Good morning, wonderful people. As we approach the weekend, we’re looking forward to some uninterrupted football after the World Cup delivered another surprise with the defeat of another favorite — this time Germany — at the hands of Japan.

And if you’re one of the five Americans that watch the sport, the fun starts early as it is Thanksgiving today. We wish all our American readers a happy holiday.

Otherwise, it’s just nonstop green hydrogen: If you couldn’t tell, green hydrogen has been the theme of the month. And yesterday it was full on, with new projects — both in the region and outside it — being announced, projects and policies being studied, and even the next lineup of climate events have been fixated on this wunder molecule. Let’s get to it…

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power wants to build a USD 7 bn green hydrogen and derivatives production project in Thailand. The news comes a few days after Saudi Arabia signed a number of MoUs with Thailand. The plant’s output will be used for local consumption and export.

ALSO- Egypt is mapping out land for 4 GW wind farms to power all the projects the country signed for during COP27, the local press reported yesterday. Egypt had signed nine framework agreements with international companies at the summit to establish green hydrogen and ammonia plants in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

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

Egypt is also looking eastbound: Egypt’s Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mohamed Shaker met with a delegation from Energy China to explore areas of cooperation on green hydrogen, electricity, and renewables, according to a statement.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Lekela is joining the Egypt hydrogen party “soon”: It looks like we might be hearing of a new hydrogen project in the near future coming from Lekela Power, if statements by its CEO Chris Antonopoulous to Bloomberg are anything to go by. After noting that the company was interested in partnering on green hydrogen, Antonopoulous noted that “in Egypt, in particular, you’re probably going to hear very soon from us.”

REMEMBER- Antonopoulous had said earlier this week that the company was looking into green hydrogen production in the country, in partnership with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt. The move comes as part of the USD 2 bn earmarked for Egypt’s green economy that was enabled in part by its acquisition by regional renewables giant Infinity and the Africa Finance Corporation. Egyptian Planning Minister Hala El Said had said this week that a new framework agreement with two international companies could be signed “during the coming period,” without naming the companies.

enterprise

You can definitely expect that hydrogen of a variety of colors will be discussed at the Enterprise Climate X Forum, which is fast approaching. It is one of several key green economy issues we’re incredibly excited to discuss with some of you in Cairo at the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, 6 December 2022 starting at 8am CLT.

What else are we discussing? CEOs, execs, bankers and development finance folks will mull over a variety of topics, including:

  • How are leaders building green businesses — from scratch, or as retrofits to decades-old family enterprises?
  • How do we pay for it all?
  • What do you really think of the green economy?

With that in mind, we’ll be dropping little notices in stories and topics we intend to explore more of at the forum. Study up if you’re coming.

YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND by clicking the link on your registration email. Attendance is by invitation only. You’ll need a special QR code to gain access to the GEM on event day. Didn’t receive your registration email? Check your spam folder and then email climatexrsvp@enterprisemea.com if it’s still not there.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- The foreign press is piling on the China hate: China’s role as both a global renewable energy superpower and the world’s biggest annual emitter of greenhouse gasses came under close scrutiny in the foreign press yesterday. Tensions over emissions and culpability continue mounting between China and the US. And in the wake of COP27, questions abound over whether China will — or should — contribute to a loss and damage fund. And while the country has one of the world’s biggest green bond markets — exceeding USD 300 bn — a long-read analysis by Bloomberg claims to reveal “important gaps in exposure and transparency” about where the funds are going and what their impact is. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Guardian | Washington Post )

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HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s day five of the World Cup: Teams in groups G and H play their openers today (all times CLT):

  • Switzerland v Cameroon (12pm)
  • Uruguay v South Korea (3pm)
  • Portugal v Ghana (6pm)
  • Brazil v Serbia (9pm)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Oman will host a two-day green hydrogen summit on Monday, 5 December at Oman’s Convention and Exhibition Center in Muscat. The summit will discuss all aspects of the hydrogen value chain including production, transportation, and storage challenges.

Also on Monday, the South Africa Green Hydrogen Summit is taking place on Monday, 28 November and runs to Thursday, 30 November in Cape Town. Hosted by Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), the event will showcase the country’s potential as an investment destination. Egypt, Mauritania, and Morocco — all members of the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance (AGHA) — will be attending the summit to present their national agendas for green hydrogen projects.

UAE will host the Big 5 global construction impact summit on Wednesday, 7 December at the Dubai World Trade Centre, bringing more than 2k exhibitors from 60 countries, as well as regional and global construction industry leaders together to discuss ways to meet local and global net zero and waste reduction targets.

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

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