Green hydrogen and waste galore at COP28: Green hydrogen was at the top of Masdar’s agenda the last few days and Amea Power entered the ring with a foray into Mauritania. Waste management has also made a splash with a spate of agreements from Bee’ah and Tadweer.

GREEN HYDROGEN-

Masdar and Austria’s OMV partner on green hydrogen: UAE renewables developer Masdar signed on Friday a Heads of Terms (HoT) agreement with Austria-based integrated oil and gas company OMV to develop a “large-scale” green hydrogen plant, according to a statement released on Friday. The location of the electrolysis facility, targeted generation capacity, and an expected timeline on the project were not disclosed, but the companies are expected to make a final investment decision on the plant in 2H 2024. The HoT follows an earlier agreement between the two sides to explore cooperation in the green fuels and renewables sectors.

More progress on a UAE-EU hydrogen corridor: The renewables firm also signed an agreement with the Port of Amsterdam and Dutch firms SkyNRG, Evos Amsterdam, and Zenith Energy to explore developing a supply chain for Europe to export green hydrogen from Abu Dhabi, Wam reported last week. The expected investment ticket for the green hydrogen corridor and when shipments are expected were not disclosed.

We knew this was coming: Both sides had signed earlier agreements back in January to explore the possibility of exporting green fuels produced by Masdar in Abu Dhabi to Europe through the Port of Amsterdam, the EU’s fourth largest sea port. The companies also plan to establish a land-based green fuels supply chain to transport green hydrogen to the remainder of Europe from Amsterdam via trucks, pipeline, and barge. The green hydrogen would be used in Dutch sustainable aviation, bunkering for shipping, and steelmaking industries, Wam notes.

Who’s doing what: Zenith will work on developing a liquid hydrogen supply chain to facilitate imports, while Evos Amsterdam will manage development of a liquid organic hydrogen carrier supply network. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplier SkyNRG is establishing a network of SAF production facilities and will use the hydrogen as feedstock for its operations.

ALSO- Masdar and Austria’s Verbund Green Hydrogen GmbH have signed an agreement to jointly explore the feasibility of establishing a green hydrogen plant in Spain, according to a statement released on Thursday. The green hydrogen produced will be used to decarbonize Spain or Europe’s hard-to-abate sectors including steel, fertilizers, chemicals, heavy transportation, and aviation.

UAE’s Amea Power taps into Mauritania’s renewables and green hydrogen: UAE-based renewables developer Amea Power signed two MoUs with the government of Mauritania to establish a 3 GW green hydrogen plant and two renewables projects with a combined 200 MW generation capacity in the African country, according to a cabinet statement. Amea says it is looking to build a 100 MW wind farm and a 100 MW solar plant in Mauritania, both of which would be supplemented with battery energy storage systems. The timeline and investment tickets for the three projects were not disclosed.

Amea has big plans for Africa: Last week, Amea Power said it will build a USD 600 mn, 300 MW onshore wind power plant in Ethiopia and plans to sign a USD 800 mn agreement with Geothermal Development Co. of Kenya to develop the 200 MW Baka geothermal energy generation plant in the African country.

WASTE MANAGEMENT-

A waste management initiative by Bee’ah in Egypt: The UAE’s Bee’ah has signed an agreement with Egypt’s Environment Ministry and Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) to bolster waste management services in the country’s New Administrative Capital, according to a statement released on Saturday. The initiative aims to divert 80% of waste away from landfills as well as develop waste management infrastructure including advanced collection systems, recycling facilities, and waste treatment plants.

Tadweer + Levidian partner to slash landfill emissions: Tadweer has signed an agreement with the UK’s Levidian to reduce methane emissions from Abu Dhabi’s largest landfill site, according to a statement released on Friday. The agreement covers the deployment of Levidian’s Loop tech to sequester and store carbon from organic waste gasses producing a hydrogen blend gas that can generate clean electricity and reduce about 40% of emissions. If successful, the project could be scaled up to process 1.2 bn cubic meters of landfill gas over the next decade.

Tadweer also partnered with Uzbekistan on waste management: Tadweer has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan’s Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change Ministry to establish a waste-to-energy plant and conduct feasibility studies for waste collection, according to a statement released on Saturday. The company also signed an MoU with Japan’s Bureau of Environment to advance sustainable waste management practices, the company said.

Dubai will repurpose COP28’s waste with help from Dulsco: The Dubai Municipality signed an agreement on Saturday with UAE waste management firm Dulsco to recycle some of the waste generated during COP28 into fertilizers and convert the rest into energy, Wam reports. 55% of the garbage produced during the summit will be used for waste-to-energy generation, while the other 35% will be recycled into fertilizers to be sold to Dubai’s agriculture sector, Wam notes. The summit has been producing around 30 tons of waste daily.

RENEWABLES-

Kuwait is getting a new green city courtesy of EnerTech and SEE Holding: Kuwaiti state-owned green tech investor and developer EnerTech signed an agreement with UAE-based sustainable architecture and investment company SEE Holding to establish a green, renewables-powered microcity in Kuwait, according to a statement released on Thursday. A planned 16 MW solar farm will generate 120% of the city’s energy needs. The green city will have a waste-to-biogas production plant, recycle 100% of its water, and produce 50% of its own agricultural needs. The investment ticket and construction date of the project were not disclosed.

Bahrain will get a 100 MW solar plant: Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) and Bahrain Steel are partnering on a 100 MW solar plant in the Kingdom, according to a statement released on Thursday. The project will be established in three phases over three years and across seven connection points, produce 167 GWh of solar energy annually, and reduce the carbon footprint by 44%.

ALSO- Masdar has another solar farm in the works: Masdar is partnering with Bee’ah Group and the Sharjah Electricity, Water, and Gas Authority to convert the 68 hectare Al Sajah landfill in Sharjah into a 120 MW solar farm, according to a statement released last week. The expected price tag and timeline of the project were not disclosed.

DECARBONIZATION-

Emirates Steel Arkan, Khalifa University and Ohmium International partner on decarbonizing steel: The UAE’s largest steel manufacturer Emirates Steel Arkan signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa University and US-based electrolyzer producer Ohmium International to develop a green hydrogen-focused research and development program for decarbonizing the UAE’s steel industry, according to a statement released on Friday. Emirates Steel Arkan aims to build on the research as it looks to produce Direct Reduced Iron and expand in the green steel sector.

UAE tech research group launches Blockchain carbon platform: The CryptographyResearch Center (CRC) at UAE’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) launched a blockchain-powered carbon tracking and trading platform to facilitate international trade in carbon tokens, according to a statement published last week. The platform is the first to implement a blockchain-enabled Proof of Concept to accurately track emissions by registering the credits from any public or private organization globally. Auditors can then certify the emissions through the different stages of capture, storage, and trading.

The UAE’s Taqa will trial Octopus Energy’s power management platform Kraken regionally: The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) signed an agreement with British renewables developer Octopus Energy Group to trial the latter’s AI-powered energy management platform Kraken across its UAE operations, according to a statement published last week. A timeline for the pilot project’s launch was not provided. The Kraken platform enables energy firms to create and launch eco-friendly energy solutions while also managing customer inquiries in a faster and more comprehensive manner, the company notes. Both sides are also exploring the creation of a UAE-based joint venture through which they would establish an energy tech innovation and development hub in the Emirates.

Not the first UAE suitor for the Kraken: Back in May, Emirati renewables developer Masdar signed an agreement with Octopus Energy to have the British company manage its UK-based BESS facilities using Kraken.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • The UAE’s Lootah partners with Malaysia’s FatHopes on SAFs: Dubai-based biofuels producer Lootah has signed an agreement with Malaysian counterpart FatHopes Energy to study the feasibility of establishing 200k sq meter sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) feedstock aggregation storage terminal in Malaysia that serve as a stockpile site for a planned UAE-based SAF refinery. Both sides will also explore franchising FatHopes’ biomass-to-SAF technology across MENA. (Wam)
  • Dubai Municipality + Dewa partner on waste to energy: Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) signed an agreement for a project to generate electricity from biogases extracted from a landfill in Muhaisnah 5. The project will offset some 300k tons of CO2 annually. (Statement)
  • Abu Dhabi DoE partners with Irena + University of Arizona: The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) has signed an MoU with the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) to cooperate on renewable energy policies and long-term energy scenarios and modeling to drive the energy transition. The two will also collaborate on water security in the UAE. (Statement)
  • Egypt + UAE partner on nuclear energy: The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) signed an MoU to set a framework for cooperating on advancing the use of nuclear energy. (Statement)
  • Adnoc and Japan’s Mitsubishi partner on green fuels: The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company inked a strategic collaboration agreement with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to jointly study the development of green hydrogen and ammonia value chains in a bid to help decarbonize their operations. (Statement)
  • KSA’s Modern Group partners with Zoetic Global on district cooling: KSA’s ModernIndustrial Investment Holding Group signed an agreement with US-based green tech firm Zoetic Global to explore usage of the latter’s refrigerant technology as part of the company plans to expand district cooling across its operations. Zoetic’s tech can cut between 20-40% of cooling costs while slashing emissions. (Statement)
  • Schneider Electric teams up with LMD on green cities: Schneider Electric and Egypt-based real estate developer LMD to use its Aveva Unified Operations Center for Smart Cities across LMD projects in Egypt and Dubai. (Daily NewsEgypt)
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