Good morning, friends, and welcome to a particularly slow morning. Although this morning’s issue is a brief, tight read, the news we do have is significant.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- After months of delay, Egypt’s House of Representatives is finally taking steps forward on rolling out the country’s green hydrogen incentives package. The incentives — which include tax breaks and other non-tax sweeteners — earned committee-level approval and will be up for a final vote in the new year.

^^ We have the details on this story and more in the news well, below.

IN CLIMATE NEWS OUTSIDE THE REGION- There isn’t a single story dominating international climate headlines (unsurprising considering there’s hardly any international climate stories to speak of), but the Solar Energy Corporation of India has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with renewables giant Adani Green to offtake 1.79 GW of solar power. The agreement marks the final stage of an 8 GW tender Adani had secured in 2020, The Economic Times reports. The new agreement brings up the Adani’s PPA portfolio to 19.8 GW, and the renewables developer says it has secured up to 200k acres across India in a bid to up its clean energy generation capacity fivefold to 45 GW by 2030. India has set a target to add 500 GW from non-fossil resources by the end of the decade.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- EIB is looking to fund Scatec’s green hydrogen projects in Egypt: The European Investment Bank (EIB) is in talks with Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec to finance potential green hydrogen projects in Egypt, Daily News Egypt quotes EIB Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti as saying. The timeline and financial ticket are yet to be decided pending completion of the feasibility study of the project.

EIB is a long-time funder of Egypt’s green projects: EIB committed EUR 4 bn in funding in July for development projects in Egypt until 2030 under the government’s flagship Nexus for Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) climate adaptation program. EIB also inaugurated a new regional hub in Cairo last month to further its investment — including green investments — in the MENA region.

Scatec 💚 Egypt: Statec inked a USD 1.1 bn agreement with the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) for a green methanol plant to supply ships with green fuel, and was among the consortium working on Feriglobe’s green ammonia project in the SCZone which sent its first shipment last month. Scatec partnered with Alexandria National Refining & Petrochemicals last year to establish the country’s first green methanol production facility. The renewables giant also secured EUR 100 mn from The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) last year to refinance its six solar plants in Benban.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- ABB Group partners with Gotion to build its planned EV battery plant in Morocco: Global tech giant ABB Group signed an MoU with Chinese EV batteries manufacturer Gotion High-Tech to help build its EV batteries gigafactory currently under study, Morocco World News reports. The two will partner on a feasibility study and research and development to determine how Gotion High-Tech's battery cells, modules, and packs can be delivered to ABB. The tech giant will also explore the uses of Gotion's products for applications including maritime, microgrids, and renewable energy.

About the project: Morocco signed an MoU with Gotion High Tech in June to build a roadmap for setting up a gigafactory for EV batteries and energy storage systems. Under the agreement, Gotion High-Tech will set up a “gigafactory” with investments estimated at MAD 65 bn (c. USD 6.4 bn) in Bouknadel. The facility, which will be the first of its kind in Africa, will have a production capacity of 100 GW/h.

REMEMBER- Morocco is looking to establish an EV hub: Morocco-based pan-African investment fund Al Mada teamed up with Chinese battery giant CNGR Advanced Material Company last month to build USD 2 bn industrial base for battery parts production and recycling in Morocco to provide battery CAM materials to over 1 mn EVs. American-Irish power management company Eaton launched the first locally manufactured EV charging station in Morocco in partnership with UK-based EV company Green Motion last month. Morocco also put together a comprehensive agenda, from developing a national master plan for electric mobility, designating zones where fossil-fuel cars are banned, giving tax exemptions on EVs, to developing the infrastructure through an iSmart charging station.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- KSA completes mining survey for 30% of the Arabian Shield: The Saudi government says it has completed a geological survey of an area exceeding a third of the Arabian Shield’s surface area, with new rare earth discoveries, Asharq Business reports quoting the kingdom’s Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Al Khorayef. KSA’s mining profits totalled SAR 1.5 bn in 2023, and the kingdom plans to leverage its untapped mining sector to help produce as much as 500k EVs by 2030, the news outlet notes.

KSA has been making moves to capitalize on its mineral assets in the Shield: Back in May, Saudi Arabia’s industry and mineral Resources ministry launched the Arabian Shield geological mapping project in partnership with the Chinese Geological Survey at a cost of SAR 777 mn (USD 207 mn), aiming to identify the region’s mineral deposits while expanding its National Geological Database. Later in August, KSA’s ASK Group and the China National Geological and Mining Corporation signed a USD 500 mn agreement for the development, financing, construction, and operation of an Arabian Shield copper mining project. KSA says it has untapped metals and minerals — including copper, zinc, phosphate, and gold — collectively worth USD 1.3 tn. It plans to attract some USD 32 bn in investment in its mining and mineral sector and award more than a dozen mining exploration licenses to international investors.

Egypt is looking to partner on solar manufacturing with two Chinese companies:Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and two Chinese companies — Hony Capital and China National Building Material (CNBM) — are in negotiations to explore investment opportunities in Egypt's solar cell and semiconductor manufacturing sectors, according to a statement. During the talks, Hony Capital said it would provide financing to Egypt to support it in moving forward in the proposed areas of cooperation.

Hony and CNBM have a lot to offer:Egypt aims to localize the manufacturing of renewable energy components, and CNBM would be able to provide materials including cement, glass, and fiberglass along with its expertise in manufacturing components for solar cells and renewable energy. Egypt could achieve up to 90% local manufacturing of the final product with Hony and CNBM’s support.

REMEMBER- Chinese solar manufacturers are expanding in Egypt: Last month, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with a delegation from China’s largest solar panel manufacturer LONGi to explore investment opportunities in Egypt’s green hydrogen and solar sectors. The Chinese firm said it is looking to establish a green hydrogen plant, an electrolyzer factory, and a solar panel manufacturing facility with a 50 GW cell capacity to power its proposed green fuels project.

DANGER ZONE-

Iraq’s water reserves are in dire straits: Iraq’s reservoir capacities are at the their lowest levels in decades — half of levels recorded in 2018 — as neighboring Iran and Turkey continue to hike domestic flows from local dams on the Tigris, Euphrates, and other waterway channels, the country’s Water Resources Minister Oun Thiab said, according to Bloomberg.

REMEMBER- Iraq’s water crisis has been ongoing for decades: Iran and Turkey have built dams in recent years that have affected water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which account for 98% of Iraq’s surface water. The water supply of Iraq — the fifth most climate-vulnerable country in the world — has been in decline for decades, with water flows from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers decreasing by an estimated 30-40% over a 40-year period ending in 2018. In 2021, the country saw record low rainfall, resulting in its second driest season in four decades. As of May this year, river levels had seen a 60% y-o-y decline.

Mns needed to combat Iraq’s water scarcity: The country needs USDmns to combat desertification and is looking to raise some USD 100 mn to launch reforestation efforts and bolster food security. Iraq will only be able to meet 15% of its water demands by 2035 if current trends continue, the UN warned in May.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Qatar will host The International Conference on Smart Grid and Renewable Energy is kicking off Tuesday, 9 January through to Friday, 12 January in Doha. The conference will explore the importance of the smart grid and renewable energy resources and the viability of various related technologies. It will also host discussions on power electronics, controls, manufacturing, communications and computational intelligence.

Saudi Arabia will host the Future Minerals Forum from Tuesday, 9 January through to Thursday, 11 January in Riyadh. The event will bring nations and private sectors together to enable the creation of resilient mineral value chains in the resource rich regions of Africa, Western Asia, and Central Asia. The forum will hold a ministerial roundtable with over 60 countries being represented., and delegates will discuss global critical mineral strategies as well as an international exhibition with over 150 exhibitors and industry sponsors.

The UAE will host the Management and Sustainability of Water Resources Conference from Monday, 26 February to Wednesday 28 February in Dubai.The conference is set to address the importance of water resources availability in arid and semiarid regions and to discuss global water issues and address future water and environmental challenges.

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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