Good morning, ladies and gents. The weekend is finally within arm’s reach, bringing a very busy week to a close, and the regional climate updates have not let up. Let’s jump right in, but first…

We’re only four days away from meeting with some of you at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum, taking place at the Four Seasons at the Nile Plaza on Monday, 15 May.

We’re proud to announce that our friend Cheick-Oumar Sylla, director for North Africa and the Horn of Africa at the IFC, is joining us for the forum. Are you? Cheick-Oumar Sylla will be speaking on why exports and FDI are the way forward. He is joined on stage for that discussion by Yasmine Khamis chair of The Orientals Group and Yassir Zouaoui partner at McKinsey, and who will speak on what lessons have worked from around the world.

The panel will be co-moderated by our friend Helmy Ghazi, deputy CEO of HSBC Egypt, the anchor of our most-read story ever (Five steps to build a new Egyptian economy).

Who else is speaking? Among the CEOs, top execs, bankers, and development finance folks speaking at the conference are (in no particular order): Tarek Kamel, CEO of Nestle Egypt; Omar Elsahy, General Manager of Amazon Egypt; Khaled Morsy, CEO of DB Schenker Egypt; Mark Wylie, CEO of Beyti; Mohamed Talaat Khalifa, CEO of Concrete; Kareem Abou Ghaly, chairman and CEO of Pasta Regina; Tarek Hosny, head of investments and projects at Fertiglobe; Nadia El Tawil, investment officer at AfricInvest; Shams Eweis, corporate affairs director, Egypt, North Africa and Levant at Mars; Mostafa Bedair, CEO of Giza Seeds and Herbs; Hassan Massoud, associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean), at the EBRD; Hossam Abou Moussa, partner at Apis; Shady William, managing director of IDG; Nada El Ahwal, CSO of Transmar; Mohamed El Gebely, team leader at USAID Trade; Hossam Sallab, CEO and vice-chairman, Sallab Group and Royal Ceramica; and Abdallah Sallam, CEO of Madinet Masr.

Topics and live interviews will include:

• How to attract foreign partners and figure out what they are looking for;
• What lessons can we draw from white goods, fertilizers, and garments exporters who have increased our exports;
• What are the fundamentals to creating an export and / or FDI strategy;
• What it takes to secure a place in a multinational’s supply chain.
• How industrial clusters could expedite exports, FDI and possibly be an avenue for SME development;
• How Egypt’s industries need to be open to evolution to become more competitive.

Tap or click here to explore the full agenda.

** Have you confirmed your attendance? Invitations have been sent out over the past few weeks. If you have yet to confirm your attendance and would still like to join us, please reply to the invitation with an RSVP.

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THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, the UAE’s Alcazar Energy and renewables firm Infinity are reportedly among seven companies looking to bid for a stake in two of Egypt’s largest wind farms. Meanwhile in the UAE, a consortium of OCI-Adnoc joint venture Fertiglobe, UAE renewables player Masdar, and French energy group Engie is considering a green hydrogen project in Abu Dhabi.

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

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THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- No single story is dominating international headlines on the climate news front, but the US government’s approval of a nuclear waste storage facility in New Mexico is making the rounds. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission greenlit a license allowing nuclear reactor developer Holtec International to build and operate a USD multi-bn temporary nuclear waste storage facility for 40 years despite New Mexico legislation set to come into effect on 15 June prohibiting the storage of atomic waste until the federal government comes up with a permanent storage mechanism for the spent nuclear fuel. Holtec plans to store some 500 canisters holding nearly 8.7k tons of the depleted fuel over the 40-year life cycle of the project, with plans to up its storage capacity to 10k canisters in 19 additional phases.

The story got coverage in Reuters, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and Bloomberg.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- New UAE legislation for EV charging stations? The UAE’s Energy and Infrastructure Ministry is looking to introduce new legislation for EV charging stations that would ensure fast charge times at a reasonable price, Wam reported, citing statements by Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei. The minister did not provide further details about the proposed legislation, but said the UAE intends to increase the number of EV stations available nationwide to 800 locations — up from the some 500 stations currently available.

The UAE is on track: UAE fuel distribution company Adnoc Distribution partnered in January with Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) to establish a joint venture called E2GO to build and operate EV infrastructure in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE. The JV aims to build EV charging points across the UAE. Some 70k charging points with investments of up to USD 200 mn are needed in Abu Dhabi by 2030 to meet growing EV demand.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #2- India is interested in Egypt’s EV market: Indian commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland is interested in cooperating with Egypt’s state-owned El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company to manufacture commercial EVs in Egypt, according to a statement. Amandeep Singh, who heads the Indian company’s International Operation, said Indian banks could provide the necessary funding for the potential JV with El Nasr.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- No dice for Aramco’s blue hydrogen exports: Difficulties in identifying and securing blue hydrogen off-take agreements in markets like the EU, South Korea, and Japan will drive Saudi oil giant Aramco to throw its weight behind natural gas exports instead, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on an analyst call, according to Bloomberg. A lack of government incentives supporting the growth of blue hydrogen — even in developed countries — coupled with high production costs is making it difficult for markets like Japan and Korea to pursue low-carbon hydrogen, according to Nasser. Aramco will therefore not sanction investment decisions for blue hydrogen export projects until it secures a concrete off-take agreement, Nasser said.

REMEMBER- MENA has big blue hydrogen ambitions: Aramco and KSA’s SABIC Agri-Nutrients shipped in November 25k tons of blue ammonia to South Korea. Saudi mining company Ma’aden, which in March inked an MoU with Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsui & Co. in March and another with the Taiwan Fertiliser Company that could see it become the first commercial supplier of blue ammonia to both Japan and Taiwan. Over in Qatar, state-owned QatarEnergy signed earlier in September agreements to build the world’s largest blue ammonia plant — worth USD 1 bn — which is set to produce 1.2 mn tons of the green fuel annually.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #4- Taqa is on the hunt for more projects to invest in: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) is looking for more investment opportunities following a USD 31.1 mn investment in Xlinks’ Morocco-UK Power Project, The National reports. “We are actively looking at opportunities that actually fit us, within the UAE and outside the UAE,” Omar Al Hashimi, executive director of transmission and distribution at Taqa Group, told the newspaper.

WATCH THIS SPACE #5- UAE doubles down on targeting emissions, not fossil fuel production: Countries should be called upon to phase out fossil fuel emissions instead of cutting the production of oil, gas, and coal, UAE Climate Change and Environment Minister Mariam Almheiri told Reuters. Almheiri said that halting production would hurt countries that rely on fossil fuel revenue streams and lack appropriate alternatives, which necessitates balancing climate change commitments with economic realities. “The renewable space is advancing and accelerating extremely fast but we are nowhere near to be able to say that we can switch off fossil fuels and solely depend on clean and renewable energy,” Almheiri said.

More carbon capture, no fossil fuel phase outs: The UAE is calling for phasing out emissions by using carbon capture and storage technologies while simultaneously ramping up the development of renewable energy sources.

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DATA POINT- Egypt’s renewables production capacity grew 12.5% y-o-y in 1Q 2023, according to a report by the country’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA). The country increased its hydropower capacity 9% y-o-y, upped its solar and wind energy generation 12.5% y-o-y, and generated some 22 GW of clean electricity from biofuels during the same period, NREA notes.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Japan will host the G7 Hiroshima Summit from 19 May to 21 May in Hiroshima. One of the key topics addressed at the summit will be ensuring energy security with the goal of achieving net zero by 2050 based on the Paris Agreement.

Oman will host the Power and Energy Conference from 22 May to 25 May in Muscat. The event will bring together local and global industry leaders to discuss global energy market policy updates, future demand and growth projections in the sector, integration and power grid obstacles, and growth potential associated with renewables and EV deployments.

Germany will host the second meeting of the COP27 Transitional Committee from 25 May to 27 of May in Bonn. The meeting will build on the loss and damage fund established during COP27 with the aim of establishing institutional mechanisms and governance structures for financing, and will bring together a host of international financial institutions to discuss pathways to increasing funding capacity for climate vulnerable countries.

The UAE will host the Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit from 29 May to 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.

Qatar will host the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Forum from 29 May to 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 first MENA Solar Conference is accepting applications from published researchers specialized in PV technology until next 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 and news triggers.