Masdar, UAE’s NPCC to explore renewable energy opportunities

Masdar on Friday announced that it has signed an agreement with the UAE-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), a subsidiary of National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC), to explore collaboration in offshore wind, green hydrogen, and other renewable energy technologies.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, and Ahmed Al Dhaheri, Chief Executive Officer of NPCC, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of their respective organisations, at an event held in Masdar’s head office in Masdar City.

The companies will initially focus on collaboration in offshore wind and will also explore extending their efforts to cover other sectors, including green hydrogen production and battery storage technologies.

Al Dhaheri commented, “NPCC continually explores new opportunities that align with our resources and engineering expertise in decarbonisation projects supporting the UAE’s climate change action initiatives and long-term sustainable development vision. Partnering with Masdar will undoubtedly contribute towards advancing energy transition in the country and open new avenues for clean energy integration and adoption.”

Chief Executive Officer of Masdar said, “Masdar and NPCC share a common commitment to advancing the UAE’s leadership position in the energy sector and to driving sustainable growth.”

“By leveraging each other’s world-class expertise in our respective fields, our combined efforts could play a vital role in achieving the UAE’s clean energy objectives and support our nation’s net-zero commitment.”

Masdar is a major developer and investor in wind projects, including a stake in the London Array, one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world, and in Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, which became operational in 2017.

This year, Masdar signed an agreement with Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., one of Japan’s largest energy companies, to explore the development of renewable energy initiatives, including offshore wind projects, in Japan.

Masdar is also working in green hydrogen development with several international partners. In December, it formed a strategic alliance with France’s ENGIE to co-develop a UAE-based green hydrogen hub, with a planned investment in the region of $5 billion. Masdar and Hassan Allam Utilities last month co-signed agreements with leading organisations in Egypt related to the development of green hydrogen production plants in the country, targeting an electrolyser capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

Meanwhile Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, and Hassan Allam Utilities, the investment and development arm of Hassan Allam Holding Group, last month have signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with leading Egyptian state-backed organisations to cooperate on the development of green hydrogen production plants in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and on the Mediterranean coast.

The Memorandums of Understanding were signed in the presence of Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Dr Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Chairman of Masdar, Dr Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy for Egypt, and Dr Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Chairperson of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt.

Amr Allam and Hassan Allam, Co- Chief Executive Officers of Hassan Allam Holding, were also in attendance, along with Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar. The Egyptian organisations concerned include the New and Renewable Energy Authority, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, The Sovereign Fund of Egypt, and The General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone.

Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, expressed his happiness at this signing with Egypt’s brothers in the UAE, highlighting the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to strengthen and consolidate relations with the UAE in various sectors, so as to contribute to achieving the interests of the two nations. He stressed that the state is working to encourage investment in green energy projects, due to Egypt’s potential to become an important pivotal and regional hub in this vital sector, which is expected to transform the global energy system during the upcoming period. These projects will also accelerate energy transition process in the region.

Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change and Chairman of Masdar, said, “Today’s partnership agreements to explore the development of green hydrogen production demonstrates the strength of the close relationship between The United Arab Emirates and the Arab Republic of Egypt.

WAM