Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone has given H2 Industries preliminary approval for a $3 billion waste-to-hydrogen plant in East Port Said.
“The exciting part of the project is that it is the first big-scale, waste-to-hydrogen plant for a huge amount of hydrogen,” Michael Stusch, executive chairman and chief executive of H2 Industries, told The National.
The one-gigawatt hydrogen centre will be fed with four million tonnes of organic waste and non-recyclable plastic a year secured at the northern Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal.
It will produce 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
Egypt has been ramping up its green hydrogen ambitions in recent months, especially as it is set to host the Cop27 climate summit in Sharm El Sheikh in November.
Hydrogen is projected to account for 12 per cent of global energy use and 10 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions reductions by 2050, driven by climate change urgency and countries’ commitments to net zero, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Current annual hydrogen sales represent a market value of about $174bn, which already exceeds the value of annual trade in liquefied natural gas, and could grow to $600bn by 2050.
The current barriers to scaling up hydrogen are the steep costs of production, transport, conversion and storage, compared with high-carbon fuels.
Hydrogen comes in various forms, including blue, green and grey. Blue and grey hydrogen are derived from natural gas while green hydrogen is produced using renewable sources.
A cost reduction in green hydrogen, which is created from the electrolysis of water using renewable energy, can help to boost energy transition, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Egypt recently announced plans for a green ammonia plant with a capacity of 50 megawatts to 100 megawatts in the Red Sea town Ain Sokhna.
The plant will be developed by Norwegian green energy company Scatec, Abu Dhabi-Dutch joint venture fertiliser producer Fertiglobe, Orascom Construction and The Sovereign Fund of Egypt.
Now, everybody wants to have green hydrogen as soon as possible
Michael Stusch,
CEO of H2 Industries
Mr Stusch said the waste-to-hydrogen plant is currently at the feasibility study stage, which should take about one and a half months, and is subject to final approval from the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).
The SCZone said in a statement that it is in “discussions with various companies working in the green hydrogen industry to set up clean energy projects” including H2 Industries.
If the project is approved, H2 Industries intends to start work immediately over three phases, with the final phase completed within five years.
“We really want to deliver the first green hydrogen [from the plant] at the end of 2025, beginning of 2026,” Mr Stusch said.
The project will be financed by partners, who will be shareholders in a special purpose vehicle, a legal entity created for a limited purpose.
H2 Industries, a global hydrogen generation and energy storage solutions company based in New York, was founded by Mr Stusch in 2010 and operates in 11 countries.
It specialises in developing technology that generates, stores and helps to transport green hydrogen using liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs).
“We have been developing hydrogen storage for 11 years. Until the last two years, nobody wants to hear about it,” Mr Stusch said. “Now, everybody wants to have green hydrogen as soon as possible.”
Converting waste is a fairly new way to produce hydrogen at about half the levelised cost of current hydrogen production technology, according to H2 Industries.
“It is much less expensive than producing hydrogen with electrolysis and also less expensive than producing grey hydrogen or blue hydrogen,” Mr Stusch said.
Green hydrogen is the only type produced in a climate-neutral manner through electrolysis. Blue hydrogen has a significantly lower carbon dioxide impact on the environment than grey hydrogen.
“The Suez Canal is, of course, also the perfect location where we can build up the first hydrogen hub in the form of LOHC for synthetic fuels because every tanker passes through the canal,” Mr Stusch said.
The plant has the added benefit of helping to solve the waste problem, as well as creating local jobs. H2 Industries has reached out to several countries interested in the concept in the last six months.
“Some countries are quicker, some countries are not that quick, and Egypt was very quick in responding,” Mr Stusch said.
“We need more of these projects as soon as possible because we need green hydrogen to stop climate change.”
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Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Company%20profile
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The bio:
Favourite film:
Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Favourite holiday destination:
Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.
Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.
Favourite pastime:
Declan: I love brunching and socializing. Just basically having the craic.
Heidi: Paddleboarding and swimming.
Personal motto:
Declan: Take chances.
Heidi: Live, love, laugh and have no regrets.
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
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.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
