UAE’s Energia Verde to invest USD 18 mn in greenifying Indian ports: UAE-based real estate firm Luxury Assets Real Estate will invest INR 1.5 bn (c. USD 18.3 mn ) to greenify three of India’s ports through Energia Verde, its newly formed JV with the UK’s Sunshine Holdings, CEO Mohammed Adeel Shaikh told Enterprise Climate.

Where is the money going? The company’s USD 18.3 mn investment will finance an ongoing collaboration with the Indian government aimed at decarbonizing three of the country’s ports and implementing renewable energy sources and battery energy storage facilities for cranes, Shaikh said. The ports are located in Mumbai and the south and eastern regions of the country. A timeline for the operational launch of the projects was not disclosed.

About Energia Verde: The company aims to invest some AED 300 mn (c. USD 81.6 mn) in the next six months across the solar, wind energy, battery storage, and grid infrastructure sectors, according to Shaikh. Luxury Assets Real Estate — who also invests in the logistics sector — established Energia Verde in a bid to help decarbonize and optimize transportation and supply chain processes, Shaikh notes.

More in the pipeline: Energie Verde has a target to build a 3 GW solar energy plant in India’s Rajasthan, as well as BESS facilities in India’s Jammu and Kashmir with a combined 2 GW storage capacity. The company has so far invested AED 75 mn in India’s clean energy sector, and plans to also invest in the Middle East and Europe, Shaikh tells us.

WAIT- They’re not the only UAE firm greenifying Indian ports: UAE-based port and marine services company Trot Solutions signed an MoU with US lithium-ion battery technology company C4V to develop renewable energy and storage solutions to power India’s port activities, the Press Trust of India news agency reports, citing a C4V statement. The timeline and investment cost of the project was not disclosed.

What we know: The agreement covers converting the existing ports into green facilities and jointly developing a “strong supply chain through C4V gigafactories,” according to the statement. The two companies will also collaborate on research and development projects, and building renewable and battery storage facilities that will power all port equipment, including small vessels.

India is solidifying its MENA connections as it takes strides in the global energy transition: Earlier this week, Indian renewable energy company Acme Group secured an INR 40 bn (c. USD 487.8 mn) loan from Indian infrastructure financial institution REC Limited for the green hydrogen and ammonia project it is building with Norway’s Scatec in Oman. Last week, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to boost cooperation on renewables and green hydrogen. UAE’s National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) achieved its first district cooling transaction in India after signing an agreement with the real estate and infrastructure development arm of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons last May. An interconnection link between India and the Gulf could be in the works as India is considering linking its power grid to Saudi Arabia and the UAE through undersea cable. India’s Adani Group is reportedly planning to invest in renewables projects with 10 GW capacity in Morocco to supply green ammonia to Europe.

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