Dubai inaugurated its first green hydrogen plant at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the site of the UAE's biggest solar facility.
The pilot project, developed by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Expo 2020 and Germany's Siemens Energy, aims to demonstrate how to produce hydrogen from solar power, as well as how to store and re-electrify the clean fuel.
The green variant of the fuel is produced entirely from renewable sources.
The plant has been built to accommodate future applications and test platforms for the different uses of hydrogen, including potential mobility and industrial uses, Siemens Energy said in a statement on Wednesday.
The UAE plans to offer hydrogen-powered transportation locally and encourage "the use and licensing of vehicles, facilities and equipment" related to the clean fuel, Dewa managing director and chief executive Saeed Al Tayer said at the launch of the pilot project.
Dubai, the country's commercial and trade hub, plans to derive nearly three quarters of its energy needs from clean sources by 2050. The emirate is also increasing the use of sustainable transport as part of its 2030 green mobility initiative.
Dubai's green hydrogen pilot project allows for "buffering renewable energy production, both for fast response applications, as well as for long-term storage", Mr Al Tayer said.
The utility is currently assessing studies and strategies to develop a potential roadmap for hydrogen usage in Dubai.
"The green hydrogen project represents a major step forward in this direction and will greatly accelerate our production of renewable and clean energy sources and contribute to our ongoing climate action efforts," said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, minister of industry and advanced technology and UAE special envoy for climate change.
Dr Al Jaber also heads Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, which earlier this year entered into an alliance with fellow state entities Mubadala and ADQ, to develop a hydrogen economy in the UAE.
Blue hydrogen, which will be produced by Adnoc, comes from steam methane reforming.
Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, Masdar, is also advancing the development of a hydrogen demonstrator project as part of this alliance. The project's design is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
The company has already begun an assessment of its green hydrogen demonstrator project, which will find uses for fuel cells in buses at the carbon-neutral Masdar City as well as in aviation fuel to be used by Etihad and Lufthansa.
The UAE is drawing up a comprehensive roadmap to position itself as an exporter of hydrogen and tap into the clean fuel's potential.
Globally, the hydrogen industry is expected to grow to $183 billion by 2023, from $129bn in 2017, according to Fitch Solutions. French investment bank Natixis estimates that investments in hydrogen will exceed $300bn by 2030.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
(Because Music)
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