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green energy

Mercedes-Benz Energy, Lohum join hands for powering battery sustainability

by Mohammad Ghazal 2 years ago

written by Mohammad Ghazal

Mercedes-Benz Energy and Lohum have announced a strategic partnership through a multi-year supply contract agreement for second-life batteries. Lohum is Mercedes-Benz Energy’s first partner in Asia as both companies continue to push sustainability across the battery supply chain. This agreement includes Mercedes-Benz Energy and Lohum committing to a minimum offtake schedule of 50MWh per annum across multiple 2nd life module variants.

Mercedes-Benz Energy and Lohum have been working together for nearly two years. The agreement will enable Lohum to secure high volumes of second-use battery modules from Mercedes-Benz Energy. Lohum develops 2nd life applications primarily focused on the Indian stationary and non-auto mobility storage markets. Mobility applications include low-power applications such as the electric rickshaw and stationary applications range from small 6KWh batteries to larger 1MWh storage systems.

“Lohum is thinking about 2nd life in a very different way than most companies,” said Gordon Gassman, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Energy. “Theirs is a truly long-term focus with a keen understanding that one of the biggest challenges for 2nd life is the unpredictability of feedstock supply and composition. Lohum is developing expertise and applications across multiple module variants to create a long-term supply funnel. This flexibility and model unlocks value for both parties and defines the innovation and reliability we seek in strategic partnerships.”

“Mercedes-Benz Energy’s model for approaching 2nd life is the most advanced we have seen by far,” said Justin Lemmon, Co-founder and Head of International Operations of Lohum. “In addition to their willingness to regularly test new opportunities for collaboration, they are creating infrastructure and capabilities to maximise sustainability and value for used inventory. The organisation possesses deep product knowledge matched by an industry-shaping sales and logistics team. 2nd life remains very nascent and Mercedes-Benz Energy’s creativity, process and commitment to safety has helped us expand our business significantly.”

In addition, once these 2nd life modules reach end of life, Lohum offers a buy-back guarantee to recycle them through its hydromet plant. Both companies believe that wherever it is possible, 2nd life combined with recycling offers the best solution for sustainability and value creation over the long term.

Mercedes-Benz Energy has access to used inventory across the globe. With Lohum’s current footprint in Asia combined with its entrance into the US market, the companies continue to evaluate new collaboration opportunities across regions.

2 years ago 0 comments

Ducab Group supplies sustainable energy solutions to Gulf of Suez project in Egypt

by Mohammad Ghazal 2 years ago

written by Mohammad Ghazal

Ducab Group—one of the UAE’s largest industrial manufacturing businesses—is supplying 633 kilometres of medium voltage and earthing cable to a new Egyptian 70-turbine windfarm.

The Gulf of Suez project, for Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority will play a key role in the country’s commitment to generate 42 percent of all electricity from renewable energy by 2035 and save around a 600,000 tonnes of CO2 every year.

The move will further reinforce the strong industrial partnership between the UAE and Egypt, according to WAM news agency.

One of the largest developed utility scale wind power plants in Egypt, the project will contribute 250MW of renewable energy generation to the country’s energy mix from the 70 turbines being installed in an area of 57 Km2.

For the project, Ducab has partnered with Vestas, EPC contractor and supplier of the 70 wind turbines.

“We are committed to supporting countries achieve their sustainability ambitions and our solutions are in high demand for solar and wind power projects around the world,” Group CEO of Ducab, Mohammed Almutawa, said.

“Ducab already supplies solutions to landmark renewable energy infrastructure in 55 countries, but we are proud that demand for our expertise, experience and quality solutions is experiencing significant growth as more and more countries, such as Egypt, decarbonise and transition to renewables,” he added.

In addition to the Gulf of Suez windfarm, Ducab has provided solutions for a wide range of milestone renewable energy projects in the Middle East including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the Shams 1 project and the Al Barakah nuclear plant in the UAE.

The company has also initiated renewable energy projects across 55 countries and in April this year announced its first solar park partnership in Mexico.

As an Emirati brand, Ducab is proudly aligned with ‘Operation 300bn’, the UAE’s national strategy to increase the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP from US$36.23 billion to US$81.74 billion by 2031.

2 years ago 0 comments

Environment Latest News

Dubai Municipality clears waste in record time after New Year’s celebrations

by Mohammad Ghazal 2 years ago

written by Mohammad Ghazal

Dubai Municipality announced the removal of all the waste that it collected from the sites of New Year celebrations in the Emirate of Dubai.

It also carried out almost 90 inspection and monitoring visits to ensure that the organisers of the accompanying events adhere to health and safety and food safety standards.

The Municipality teams completed field cleaning operations in record time before six in the morning, using more than 114 equipment.

The Municipality’s cleaning teams, which conducted the cleaning operations in coordination with private sector companies, comprised 2,241 workers, 166 supervisors, and 189 volunteers.

The Municipality dealt with the waste originated from the fireworks and New Year shows, in addition to completing the general cleanup operations as part of its efforts to protect the cultural and aesthetic appearance of the Emirate of Dubai.

The teams also monitored the events accompanying the celebrations in 43 locations of the emirate, in order to ensure their compliance with health and safety requirements and food safety standards, through a team of 84 employees and supervisors, in addition to 32 observers at the Burj Khalifa celebration site.

The Dubai Frame celebration site of Dubai Municipality attracted nearly 20,000 visitors, who celebrated the beginning of the New Year, and the celebrations included the display of distinctive paintings.

2 years ago 0 comments

Special Reports

Saudi Industrial Development Fund launches special report covering its 4th Private Sector Enablement Event

by Mohammad Ghazal 2 years ago

written by Mohammad Ghazal

The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) has recently released a special report that covers its “4th Private Sector Enablement Event” and highlights several new programmes, services and projects.

Titled ““Differentiate through Enablement”, the report explores new programmes the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources’ Local Industry Stimulation Initiative (LISI), the SIDF Investment Company, initiatives for Saudi small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), new products and services and insights from experts and industry leaders.

It highlights the Competitive Accelerator Pathway, which falls under the umbrella of “Future Factories” initiative to finance technological innovation in automation and digitization, incentivising factories to adopt new technologies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The report sheds light on a series of legislative and financial initiatives to stimulate the industry and enhance competitiveness.

The report was launched during an event held under the patronage of H.E. the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Chairman of SIDF Board, Mr. Bandar Ibrahim Alkhorayef, and in the presence several excellences, government officials, private sector leaders, and investors in sectors of industry, energy, and mining and logistics.

Click here to read the full report.

2 years ago 0 comments

Sharjah Sustainable City — an abode of eco-friendly living

by Mohammad Ghazal 2 years ago

written by Mohammad Ghazal

The Sharjah Sustainable City — the first sustainable master-planned community developed by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) in partnership with Diamond Developers – has announced that the year 2022 was a year of milestones following an overwhelming response to the city’s movement toward a sustainable way of life.

Over the past year, the city’s first two phases, including 604 spacious and modern villas, have been entirely sold out, and it also launched the third phase comprising 324 villas. The phase 1 handover has been completed, with handovers of phase 2 and phase 3 expected to take place in 2023 and 2024, respectively, according to the developers.

One of the city’s most significant milestones of 2022 was the handover of the first villas to homeowners, marking the city’s transition from a real estate project into an active community. Over 110 families have moved in and started enjoying their new sustainable homes and the many benefits they offer – both environmental and economical.

In his message, Mr. Yousif Ahmed Al-Mutawa, Chief Executive Officer of Sharjah Sustainable City, said: “As we look toward the new year, it gives me immense pleasure to see the enormous progress we have made at Sharjah Sustainable City – bringing us ever closer to becoming the first eco-friendly city in the heart of Sharjah. We have achieved a great deal over the past 12 months, and this would not have been possible without the support of our partners, our staff members, our workers, and of course, our home buyers. I thank each of them for supporting us in our journey toward realising a sustainable world where we can all live in harmony with nature and ensure a bright future for the generations to come.”

Extended over an area of 7.2 million square feet in Sharjah’s Al Rahmaniya area, Sharjah Sustainable City is a leading eco-friendly residential community, promoting a lifestyle that is compatible with the future. With a total of 1,250 sustainable villas, the city is divided into blocks of three-, four- and five-bedroom properties ranging between 2,035 square feet and 3,818 square feet in a built-up area.

The development is in line with national efforts related to the food-energy-water nexus as it provides practical solutions related to food security, water and energy management, as well as natural resources conservation.

The city is equipped with renewable energy produced from rooftop solar panels and built with sustainable materials and passive designs that reduce utility bills and operational costs. As a result, residents can save up to 50% on water and electricity bills. On top of that, the city offers zero service fees for the first five years, as well as complimentary energy-efficient kitchen appliances and smart home features.

Sharjah Sustainable City also offers a host of other key amenities such as parks, gyms, a swimming pool, a shopping centre, walking/cycling paths and green mobility. Additionally, to support food security efforts, the city is home to indoor farming facilities and partially solar-powered greenhouses called biodomes that annually produce about 10,000kg of chemical-free leafy greens and vegetables, which is expected to increase to 15,000kg in the future.

The city contributes to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG6, focused on access to water and sanitation for all, and SDG7 that among other things, calls for ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services and increasing substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

Over the past year, the city reported a surge in people reaching out to learn about the residential project, which represents a fundamental change in the concept of future cities and urban planning, showing how more and more people are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious and opting for sustainable living. To boost awareness about sustainability, the city plans to organise community outreach programmes with a special focus on women, youth and children.

Designed on the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic, Sharjah Sustainable City aims to reduce carbon emissions and embraces the concept of “living locally” in a fully integrated and vibrant community offering a unique and sustainable lifestyle, thereby supporting national and global efforts toward reducing the carbon footprint.

2 years ago 0 comments

Environment Latest News

Stc Bahrain, Trafco Group start partnership to support “Trees for Life” Campaign

by Mohammad Ghazal 2 years ago

written by Mohammad Ghazal

stc Bahrain has partnered with Trafco Group to support its ongoing “Trees for Life” campaign.

The partnership is part of stc Bahrain’s commitment to preserve the environment and combat climate change by increasing the number of green spaces in Bahrain, in line with the Kingdom’s 2035 vision to double the number of trees. It also aims to reduce desertification, address increasingly high temperatures and promote environmental awareness and air quality enhancement in Bahrain.

Under the partnership, Trafco has pledged to plant 3,000 trees across various locations in the Kingdom.

Launched in 2021 in collaboration with the Supreme Council for Environment and the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, stc Bahrain’s “Trees for Life” campaign aims to plant 50,000 trees by the end of 2022.

2 years ago 0 comments

Developing Recapp

UAE’s ESG policies gain momentum ahead of COP28

by Mohammad Ghazal 2 years ago

written by Mohammad Ghazal

The UAE is set to draw the world’s attention in 2023 with its efficiency in climate change policy and sustainability as the country is preparing to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28).

A leader in decarbonisation in the Middle East, the UAE is the first country in the region to sign the UN Paris Agreement and the first country in the region to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, as part of its “UAE Net Zero 2050” strategic initiative announced in October 2021.

The UAE has cemented its position as an investment bright hub for companies operating in the low carbon space, with significant local growth opportunities in areas such as alternative fuels production, smart city development and renewable energy technology.

More needs to be done

While these factors have helped the UAE become a leader in sustainability-related investment, the UAE’s broader ESG-related regulations have not kept pace. The UAE currently lags global leaders such as the EU, the UK and the US with regard to ESG reporting requirements for companies and ESG-related taxonomies.

That being said, the UAE authorities will likely make significant progress implementing new ESG regulations in 2023, galvanised by the impending November-December COP28 event.

A dive into UAE’s three-pronged roadmap for ESG regulations

The UAE’s strategy towards ESG regulation is being coordinated by the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG), which was established in 2019 and is coordinated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).

The SFWG released a statement in 2021 outlining a roadmap for sustainable finance in the country, including plans for ESG regulations. It is a three-pronged strategy based around disclosure, governance and taxonomy, as summarised below.

The SFWG published the “2022 Public Statement on Collaboration on Sustainable Finance in the UAE” in November 2022, which outlined the ongoing efforts and progress made with the roadmap. Much of the progress registered over the last year has related to benchmarking exercises and gathering information on international standards and best practices. The most concrete progress in implementing new ESG policies thus far has been with regard to “Strengthening sustainability disclosure”. This has been driven by the UAE’s stock exchanges.

Stock exchange initiatives driving ESG disclosure

Stock exchanges have been the main driver of greater ESG disclosure requirements in the UAE thus far. Joint stock companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) are mandated to publish ESG reports as a condition of listing. This has been the case since the 2021 UAE Federal Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) Circular No. 326.

These stock exchange initiatives in the UAE have been supported by the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE), of which both the ADX and DFM are members. The SSE has been a powerful tool for developing and implementing ESG reporting requirements across the world in recent years. The SSE provides a model guidance template for exchanges to begin developing their own guidance, as well as bespoke technical assistance and advisory services to stock exchanges. In September 2015, when the Sustainable Stock Exchange launched its model guidance for exchanges, fewer than 10% of the world’s stock exchanges were providing guidance on reporting ESG information for their market. As of October 2022, 67 of the 120 global exchanges tracked by the Sustainable Stock Exchange had written ESG reporting guidance.

Looking to the wider GCC region, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have all also adopted ESG guidance in their stock exchanges. All of these stock exchanges have aligned with global reporting benchmarks such as GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) and the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures).

What’s next in the UAE ESG regulatory space?

Development of the UAE’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy will likely become the key focus of ESG regulations going into 2023.

Sustainability taxonomy would classify activities and entities according to their level of sustainability. Such taxonomy is essential for development of the sustainable finance industry in the UAE. In November 2022, the ADGM and FSRA published plans to significantly expand the number of sustainable finance products available on the ADX. However, development of products such as an “ADGM Green Fund” and “ADGM green bonds” will only be possible with a complementary taxonomy for deciding which firms and activities qualify for these green designations.

According to the SFWG’s updated November 2022 roadmap, the design of taxonomy for the UAE will be “informed by a survey, benchmarking of other live taxonomies and insights from third party experts”. In short, the taxonomy remains in the consultation phase and does not have a concrete date for finalisation. However, significant progress is expected by the COP28 conference at the end of 2023.

Benefits of expanding ESG regulations

Development of ESG disclosure regulations in the UAE will help future-proof investment in the region from impending ESG regulations in major economies including the EU, US and UK.

A pipeline of regulations will increasingly require firms operating in these economies to measure and report on the ESG profile of their international activities. Among others, these regulations include the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the US’ Climate Disclosure Bill and the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements.

By increasing local reporting of such ESG metrics by local firms, the UAE authorities are reducing the risk that emissions data gaps deter US firms from investing in the UAE or partnering with UAE-based firms.

Source: Scale Of Earth With C02 On One Side, And Fresh Leaves On The Other by sirinapa wannapat from NounProject.com

2 years ago 0 comments

Opinion

Electric Vehicles will reshape the Middle East

by Mohammad Ghazal 2 years ago

written by Mohammad Ghazal

The electric vehicle evolution has been a long time in coming. For years, electric vehicles have slowly gained market share as technologies have matured and costs have fallen. Globally, the growth of electric vehicles has been staggering. In 2012, only 120,000 electric vehicles were sold. In 2021, that number hit 6.6 million.

Momentum is building, and in some countries, we have already seen EVs become the most popular vehicle type amongst the public. For example, in Norway 65 per cent of new car registrations last year were battery electric vehicles. In fact, EVs can become mainstream in any country far before they hit the majority of sales. Research company BloombergNEF estimates that countries cross the EV tipping point when EV sales pass 5 per cent of overall car sales in any given year.

The question which then must be asked is what about the Middle East? The region has long been known for its love of the automobile; in fact, it is the essential means of transportation in most of the region’s countries. And yet, it is proven a task to buy an EV in most of the region. With the exception of one major brand, which has operations in Jordan and the UAE, most EVs are imported from other parts of the world.

Admittedly, there are hurdles to be overcome. Firstly, there is the issues of charging infrastructure. Investments need to be made in terms of putting in place a network of chargers that will make even the longest of journeys, say from Dubai to Jeddah, possible. There also needs to be clarity on charging costs, so people understand the cost difference between an EV and their current vehicle.

Then there is the issue of incentives. Norway’s success in popularizing EVs owes much to governmental support. The country introduced a range of policies, including tax exemptions and subsidies that covered VAT exemptions, one-off registration taxes based on emissions, lower annual ownership taxes, exemptions from road tolls and reduced parking fees.

A first step to transforming the car market has already been taken in a number of countries across MENA, with the reforming of how cars are sold. In the UAE for example, a consumer can purchase a car direct from a brand without the need to go to a dealership.

The question that remains is, “when will brands sell EVs into the region?” That question may be answered by industry locally and globally, with plans to design and build electric vehicles locally. Lucid has announced plans to assemble cars in Saudi Arabia, and the Kingdom’s first Saudi electric vehicle brand Ceer will look to make electric mobility mainstream in the Gulf.

The one outstanding issue is to engage with the public and help them better understand what EVs are like and how they will redefine mobility. In some senses, this is already happening naturally in the UAE, with the impact of rising petrol prices at the pumping pushing consumers to look for more cost-effective alternatives. But there are many other questions to address, such as range, performance (especially during Summer given the region’s high temperatures), and the cost of maintenance.

For me personally, there’s no doubt that EVs are superior to more traditional vehicles that use combustion engines. I enjoy driving my EV, and there’s a range of connectivity, safety and entertainment features that I cannot find in other cars of an equivalent cost. The promise of autonomous driving and fewer tailpipe emissions could mean safer, greener roads across the region, which is no mean feat given how many lives are lost to or impacted by automotive accidents and pollution. In many ways, the future will be more sustainable and that will be helped in part by the electric vehicles that will be driven globally, including here in the Middle East.

By: Alex Malouf, Executive Director, Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Ceer, The First Saudi Electric Vehicle Brand

2 years ago 0 comments

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