{"id":85817,"date":"2024-08-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/08\/05\/today-green-hydrogen-news-from-masdar-and-oman-lots-of-ebrd-updates\/"},"modified":"2024-08-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T00:00:00","slug":"today-green-hydrogen-news-from-masdar-and-oman-lots-of-ebrd-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/08\/05\/today-green-hydrogen-news-from-masdar-and-oman-lots-of-ebrd-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY: Green hydrogen news from Masdar and Oman + Lots of EBRD updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, folks. <\/strong>It\u2019s a busy start to the week with a pile of green hydrogen news, debt and investment updates, and earnings release from the region\u2019s biggest industry players. Let\u2019s get the ball rolling, but first\u2026 <\/p>\n

EDITOR'S NOTE: <\/strong>We extend our apologies to our friends at Infinity Power and HSBC for a technical error that resulted in EnterpriseAM Climate landing in inboxes last Thursday with the incorrect masthead. <\/p>\n

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- <\/strong>Storm <\/strong>Debby is heading to <\/strong>Florida as Category 1 Hurricane: <\/strong>Tropical Storm Debby, which formed north of Cuba, is intensifying and is expected to become a hurricane as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida. Debby was located about 65 miles (104.6 kms) west-northwest of Dry Tortugas National Park and 230 miles (370.1 kms) south-southwest of Tampa city, moving northwest at 14 m\/h (22.5 kms\/h) with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72.4 kms\/h) early on Sunday. The National Hurricane Center<\/a> has issued hurricane warnings for parts of Florida\u2019s coast and tropical storm warnings for the Florida Keys area. The storm brought heavy rain and coastal flooding to much of Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast yesterday, and will potentially make landfall as a hurricane today as it crosses over northern Florida into the Atlantic Ocean. The significant rainfall \u2014 which experts say is intensified as a result of climate change \u2014 could lead to flash and urban flooding, bringing risk of injury and casualties.<\/p>\n

The story grabbed a lot of ink in the international press:<\/strong> AP<\/a> | Reuters<\/a> | Bloomberg<\/a> | CNN<\/a> | The New York Times<\/a> | The Washington Post<\/a> | The Independent<\/a> <\/p>\n

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WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a>#1- <\/strong>Another <\/strong>step for Amea Power\u2019s Mozambique solar plant: <\/strong>The UAE\u2019s Amea Power is holding a two-day public consultation for its 125 MW Matambo solar plant<\/a> in Mozambique from Thursday, Mozambique 360<\/a> reported on Friday, citing Portuguese news agency Luca<\/a>. The project \u2014 which will be located in Tete province and cost USD 150 mn \u2014 will be established in partnership with Mozambique\u2019s Banco Nacional de Investimento<\/a> and will be directly connected to the Electricidade de Mo\u00e7ambique<\/a> substation. The project \u2014 signed on the sidelines of COP28 in the UAE last year \u2014 will be able to power 150k homes, offsetting around 233k tons of CO2 annually. <\/p>\n

<\/a>#2- KSA\u2019s Sipchem set to complete FEED activities for blue ammonia project next <\/strong>year: <\/strong>Sahara International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) said it expects to complete Front End Engineering Design (FEED) activities for its blue ammonia project by 1Q 2025, according to its 2Q 2024 earnings call (pdf)<\/a> last week. The petrochemicals manufacturer received approval<\/a> from Saudi\u2019s Energy Ministry to allocate feedstock to build the plant in September last year.<\/p>\n

About the plant: <\/strong>The low-carbon blue ammonia facility in Jubail Industrial City will have a capacity of 1.2 mn tons per year. Sipchem said last year that it plans to \u201cutilize the most efficient energy and feedstock technologies for the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>#3- More green bonds are being lined up in Egypt: <\/strong>Local banks in Egypt are gearing up to issue green bonds between this month and September, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) managing director for the SEMED region Heike Harmgart told Al Mal<\/a>, adding that the multilateral lender plans to invest in them. <\/p>\n

Remember: <\/strong>The EBRD in 2022 snapped up<\/a> USD 100 mn worth of Scatec\u2019s USD 334.5 mn green bond issuance to refinance its six solar plants<\/a> in Benban.<\/p>\n

An update on our long-awaited green hydrogen strategy: <\/strong>It will be launched this month, Harmgart says Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly told her. The EBRD is also in talks with the government to implement the next phase of the strategy, she added. <\/p>\n

IN OTHER EGYPT NEWS- Egyptera to hike EV charging fees:<\/strong> The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (Egyptera) is set to announce new pricing for electric vehicle charging within a month, Al Arabiya<\/a> reports, citing unnamed sources from EV charging companies. EV charging companies are asking for an increase of over 42% from the current rates, which have been in effect since February 2022.<\/p>\n

The rationale:<\/strong> EV charging companies have been pushing for a price hike, citing rising investment costs for charging stations and the impact of the EGP float. The current fees are also causing financial strain on electricity companies, as the subsidized electricity supply price for charging companies of EGP 1.21 per KWh is significantly lower than the production cost of EGP 2.2 per KWh.<\/p>\n

#4- <\/strong>Tunisia is planning to develop <\/strong>a 2050 water strategy worth USD 23 bn to combat drought and water scarcity<\/strong>, Tunisiasn Economy and Planning Minister Feryel Ouerghi told a plenary session<\/a> of the Assembly of People\u2019s Representatives (ARP) last week. The strategy will include the construction of seawater desalination plants and wastewater recycling facilities for irrigation use. It will also provide water saving equipment to agricultural areas to increase the use of treated water for irrigation to 17% and surface water resources to 95% by 2025. <\/p>\n

#5- BYD eyes Canadian market despite waved threat of tariffs: <\/strong>Chinese automaker BYD is planning to enter the Canadian market despite the government considering imposing additional tariffs on Chinese EV imports, Bloomberg<\/a> reported last week. BYD lobbyists filed notice<\/a> with Canada\u2019s federal registry to \u201cadvise the government of Canada on matters related to the expected market entry of BYD into Canada for the sale of passenger electric vehicles, and the establishment of a new business, and the application of tariffs on EVs.\u201d <\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s stance: <\/strong>Canada\u2019s month-long talks deliberating Chinese EV import restrictions came to an end on Thursday. The consultation began due to worries by the domestic auto industry of Chinese competition. Canada\u2019s auto supply chain is closely tied to that of the US which leaves Canada with few options other than to align with the tariffs the Biden Administration had imposed. <\/p>\n

MEANWHILE- The US is continuing its trade war with China with a block on subsidies: <\/strong>US lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would block Chinese solar panel manufacturers from receiving subsidies for their US facilities, Reuters<\/a> reported. The act \u2014 dubbed the American Tax USD for American Solar Manufacturing Act \u2014 comes just as Chinese companies set up factories in the US with support from US President Joe Biden\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act which was introduced in 2022. <\/p>\n

REMEMBER- The West has been cracking down on Chinese EV imports: <\/strong>The US went on the offensive in the brewing trade war with China by announcing in May a slew of tariffs<\/a> on Chinese imports. Tariffs on Chinese EVs quadrupled to 100%, those on lithium-ion EV batteries to more than triple to 25%, those on solar cells to double to 50%. Europe followed suit<\/a> with tariffs of 17.4% to 37.6% on Chinese electric vehicle imports last month. <\/p>\n

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THE SCORECARD- <\/p>\n

#1-<\/strong> The UAE<\/strong> was the second biggest issuer of ESG sukuk in 1H 2024<\/strong>, accounting for 33.8% of issuances and trailing only behind Saudi Arabia, which took to market 43% of issuances, according to the latest report<\/a> by Fitch Ratings. <\/p>\n

The global stocktake: <\/strong>Outstanding global ESG sukuk surged 41% y-o-y to USD 43 bn in 1H 2024,The GCC region accounted for 43% of issuances, with USD 18.5 bn in outstanding ESG sukuk. <\/p>\n

More issuances incoming: <\/strong>Qatar Central Bank\u2019s new ESG and sustainability strategy, coupled with existing frameworks in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Malaysia, is expected to further ramp up ESG debt markets. The promising medium-term potential for ESG debt issuance is fuelled by governments\u2019 increasing commitment to sustainability, and issuers\u2019 aims to meet ESG mandates and funding diversification plans,\u201d Bashar Al Natoor, Global Head of Islamic Finance at Fitch Ratings said.<\/p>\n

#2- The National Bank of Kuwait\u2019s <\/strong>(NBK) sustainable assets hit USD 3.65 bn in 2023, representing over 36% of its USD 10 bn by 2030 target<\/strong>, according to a recently released sustainability report (pdf)<\/a>. This includes investments in renewable energy, clean transport, green buildings, and sustainable water management. <\/p>\n

Lessening its environmental impact: <\/strong>The bank reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 10.43% and saw a 5.75% decline in electricity consumption y-o-y. NBK also implemented Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) in 22 branches and approved the installation of solar panels in 24 branches by 2025. They recycled 99.25 metric tons of paper, saving 1.69k trees, 407k kWh of energy, and 695k gallons of water in the same period.<\/p>\n

NBK adopted a sustainable business model: <\/strong>The bank established an ESG governance framework in efforts to integrate climate-related matters into its risk management approach. In addition, 70% of NBK\u2019s suppliers were local, and 84% of procurement spending was directed towards local procurement, which in the long term reduces emissions from transporting imported products. <\/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