Nuclear was the theme of the day at COP28 yesterday:The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) — co-developer of the 5.6 GW Barakah Nuclear Plant — inked agreements with several firms widening its foothold in the industry, and Masdar continued building its international portfolio.

NUCLEAR-

ENEC and Bill Gates’ TerraPower partner on nuclear development: ENEC signed an MoU with Bill Gates’ nuclear technologies company TerraPower to explore the use of the latter’s Natrium advanced atomic reactors in the UAE and abroad, Wam reports.

What’s so special about these reactors? Terra Power’s Natrium has a 345 MW electric (MWe) sodium nuclear reactor. The technology is combined with thermal molten salt energy storage that allows the reactor’s capacity to reach 500 MWe for more than five hours, the company explains. For the small reactors, the thermal storage system enables power consumers to take advantage of peaking power windows driven by fluctuations in renewables. TerraPower is working on a pilot project — set to be launched in 2030 — that will use Natrium to retire a coal plant in Wyoming.

For the UAE and beyond: Enec and TerraPower will first collaborate on technical design and study commercial viability of the reactor in the UAE and US, assessing the technology’s applications in nuclear, hydrogen, and green molecule production. Both sides will also partner on engineering, workforce, and supply chain development, with hopes of later expanding further into the Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinental regions, Wam notes. Enec would commercialize the Natrium tech regionally under licensing agreements with TerraPower under the US–UAE PACE program.

IN OTHER ENEC NEWS-

The company is also partnering with GE Hitachi: ENEC signed an MoU with GE Hitachi to explore investment in Small Modular Reactor technology to boost the use of nuclear energy in the UAE, Wam reports. In September, GE Hitachi provided ENEC with an enabling framework for developing small modular reactors based on its Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 SMR technology, as part of an agreement with Orlen Synthos Green Energy.

And has agreed to source some of its uranium from Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan's National Atomic Company (NAC) Kazatomprom signed an agreement with ENEC to supply uranium fuel for the latter’s Barakah nuclear energy plant, Wam reports. This marks the first commercial uranium fuel supply contract for the UAE company. Kazakhstan is the world's largest uranium producer, producing 40% of the world's uranium supplies.

MASDAR’S SWEEP CONTINUES-

Masdar is making a hydropower debut in Kyrgyzstan: Masdar and France's EDF signed an agreement with Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Energy to establish 3.6 GW of hydropower and renewable energy projects, according to a statement. The agreement marks Masdar's debut in the hydropower sector and builds on Masdar's previous agreement with Kyrgyzstan's energy ministry to develop up to 1 GW of clean energy projects in the Central Asian country.

There’s also a European portfolio expansion happening: Masdar and Finnish renewable energy developer and fund manager Taaleri Energia acquired eight hybrid renewable energy projects totaling 1 GW from Polish renewable energy developer Domrel, according to a statement. The projects include both solar and onshore wind farms expected to come online between 2026 and 2030.

GREEN HYDROGEN-

Bee’ah debuts plans for waste-to-hydrogen plant: Waste management company Bee’ah has signed a joint development agreement with US- and UK-based waste-to-energy focused tech company Chinook Sciences and Japanese gas conglomerate Air Water to develop a waste-to-hydrogen plant in Sharjah, Wam reports. The plant will be the first of its kind in MENA, producing 18k kg per day. The proposed timeframe for the project was not disclosed.

A successful pilot: The agreement builds on a demonstration plant run by the companies, which successfully processed organic waste — including municipal solid waste, non-recyclable plastics, and wood waste — into green hydrogen. The green fuel produced will be used for hydrogen-powered fuel cells made by Toyota, the news outlet added. The fuel cells — called PEM fuel cells — are being developed primarily for a fleet of large trucks and buses.

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