The UAE is planning to invest USD 40 bn in Italy, with a portion earmarked for renewable energy and critical minerals, according to a joint statement released on Monday. Over 40 agreements were signed at the meeting between UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

The green angle: The two countries — represented by governments and green energy companies — signed several investment agreements. The investment values for the agreements were not disclosed, but they cover:

#1- Green energy and interconnection projects: State-owned Italian financial group Sace signed an agreement with Amea Power to invest USD 250 mn in renewables, desalination, green ammonia, and green hydrogen, according to a statement. Sace will also provide USD 100 mn to Italy’s Metito Utilities for projects related to water supply, desalination, wastewater treatment, irrigation, and waste-to-energy projects in Africa, the UAE, and elsewhere, and to facilitate exports to the UAE, it said in a separate statement.

There’s more: Eni signed an agreement with Taqa Transmission and renewables giant Masdar to serve as the preferred off-taker for the tripartite renewables’ subsea cable project Italy and the Emirates inked with Albania last month. The project mainly targets imports of renewable energy across the Adriatic Sea.

ALSO- Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo signed an MoU with Masdar to partner on mergers and acquisitions in international renewable markets, according to a press release.

#2- Blue and green data centers: The two governments signed an MoU to collaborate on digital transformation, with investments in up to 2 GW worth of blue and green data centers highlighted as one of the main focuses, WAM reported on Monday. Italy’s energy major Eni also signed a letter of intent with Abu Dhabi’s AI fund MGX and state AI firm G42 to develop blue-powered data centers — using energy from Eni’s natural gas power plants whose CO2 emissions are captured and stored — with an initial 1 GW capacity in Italy.

#3- Critical minerals supply chains: The two governments signed a five-year MoU to collaborate in sustainable mining, covering exploration, extraction, processing, recycling, and workforce training. Italy’s Eni also signed a collaboration agreement with UAE’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ to develop both countries’ critical minerals supply chain, Eni said in a press release on Monday.

#4- Waste management: Waste management firms Beeah and Italy’s Greenthesis have signed a cooperation agreement to build the Middle East’s first polyethylene (PE) film recycling facility at Beeah’s waste management complex in Sharjah’s Al Sajaa Area, according to a press release. The pair will work through their joint venture, B&A Waste Management, which has already established several waste management projects in the UAE. The facility will convert PE film — a hard-to-recycle plastic used for packaging and labels — into a sustainable alternative to plywood for municipal and commercial use in green infrastructure. The facility will have the capacity to process over 7k tons of plastic waste per year.

IN OTHER INVESTMENT UPDATES REGIONALLY-

China’s Jetour mulls up to USD 18 bn EV investment in Oman: Chinese EV player JetourGlobal plans to invest in Oman’s EV sector, with initial assessments projecting a total investment of about OMR 6.9 bn (USD 18 bn), Times of Oman reported on Wednesday. The project — expected to be executed within two years of its official announcement — could create up to 10k jobs.

Oman’s latest on EVs: Omani Sur International Investment Group subsidiary EV Tech Oman has partnered with GO TO-U to provide smart EV charging and expand EV adoption in the Sultanate last month.

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