STARTUPS-

Neo Mobility completes seed funding round: Dubai-based all-electric last-mile logistics and mobility company Neo Mobility has raised USD 10 mn in a seed funding round from green financing firms Delta Corp Holdings and Pyse Sustainability Fund among others, according to a statement released on Friday. The investment will allow Neo to scale up its operations to 5k two-wheeler and four-wheeler EVs in the UAE by 2025. "The seed fund represents an exciting milestone in our journey, accelerating the transition to eco-conscious last-mile logistics," said Neo CEO Abhishek Shah in the statement.

SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL-

Egypt and Honeywell to partner on local SAF production? Egypt’s Oil Minister Tarek El Molla met with a delegation from US-based conglomerate Honeywell in Cairo to explore the possibility of establishing a local SAF production plant in the country, according to a statement released on Friday. Egypt’s government is looking to establish the SAF production company under the umbrella of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company in a bid to establish production plants with a capacity of 120k tons of SAF annually, the statement reads. Feasibility studies have been carried out for the proposed SAF production facility, expected to be located near the Alexandria National Refining & Petrochemical Company production plants in Alexandria, according to the statement.

REMEMBER- Honeywell recently debuted new SAF production tech: Honeywell unveiled green hydrogen-powered SAF production tech last May, which the company says can slash greenhouse gas emissions by 88% in comparison with conventional jet fuel. The new technology will combine green hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured from industrial smokestacks to produce lower-carbon methanol, which can be turned into fuels including SAFs.

GREEN FINANCE-

Egypt eyes Brics’ development bank for renewables + green hydrogen funding: Egypt is looking to get funding for its renewables green hydrogen and green ammonia projects in its Suez Canal Economic Zone from the Brics’ New Development Bank, according to a statement released on Thursday. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly confirmed that a plan is being prepared to determine aspects of cooperation with the bloc and its affiliated bank.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES-

Electromin and Quantron AG roll out Saudi’s largest fleet of all-electric trucks: Saudi Arabia-based motor vehicle manufacturing company Electromin has rolled out KSA’s largest fleet of all-electric trucks to date in partnership with German automaker Quantron AG, according to a statement released last week. Electromin has deployed 50 of the German company’s Qargo 4 light truck EVs, which have a 200 km tested driving range and are designed to upscale last mile delivery operations in urban areas. The EVs pack an 81 KW battery and have a 1.9k kg payload capacity, according to the company. The EVs have been prepped for deployment in collaboration with KSA-based corporations including Pepsico and Red Sea Global, the Saudi Gazette notes.

Electromin has been readying KSA’s EV infrastructure: The company revealed plans to establish KSA’s first ultra-fast direct current (DC) charging networks for EVs last July. The company already has over 100 alternating current (AC) charging chargers in the kingdom and its new addition of DC networks will enable it to cater to both B2B and B2C user segments.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Tunisia launches solar thermal-powered desal plant: Tunisia’s Solartech Sud has inaugurated a pilot desalination plant powered by solar thermal energy to supply water to an oil mill in the southeastern town of Zarzis. (TAP)
• Egypt pushes forward on its 3 GW electricity interconnector with KSA: Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Agency (NREA) has completed installation of the electricity transmission towers imported from India for its planned USD 1.8 bn, 3 GW electricity interconnection with Saudi Arabia, noting it plans to kick off operations on the project’s power stations in Badr and Sakakin by May 2025. (Youm 7)
• JinkoSolar will supply Acwa with 3.8 GW panels: China’s JinkoSolar will supply Acwa Power with 3.8 GW worth of panels for its 2.3 GW Ar Rass 2 project and the 1.5 GW Al Kahfah solar farm. (Statement)
• ADIO and NWTN collaborate on smart EVs: UAE’s NWTN has signed an agreement with The Abu Dhabi Investment Office to use the emirate’s smart and autonomous vehicles industry's Yas Island testing zone. (Statement)
• UM6P concludes Climate Launchpad competition: Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) concluded its third edition of Climate Launchpad competition for green tech and business ideas. The winners included agritech startups Deepleaf and Jodoor. (Morocco World News)