Hydrogen train fueling stations and EV charging points for Morocco and Saudi + Ma’aden partners with Fleet on mining explorations

HYDROGEN-

Air Products Qudra to build hydrogen train fueling stations in KSA: Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has signed an MoU with Air Products Qudra to build, own, and operate (BOO) hydrogen fueling stations for trains in the kingdom, according to a statement released on Thursday. SAR had recently received a trial operating license from the Saudi Transport General Authority for a hydrogen train. The train will operate without emitting carbon, according to the news outlet.

GREEN FINANCE-

UAE’s Mashreq extends green loan to Galadari Brothers: UAE banking group Mashreq has extended a green loan facility to Emirati investment management firm Galadari Brothers in a bid to help decarbonize the company’s operations, according to a statement released on Thursday. The size of the credit line was not disclosed. The firm’s debut green loan will help finance the adoption of green energy retrofits and energy efficient technologies at its five-star Galadari Hotel in Sri Lanka. Mashreq said last year it is targeting an increase in its sustainable financing capacity to USD 30 bn by 2030.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES-

Eaton launches Morocco’s first locally made EV charging stations: American-Irish power management company Eaton has launched the first locally manufactured EV charging station in partnership with UK-based EV company Green Motion, Morocco World News reported last week. The new charging station — with adjustable power from 3.7 kW to 22 kW — takes less than 20 minutes to install and start operating, the company said.

The kingdom has big EV plans:Morocco has transformed itself into a regional automotive powerhouse through smart incentives and consistent government policy, and it is now a key exporter to Europe as well as to other MENA countries, including Egypt. Morocco's investment fund Al Mada partnered with Chinese battery giant CNGR Advanced Material Company in September to build a MAD 20 bn (USD 2 bn) industrial base for battery parts production and recycling in the kingdom. Chinese battery minerals producer Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt is mulling a MAD 200 bn (c. USD 20 bn) electric vehicle battery plant last August and Morocco signed an MoU with Chinese battery maker Gotion High Tech in June to build a roadmap for setting up a gigafactory for EV batteries and energy storage systems.

MINING-

Ma’aden + Fleet partner on minerals exploration: Saudi state-owned mining company Ma’aden partnered with Australian space and mining company Fleet to use the latter’s satellite-powered system for locating critical minerals crucial for the green transition, the company said last week. Fleet’s ExoSphere system will provide 3D subsurface models of depths up to 2.5 km with near-zero environmental impact.

Saudi is all in on mining and minerals:KSA’s Manara — a recently established JV between Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund and state-owned mining company Ma’aden — sealed an agreement in late July with Brazilian miner Vale to grab a 10% slice of its base metals unit as it eyes a pivotal role in the global energy transition supply chains. The JV will reportedly deploy over USD 15 bn of capital for investments in the coming years, upping its previous target of SAR 11.9 bn (USD 3.2 bn) for the venture, almost 5x. KSA says it has untapped metals and minerals — including copper, zinc, phosphate, and gold — collectively worth USD 1.3 tn

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Abu Dhabi’s SAVI expands: The Abu Dhabi Investment Office signed agreements with French company Ascendance and Italy’s Manta Aircraft to join the Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry (SAVI) cluster. Ascendance is evaluating the potential ofAtea — its hybrid-electric eVTOL — to establish new aerial routes in the UAE and Manta plans to relocate its operations and open a facility dedicated to manufacturing three aircraft models derived from the eV/STOL technology platform. (Wam)
• UAE’s Barakah nuclear plants gets its final fourth license: The UAE has granted the Nawah Energy Company a 60-year operating license for the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant’s fourth unit. The final unit will increase the plant’s production capacity to 5.6 GW, meeting 25% of the UAE’s energy needs. (Wam)
• The UAE is looking to set fines on excess residential waste: UAE’s food and waste programme Ne'ma is considering enforcing penalties on surplus personal waste in a bid to tackle some AED 6 bn (USD 1.6 bn) in annual losses due to increasingly high amounts of household waste. (The National)
• Oman is going big on EVs: In line with the Sultanate’s recentresolution mandating the country’s petrol providers install EV charging points at all their gas stations, the Oman Oil Marketing Company has installed and activated 80 EV chargers across the country. (Oman Daily Observer)