Good morning, friends. The news cycle is slowing down a bit in a mid-week slump, but we have some interesting features this morning from flood proofing your house to how b’naires intend to hold on to their private jet access.
WATCH THIS SPACE-
#1- We have more details on Egypt’s latest EV venture with China: GV Investments’ automotive arm GV Auto will start locally manufacturing Chinese state-owned auto manufacturer Faw Group’s cheapest EV model in 1Q 2025, GV Investments chairman Sherif Hamouda told Bloomberg. The manufacturing facilities — which will be scaled up over the next three to five years — will require up to USD 20 mn in investment, Hamouda said, adding that the EVs will be exported to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America.
About the Bestune E05: The Bestun E05 is one of the lowest priced EVs in the world and is typically used for taxi services, Bloomberg writes. It has an all-electric 136-horsepower, 300 newton meters of torque, 55 kW per hour battery, and a 100 kW electric engine, according to its website. The car has a charging range of 420 km on a single charge.
REMEMBER- GV Auto + Faw signed the agreement earlier this month: GV Auto signed a partnership agreement with Chinese state-owned Faw Group to locally manufacture, assemble, market, distribute, and export EVs earlier this month. The partnership will be backed up with an initial investment of EPG 3 bn. Locally assembled EVs from the partnership should start rolling out by the beginning of next year. The two companies will use existing factories to assemble the vehicles which will eventually have a 65% local component quota.
#2- Tunisia + TotalEnergies to partner on green hydrogen production: Tunisia’s Ministry of Energy and France’s energy giant TotalEnergies are scheduled to sign an MoU to produce green hydrogen in Tunisia’s desert, the Tunisian Telegraph reported. The agreement is expected to be signed during Director of Exploration and Production for the Middle East and North Africa Stéphane Michel’s visit to Tunisia which kicked off yesterday.
Tunisia is behind on rolling out legislation to incentivise hydrogen production: Members of one of Tunisia’s political parties submitted a law proposal in parliament aimed at encouraging green hydrogen production and its derivatives in the country, with a suggested tax framework to spur investment in the sector, the news outlet added. The Industry, Trade, Natural Resources, Energy, and Environment Committee will deliberate the proposal soon along with the Finance, and Strategic Planning Committee.
#3- MENA hydrogen exports have the potential to reach 60 mn tons annually by 2050, according to a study published in The Clean Hydrogen Economy and Saudi Arabia. A large proportion of international hydrogen trade in the coming years will be in the form of ammonia which acts as an energy carrier that is easier and safer to transport than hydrogen gas.
The region could be in the lead in the global hydrogen race: Hydrogen exports from the region will amount to 58% of total hydrogen imports globally and 11% of the global demand, the study predicts. Despite reaching around 7.2 exajoules of hydrogen exports, crude oil exports are still expected to lead, the study concluded.
What would it take? The region would need to increase hydrogen production to 96 mn tons annually and develop 0.3 GW of carbon storage infrastructure. It would also need 232 GW of electrolysis capacity and a minimum of 490 GW of renewables capacity.
But there’s still a long way to go: The region’s share of the total renewable capacity installed globally has been stagnant at 4% — 1.5% if hydropower is excluded, according to the study. Countries would have to expand their renewables roll out by around 35 times greater than the 14 GW installed as of 2021, which also excludes hydroelectric power.
DANGER ZONE-
Bad weather raises concerns over rising food prices: As bad weather — droughts, frosts, rain — affects the supply of major crops, worries about higher commodity prices are rising significantly, Bloomberg reports. The top exporter Russia has been experiencing harvest limitations furthering the gains, associate director of sustainable and agricultural economics at Commonwealth Bank of Australia said, adding that “more downgrades are likely in the next couple of weeks.” The crops have not yet hit a peak, but prices on everything from wheat to coffee are likely to remain higher due to more extreme weather patterns, HSBC’s chief economist for global commodities added.
But commodity indexes are the only ones to gain: Nine farm commodities have turned higher on the year and are headed for the largest weekly gain since July on the back of rising prices which boost supplier revenues, Bloomberg writes. An index of major crops was able to “wipe out its 2024 losses” as a result of the increasing crop prices.
Which commodities are affected? The components of the index include Robusta coffee which are headed for a roughly 9% weekly gain — the biggest since last December — as dry weather in key producer Vietnam continues to cause deficits. Orange juice set an index record Friday on the back of the climate change-driven deteriorating Brazilian harvest. Asian rice prices to the cusp of a 15-year high. Cocoa futures in New York are poised for a weekly gain of almost 12%.
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Egypt will host the Energy & Storage Live MENA conference, from Wednesday, 29 May to Thursday, 30 May in Cairo. The event will gather industry stakeholders in utilities, independent power producers, financiers, government bodies, regulators, distributors, contractors, and more to shape the future of the region’s energy sector.
The UAE will host the Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East event from Tuesday, 4 June to Wednesday, 5 June in Dubai. Billed as the Middle East's largest corporate and investment banking event, it serves as a key meeting point for those active in the region's capital markets. Over 1.4k governments, corporates, investors, banks, law firms, regulators and service providers as well as more than 75 expert speakers will be in attendance.
Turkey will host the International Conference on European Energy Market, from Monday, 10 June to Wednesday, 12 June in Istanbul. The three-day event will gather experts from scientific, industry, and policy sectors for discussions on various energy market-related topics. The conference covers themes including energy modeling, market design, regulatory policies, and climate change.
Morocco will host the Morocco Energy Week Summit, from Tuesday, 11 June to Thursday, 12 June in Marrakech. The event will gather Morocco's leading energy players, companies and developers alongside financiers and implementation experts to discuss the country’s green transition.
Spain will host the Connecting Green Hydrogen Europe conference, from Tuesday, 25 June to Thursday, 27 June in Madrid. The event will see around 5k attendees including industry leaders, energy ministers, and executives to explore solutions, new technologies, and transformative advancements to advance the hydrogen industry.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.


