Saudi tech company DataVolt signed an agreement with Neom to develop a renewable energy-powered 1.5 GW data center in the Oxagon industrial complex, according to a statement published on Monday. An initial investment of some USD 5 bn is earmarked for the first phase, which is set to begin operations by 2028.

What we know: The project — expected to be fully powered by renewables — plans to deploy energy-efficient computing architectures and zero-emission cooling technologies, according to the statement.

Sound familiar? DataVolt said last year it plans to invest USD 5 bn in the sustainable data center sector in Saudi Arabia. A project with a USD 3.5 bn ticket was reportedly slated to begin development in 2Q 2025 and receive foreign investment via partnerships.

DataVolt’s global green plans: The Saudi-based tech company also agreed to develop up to500 MW of green data centers in Uzbekistan last year.

OTHER INVESTMENT WATCH UPDATES-

#1- Mubadala-backed eVTOL manufacturer Archer Aviation has raised USD 300 mn in a funding round from BlackRock-managed funds, bringing its total liquidity to USD 1 bn, according to a company press release published on Tuesday. The company will use the capital to invest in composites and batteries and expects it to help support the development of its hybrid aircraft platform.

REMEMBER- Archer has strong regional backing: International Holding Company’s investment subsidiary 2PointZero participated in Archer’s USD 430 mn funding round in December, along with returning investors United Airlines and Stellantis and new investors Wellington Management and Anduril. The company also raised some USD 1.1 bn from Mubadala Capital, United Airlines, Stellantis, and Boeing in 2023.

Archer is launching Abu Dhabi operations this year: The US-based company is “ready to launch” its midnight electric air taxis in Abu Dhabi this year between Zayed International Airport and central Abu Dhabi, Founder and CEO of Archer Adam Goldstein told The National on the sidelines of World Economic Forum in Davos. The midnight eVTOL, which has four passenger seats plus a pilot, is designed for short, urban trips and to cut down travel time from 30 minutes to just six or seven minutes.

The plan: The company intends to integrate its operations with existing helicopter flight paths and air traffic control systems rather than creating an entirely new system. Archer plans to scale up gradually, starting with a limited number of aircraft in early phases. The company is still awaiting regulatory approval, but it has already formed partnerships with some UAE entities including Etihad and Mubadala.

REFRESHER- Archer Aviation inked an agreement with Abu Dhabi-headquartered aviation services provider Falcon Aviation to develop a vertiport network across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

#2- Zurich-based Synhelion is looking to establish a USD 1 bn solar-powered synthetic fuel project in Morocco for USD 1 bn, the company’s CEO and co-founder Gianluca Ambrosetti told Asharq Business on Sunday. The project is expected to produce 100k tons of fuel annually and be funded by a combination of banking facilities and share sale proceeds, with the possibility of pursuing sovereign loans. No timeline was disclosed for the project.

About the tech: Synhelion uses previously studied gas-to-liquid technology, where it heats up synthetic gas or ‘syngas’ — a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide — via heliostats that convert solar energy to heat. The syngas mixture is converted to synthetic liquid fuels within a thermochemical reactor under extreme heat, according to Synhelion’s website.

About Synhelion: The Swiss firm specializes in the ‘sun-to-liquid’ method of using solar energy to yield sustainable fuels, namely: synthetic aviation fuels (SAFs), diesel, and gasoline. Synhelion implements reverse combustion where it can “recombine water vapor and CO2 into hydrocarbon fuels.” It aims to produce synthetic fuel for USD 1 per liter and become on par with leading fuels, Ambrosetti said. Synhelion inaugurated its Germany-based solar fuel plant industrial-scale solar fuel plant and partnered with Lufthansa to provide SAF last year.

#3- GCCIA + QDF sign USD 100 mn interconnection agreement: The Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) and the Qatar Development Fund have signed a USD 100 mn financing agreement to develop a direct grid connection project between the GCCIA network and Oman, Oman News Agency reported on Thursday. The total cost of the project is set to exceed USD 700 mn, and construction will begin in the second half of 2025, with commission planned for the first half of 2027.

About the interconnection: The partnership will construct two 530 km long 400 kV overhead transmission lines between the GCCIA’s Al Sila station in the UAE to Oman’s Ibri facility — which is being built by the council — as well as two 400 kV substations in Ibri and UAE’s Al Baynunah. There will also be a dynamic compensator station to ensure grid stability and increase transmission capacity, which is expected to be 1.7 GW with a net transfer capacity of 1.2 GW.

We knew this was coming: Oman’s Power and Water Procurement Company (Nama) completed an evaluation study for the project in August 2023. The price tag was not disclosed at the time.

#4- Oman seeks investments in agri-solar project: The Omani government’s investment arm Invest Oman is opening up a new OMR 61.5 mn (c. USD 159.7 mn) agri-solar project to investments, according to a statement from Tuesday. The solar power generation capacity was not disclosed.

About the project: The commercial-scale agri-solar project will be located on a plot of 300 acres and use aquaponics technology supplied by Singaporean agriculture solutions firm V-Plus Agritech. The project is reportedly designed as an agri-solar park where arable land can be cultivated from under or next to solar panels to optimize land usage through a process called agri-voltaics, Oman Daily Observer reported.

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