The second day of the World Future Energy Summit was another day of big announcements, unveilings, and discussions from a wide cross-section of industries.
Day two also marked the unveiling of the official COP28 logo by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The design, a sphere, contains light green illustrations of diverse icons, including renewable energy technologies, wildlife, and people, on a dark green background, reflective of COP28’s core message of a “COP for all” and its call to bring together the global north and south. Likewise, within the iconography is symbolism representing collaboration from all sectors to push forward sustainable innovation, aligning with COP28’s priority as a “COP for action.”
Speaking about the logo, COP28 President-Designate, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, emphasised the need to collaborate and cooperate “like never before,” which he said was central to making the transformational progress required to reach the Paris Agreement: “COP28 in the UAE will seek to find global consensus so that we can go further and faster and move from goals to getting it done,” said Al Jaber.
Another highlight was the ENOWA Enact conference, a new one-day event which featured panel discussions, interviews, and presentations on everything from green hydrogen to what’s required to develop a clean energy system at scale.
As the official media partner of the World Future Energy Summit, ESG Mena is on the ground for the three-day event. Here, you’ll find the latest insights into key forum announcements, technology exhibitions, and interviews with those leading change in the energy sector and innovating with regard to energy conservation and management.
Solar & Clean Energy Forum: MENA to become major electrolyser installer
Tuesday’s Solar & Clean Energy Forum began with presentations on:
● Net zero ambitions in energy,
● Managing the energy trilemma of cost, security and sustainability,
● Decarbonising the grid,
● CCS,
● Hydrogen, and
● The 10th MESIA Outlook Report.
The latter was delivered by Secretary General of the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA), Denisa Fainis, who presented an optimistic outlook on the MENA’s potential to become a green hydrogen production hub. Fainis outlined that if the region realised its production potential, it could see it account for 20% of global green hydrogen production.
The forum also featured panel discussions on hydrogen in its different colours and their place in the energy transition, the emergence and the importance of long-duration energy storage.
Exploring the future of hydrogen
Hydrogen is increasingly in the spotlight as global leaders explore the road to net zero, and it is certainly centre stage at WFES this year.
At Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), of which COP28 Chair Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is the CEO and Managing Director, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ThyssenKrupp Uhde to create new markets for hydrogen and promote global clean energy value chains. The two will work together to develop large-scale ammonia cracking plants with ThyssenKrupp technology. This MoU is in addition to ADNOC’s green hydrogen and renewable energy investments through Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).
Elsewhere, at the summit, Toyota showcased its hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) and a Fuel Cell Forklift developed by Toyota Industries Corporation. Toyota has been working on its hydrogen FCEV technology since 1992. Its latest iteration, seen in the Toyota Mirai, reportedly produces zero emissions while delivering the same performance as a traditionally-powered vehicle.
The Emirate’s sustainability and energy transition: DoE announces new policies and initiatives
At ADSW, the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE), as part of its participation in the event as Principal Partner, announced a series of new policies and initiatives, which it said demonstrated its efforts to create a “safe, dependable, and affordable energy transition.”
This included:
● The Barakah nuclear plant,
● Abu Dhabi’s Reverse Osmosis desalination projects,
● The Al Dhafra project,
● The Noor Abu Dhabi PV Solar Plant, and
● The Al Ajban solar project.
Data collaboration agreement to develop an advanced statistical ecosystem
On the 17th, it was announced that The Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) have signed a service agreement through which the two will cooperate in the field of data, organise statistical work, and achieve integration. The strategic plan outlined is to develop a statistical system to support decision-makers with accurate and effective statistics through a decentralised approach.
The agreement was signed by His Excellency Ahmed Mahmoud Fikry, Director General of the Center, and His Excellency Eng. Ahmed Mohamed Al Rumaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Energy in Abu Dhabi.
Collaboration to spark growth in the UAE startup arena
Masdar City announced its collaborative partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The collaboration seeks to empower startups to accelerate their growth through using AWS Activate. Further to this, Masdar City Free Zone startups may receive up to $100,000 worth of AWS Activate credits, in addition to AWS Support credits, accessing technical support and architectural guidance from AWS Cloud support engineers. Technical and business training will also be delivered by AWS experts.
Encouraging young people to tackle climate change effectively: SAP collaborations
During Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, SAP highlighted its work with the MENA youth and its aim to champion young voices to inspire a sustainable climate movement in the region. It announced that it will build on the success of its Climate Leaders program, in collaboration with Goodwall, scaling the program, and outlined plans to leverage opportunities arising from two successive COP meetings being held in MENA with ChangemakerXchange. It also highlighted SAP University Alliances, which aims to create a sustainable, digitally-focused regional workforce and spotlight technology’s contribution to sustainable development.
ESG Mena meets with Renaud Capris, CEO of Enova
ESG Mena’s Chief Editor, Fawzia Yassmina, spoke with Renaud Capris, CEO of Enova, a joint venture between Majid Al Futtaim and Veolia, to get his insights into the company’s evolution and current projects.
Speaking with Yassmina, Capris explained that in 2015, the company obtained ESCO certification, which is when it really began its journey to implement energy conservation measures in malls and hotels and integrate facility and energy management.
When discussing energy saving, Capris said that Enova, which is celebrating its 20th year in business, has achieved a 420,000 CO2 reduction to date. It now operates in 8 geographies in the Middle East, including:
● Saudi Arabia,
● Egypt,
● Bahrain,
● Qatar,
● Lebanon, and
● Turkey.
Capris went on to outline that the company now operates in international airports and tramlines, with transport becoming more of a core focus of Enova’s business operations.
Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General of IRENA, sits down with ESG Mena’s Chief Editor, Fawzia Yassmina
ESG Mena had the pleasure of meeting with Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), to discuss its participation in WFES this year. Singh explained that the event has seen the UAE Presidency of COP28 unveil ambitions and ideas around leadership regarding the COP28 agenda.
Further to this, Singh said that many had questions about what they would be delivered at COP28, and those questions have been answered to some degree. Singh explained that IRENA has been involved with the UAE in discussions about COP28 for around six months and said IRENA’s focus is on a decarbonisation industry alliance, bringing together the steel industry, technology providers, the cement industry and more, so they can clearly articulate their emission reduction ambitions.
Commenting on the UAE’s decarbonisation, Singh said IRENA has been part of the national consultations launched by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and has witnessed support from industry for this agenda. Furthermore, Singh said that COP28 is an opportunity to bring domestic players on board with the global agenda.
A look ahead
The 18th of January is the last day of the Summit, and will be a day full of interesting talks, discussions and exciting interviews. On Thursday 19th, we will also be on the ground attending the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum, hosted by ADGM in partnership with Masdar, interviewing a wide range of key executives. So, make sure to check in with ESG Mena for all the latest.