bn green ammonia SalalaH2 project in Oman, which will have a generational capacity of 1k tons per day once operational in 2028.

A different form of sustainable water treatment is coming to the UAE: Sharjah-based real estate developer Arada is partnering with Hungarian water tech firm Biopolus, Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP) and global water management solutions provider Metito for the construction and operation of a “state-of-the-art” water treatment plant in Sharjah, according to a statement.

The details: The plant will treat, recycle, and produce treated water for use as irrigation of landscapes in the Aljada development project and SRTIP using Biopolus Metabolic Network Reactor (MNR) technology. Construction of the first phase is currently underway, with the project set to be completed in April 2024. The first phase will have the capacity to recycle 5.5k cubic meters (cbm) of water daily, with two phases at a later stage holding the capacity to recycle 16.5k cbm per day.

Enter BioMakery: The plant — known as a Biomakery — will use the MNR technology, which copies natural processes by using microbial biofilms to clean water without the use of chemicals.

There’s also an R&D facility in the pipeline: Arada is also investing in a new research and development facility focused on sustainable water treatment with its partners, according to the statement. The facility aims to work on an upgraded version of the MNR technology and turn Sharjah into a “global hub for the process” in the long term.

And there’s more to come: The company aims to partner with others on various processes in the Sharjah plant including recycling, community functions and energy recovery technologies, according to the statement. Other plants similar to Sharjah’s biomakery are also being planned for Arada’s other projects, it added.

G7 move forward with renewables, but fall short on fossil fuel phase out: G7 countries agreed to increase their 2030 targets for solar and wind production, but failed to see eye-to-eye on a deadline for phasing out coal as the two-day ministerial meetings on climate policy concluded in Japan on Sunday, Reuters reports. G7 ministers also agreed to accelerate the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels to reach net zero by 2050.

The group came in strong with higher renewables targets: The G7 ministers agreed to collectively increase their offshore wind energy to reach 150 GW and solar energy production to over 1 TW by 2030, according to the newswire. These goals aim to triple solar capacity and boost offshore wind generation seven-fold from 2021 levels across the group by the end of this decade, Bloomberg reported.

But a deadline for coal phase out wavered: With support from host country Japan, the US and the EU, ministers opted to reaffirm the commitment made in last year’s G7 statement to achieve a “fully” or “predominantly” decarbonized power sector by 2035” — leaving the door open for new investments, according to Reuters. This comes in opposition to a UK proposal backed by Canada and France to set a strict 2030 deadline for phasing out unabated domestic coal power generation, a draft communique circulating before the meetings revealed. Germany had offered a third alternative that emphasized the goal of phasing out domestic unabated coal power generation “ideally by 2030” or “in the 2030s.”

There was back and forth on natgas ahead of the meetings: Japan was pushing for language supporting investments in LNG, contending that new upstream investments in gas are needed given the energy shortage caused by sanctions on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine last year. But several countries pushed back, leading to a backtrack in previous language anticipating growing future demand for LNG.

And fossil fuel funding is still pouring in: Despite the G7 pledging last year to “end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022,” G7 funding for fossil fuel projects between 2020 and 2022 reached USD 73 bn — more than double what was spent on renewables in the same period, Bloomberg said, citing a report by nonprofit group Oil Change International released earlier this month. Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Japanese Nippon Export and Investment Ins. committed USD 655 mn for a new 1.6 MW natgas power plant in Uzbekistan earlier this year.

Climate finance accessibility got a shoutout: COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber called on the G7 to take the lead on making climate finance more accessible and throw support towards accelerating a “new green [agreement],” Wam reports. The green agreement would cover mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, Al Jaber added. Ahead of the G7 discussion Al Jaber met with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to talk through “productive climate action and cooperation in the run up to COP28,” according to a statement.

And the Global Biodiversity Framework got an affirmative nod: G7 ministers committed to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework passed during COP15 in Montreal last December, according to a UK statement. The agreement vows to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans and lands by 2030 by seeing wealthy countries increase their contributions to aid for biodiversity to USD 25 bn annually starting 2025 and USD 30 bn annually by 2030.

IN OTHER CLIMATE DIPLO NEWS- KSA and the Netherlands talk hydrogen exports: Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman met with the Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra last week in Riyadh to discuss jointly establishing a clean hydrogen corridor from KSA to Europe, Zawya reports. The Dutch port of Rotterdam would facilitate the entry of Saudi-produced green fuels into the continent.

UAE is aiming big for Brazil: Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital-backed Acelen will invest up to USD 2.4 bn over the next 10 years to produce green diesel and sustainable aviation fuel in Brazil, according to a statement released on Saturday. The new biorefinery in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia will have the capacity to produce up to 1 bn liters per year of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a diesel-like fuel that can be produced from various vegetable oils and animal fats. Production will start in the first quarter of 2026, the statement said, adding that the plan will make Acelen one of the largest producers of renewable fuels globally.

And that’s not all, folks: Brazilian President Lula da Silva and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to deepen the partnership between the two countries in key sectors including renewable energy, sustainable development, climate action, food security, and agriculture, according to a joint statement following Lula’s visit to Abu Dhabi.

SPEAKING OF BRAZIL- Brazil has restored diplomatic ties with China, giving a boost to cooperation in environmental protection and climate change coping mechanisms, Reuters reported on Friday. Lula and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping also agreed on the necessity of climate change mitigation investments from developed countries during the state visit. However, the visit fell short of commitments from Beijing to support clean energy and green hydrogen production in Brazil with no agreement announced on a bilateral green investment fund that the latter was hoping to seal.

Arctech tapped for Saudi’s first solar tracker: China’s Arctech has been tapped to provide a 1.5GW SkyLine II solar tracking solution for the ASB project in Saudi Arabia, according to a statement. The details on the project for which Arctech has been tapped remain unclear, but the statement notes a long-standing relationship with ASB project owner Acwa Power and China Energy. The two companies are currently developing Al Shuaibah 2, a 2.06 GW solar facility set to be the largest of its kind in the region. The project will be the first solar tracking venture in Saudi Arabia by Arctech, which has implemented projects in Oman and the UAE.

What is solar tracking? Solar tracking systems reorient PV panels to the direction of the sun, keeping panels perpendicular to the power source and effectively minimizing sunlight reflection and increasing solar energy absorption.

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Saudi researchers develop world’s most efficient solar tandem cells: Researchers from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) created tandem solar systems — solar modules made up of silicon and perovskite sub-cells — with a power conversion efficiency rate of 33.2% — up 0.7 percentage points from previous global record holder Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, the Saudi Press Agency reports. Kaust’s solar division obtained certification for their solar cell from the European Solar Test Installation, which has listed the system on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Best Research-Cell Efficiency Chart.

Japanese investment company Sumitomo Corporation will invest USD 100 mn to build an EV wiring harness production facility in Egypt, according to a statement released by the General Authority for Investment and Freezones (GAFI) last week. The project’s timeline was not disclosed, but GAFI notes a chunk of the products manufactured in Sumitomo’s 150k sq meter facility would be exported to international markets. GAFI awarded Sumitomo’s planned project its golden license — a single approval covering everything from project establishment, including land allocation and building licensing, through to project operation and management. No timeline was given for when the facility is expected to come online.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Emirates Central Cooling Systems (Empower) will pay an undisclosed contractor AED 100 mn (USD 27.8 mn) to optimize energy efficiency at its district cooling plant in Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Residence. (Wam)
• The OPEC Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have signed a cooperation agreement to earmark USD 2 mn for the identification and joint development of climate resilience and food security projects in the MENA region and beyond. (Statement)
• KSA’s Al Moammar Information Systems was awarded a SAR 188.1 mn project by the Saudi Investment Recycling Company to provide advanced technical solutions and monitoring of possible oil leaks in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea. (Tadawul filing)
• Egypt’s Environment Ministry will launch tenders for waste recycling plants in the country in a bid to attract more private sector investment. (Statement)
• Egypt’s Public Enterprises Ministry is reportedly in talks with four EV manufacturers in China and India in a bid to partner on producing EVs with state-owned El Nasr Automotive. Egypt had planned to see its first locally assembled EV in 2023, but it is unclear whether it will be able to meet this deadline. (Al Mal)

Poland’s small reactors could be getting funds from the US: Several US financing institutions could provide up to USD 4 bn for a project by Poland’s Orlen Synthos Green Energy to deploy small modular reactors (SMR) in the country, Reuters reports. The project — undertaken by Poland’s leading refiner PKN Orlen and chemicals firm Synthos — is part of a plan to deploy SMRs by 2030 to support the country’s transition to nuclear power to slash carbon emissions and gradually phase out coal.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Germany shut down the last three of its nuclear power plants on Saturday, retiring the energy source after six decades of operations. (Bloomberg)
• Europe's largest nuclear reactor, Olkiluoto 3 (OL3), has begun generating power in Finland after a 14-year delay from its original plan. (Reuters)
• The UK has eliminated its senior climate diplomat post — the special representative for climate change — after Nick Bridge stood down, and it was decided that he will not be replaced. The post was initially set up to further the UK’s climate goals internationally. (The Guardian)
• The Hong Kong stock exchange has launched a three-month consultation to support its plan to make the disclosure of climate-related information mandatory for companies listed on the exchange. (Reuters)
• French banking group Crédit Mutuel will halt funding to oil and gas producers without concrete plans for y-o-y output cuts starting July 2024. (Reuters)