{"id":85704,"date":"2024-07-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/07\/30\/today-a-new-uae-graphene-facility-masdar-has-more-acquisitions-coming\/"},"modified":"2024-07-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T00:00:00","slug":"today-a-new-uae-graphene-facility-masdar-has-more-acquisitions-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/07\/30\/today-a-new-uae-graphene-facility-masdar-has-more-acquisitions-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY: A new UAE graphene facility + Masdar has more acquisitions coming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, folks. <\/strong>The news cycle has slowed considerably as we hit mid-week with a smattering of news coming in the UAE and Egypt, but first, a wastewater update from the Olympics\u2026<\/p>\n

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- The Seine is too polluted for Olympic athletes: <\/strong>The men's triathlon at the Paris Olympics has been postponed to tomorrow after pollution levels in the Seine remain too high. Heavy rains over the weekend dirtied the river, potentially increasing the concentrations of bacteria like E. coli and enterococci. Paris spent EUR 1.4 bn on wastewater infrastructure to make the Seine a centerpiece of the games and clean up spillage into the river. The men's and women's races, scheduled for tomorrow, could be further postponed to Friday, the contingency day reserved for the events.<\/p>\n

The athletes themselves don\u2019t seem to care: <\/strong>\u201cI'd swim in anything to try and get a medal,\" Australian triathlete Matt Hauser told the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the games<\/a> earlier this year. The story grabbed ink in <\/strong>Reuters<\/a><\/strong>, <\/strong>CNN<\/a><\/strong>, <\/strong>The Independent<\/a><\/strong>, NBC News<\/a><\/strong> as we head for dispatch.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a>#1- Masdar\u2019s acquisition hunt isn\u2019t slowing down: <\/strong>UAE renewable giant Masdar is expanding its focus on Europe's green energy sector with the continent set to be a crucial part of its plan to reach its 100 GW target capacity by 2030, its CFO Mazin Khan told Reuters<\/a>. \"We're not solely looking at them to add gigawatts to our portfolio... We're also putting a lot of emphasis on future pipelines and how we are effectively going to use those acquisitions to further expand within the region,\" Khan said.<\/p>\n

Just the start of a wider plan for Europe: <\/strong>The acquisition of a stake in Endesa\u2019s portfolio is just the start of Masdar\u2019s ambitious plan for Europe, Khan said. His statements come days<\/a> after Masdar secured a transaction that would see it acquire a 50% stake in Spanish power firm Endesa\u2019s solar power installations subsidiary EPGE Solar for AED 3.3 bn (c. EUR 818 mn). The acquisition will make Masdar a partner in 2.5 GW of renewable energy assets in Spain with the transaction set to close in 4Q 2024. <\/p>\n

And there\u2019s more to come:<\/strong> Masdar also signed an MoU with Endesa to potentially develop an additional 3 GW of solar capacity, Khan said, without providing further details.<\/p>\n

<\/a>#2- Egypt could tap into floating solar power: <\/strong>Egypt plans to develop floating solar power plants to raise its power generation capacity and improve grid stability, Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat said in a statement<\/a>. The ministry is also moving forward with the planned 2.4 GW Attaqa Mountain pumped storage power plant<\/a> in Suez. The USD 2.7 bn hydroelectric power plant will be the first in the country to generate electricity using water storage and pumping during peak periods.<\/p>\n

The ministry has more plans up its sleeves: <\/strong>It also plans to implement energy storage systems to optimize the use of renewable energy during peak times and reduce operational costs, according to the statement.<\/p>\n

IN OTHER EGYPT NEWS- <\/strong>More investments from Enara?<\/strong> Cairo-based renewables player Enara Group is looking to invest some USD 100 mn in Egypt\u2019s local renewable energy sector through 2027, CEO Sherif El Gabaly told Al Borsa<\/a>. The company plans to increase investments in existing organic and biofuel companies. <\/p>\n

ICYMI-<\/strong> Enara Group plans to dual list<\/a> on the EGX and a Gulf exchange next year, El Gabaly said in May, without providing further details. The company is currently being restructured ahead of the listing and in the process of selecting an investment bank to manage the listing.<\/p>\n

<\/a>#3- COP29 host <\/strong>Azerbaijan\u2019s gas flaring activity hit a decade high last year<\/strong>, the Financial Times<\/a> reports, citing analysis by campaign group Global Witness. Using satellite data, Global Witness found that the volume of gas flared at oil and gas facilities increased by 10.5% since 2018\u2014 the last year Azerbaijan reported its emissions. The rising practice was mainly concentrated at several installations operated or run by British oil giant BP and state-owned oil company Socar despite \u201cnumerous pledges\u201d by both firms to stop the activity by the end of the decade. The practice in Azerbaijan had \u201cgone largely unnoticed\u201d because it \u201chasn\u2019t bothered to report its emissions in six years\u201d, Patrick Galey, a senior investigator at Global Witness, said.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER- Azerbaijan has faced criticism for hosting COP29: <\/strong>There has been widespread criticism<\/a> over Azerbaijan being chosen to host COP29 as a country dependent on oil production. Some 90% of Azerbaijan\u2019s export revenues, and between 30-50% of its GDP come from its oil and gas sector. BP and other oil giants have also been investing in the country, transferring some USD 35 bn worth of oil and gas production to Azerbaijan since 2020, according to Global Witness<\/a>. <\/p>\n

#4- Another global initiative to scale up climate finance: <\/strong>The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) announced a \u201cstrategic cooperation\u201d with the Global Climate Finance Center<\/a> to accelerate climate finance and renewable energy initiatives globally, Wam<\/a> reports. The partnership aims to improve the scale, accessibility, and affordability of climate finance especially in regions lacking adequate financial resources. No further details were provided.<\/p>\n

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THE ENTERPRISE FINANCE FORUM- <\/p>\n

Are you planning to be in Egypt on 24 September? <\/strong>You may be interested in attending our 2024 Enterprise Finance Forum. Seating is strictly limited at our flagship, invitation-only forum for C-suite executives and other senior leaders. <\/p>\n

Why attend? We\u2019re in the early days of a generational realignment of power in our <\/strong>industry<\/strong> \u2014 in our region and beyond \u2014 and on the cusp of the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth the world has ever seen<\/strong>. With that as the backdrop, we\u2019re going to take stock of where we stand six months after the float of the EGP and ask what\u2019s next for finance in Egypt and the wider region. Among the questions we\u2019ll be asking:<\/p>\n