GREEN MOBILITY-

Hyundai + Bee’ah to test hydrogen trucks in UAE: Hyundai Motor Company and Bee'ah Group signed an MoU to promote hydrogen mobility in the UAE, according to a statement. Hyundai Motor will provide its XCIENT Fuel Cell electric truck to Bee’ah to use as the group is exploring hydrogen fuel vehicles to decarbonize its waste management fleet operations and to advance emissions-free mobility. The two parties will cooperate in the fuel cell electric truck demonstration project to confirm the truck's feasibility in the UAE.

The region's green mobility sector is booming: Danish transport and logistics company DSV recently said it will roll out a fully electric long-range truck fleet in the UAE. Saudi's Naqel Express by SPL also announced the launch of its first fleet of electric transport trucks in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s Transport General Authority rolled out the kingdom’s first heavy-duty hydrogen-fuelled truck.

WASTE-TO-ENERGY-

Riyadh Cement Co. taps into waste heat recovery: Riyadh Cement Co. has inked a USD 34.8 mn agreement with China-based Sinoma Energy Conservation Ltd. to set up a waste heat recovery project, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The agreement sees Riyadh Cement and Sinoma partner to establish a power generation plant with a production capacity of 12.64 MW. The company did not provide further details on the project timeline, but said that the project will be funded by an unnamed local bank.

RENEWABLES-

EBRD wants stakes in Egypt’s renewable energy sector: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) is looking to buy stakes in a number of companies in Egypt’s state privatization program, with a particular focus on companies that operate in the green energy sector, Al Arabiya reports, citing the EBRD Executive Director of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region Heike Hamgart. The ERBD is waiting for the government to reveal the size of its stakes in the assets that it intends to sell as part of the privatization program, Hamgart reportedly told Al Arabiya.

The EBRD is a big player in Egypt’s green energy sector: The company said in October that it would review plans to extend a EUR 165 mn green loan to help enhance Egypt’s electricity distribution grid. The EBRD — which has financed 163 projects and committed to EUR 1.4 bn in investments for the country to date — extended USD 50 mn to finance the 500 MW Gulf of Suez wind farm in Ras Ghareb back in May, and is set to contribute USD 200-300 mn to Egypt’s NWFE initiative to support the phase out of 5 GW of gas-fired power plants by 2025, and support the development of solar and wind energy projects yielding 10 GW by 2028.

CARBON EMISSIONS-

Emirates NBD and Turkey’s Erguvan launch a new carbon management tool: UAE state-owned banking group Emirates NBD and Turkish climate fintech startup Erguvan — which nabbed a second equity investment from the bank during its seed funding round in September — have launched the pilot of Erguvan’s software as a service (SaaS) Azalt carbon management tool, according to a statement. The proof of principle for Azalt was conducted by Turkey’s Ekos Electric, which has used the tool to identify greenhouse gas emission hotspots and devise carbon slashing campaigns.

What does Azalt do? The tool is designed to streamline data on companies’ Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in a bit to chart out CO2 reduction strategies. Following the successful launch of the demonstration campaign, Emirates NBD and Erguvan plan to expand usage of the tool to measure and push down the carbon footprint of UAE-based SMEs by 2024, the statement notes. Emirates NBD notes it is specifically targeting SMEs, because the small scale businesses are usually unaware of the volume of their CO2 output levels.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • UAE to launch pricing mechanism to incentivize EV investments: The UAE plans to launch a pricing mechanism to boost private sector investment in EV infrastructure and charging stations, with the goal of increasing the share of electric and hybrid vehicles on its roads to 50% by 2050. The pricing mechanism will be announced either later this year or in early 2024. (The National News)
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