DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has started building “the first green hydrogen plant in the Middle East” and testing is currently underway, Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei said on Tuesday.
The minister, who was speaking at a private business event at the Expo 2020 world fair in Dubai, gave no further details about the plans.
So-called green hydrogen, created by splitting water into its two components using electricity from renewable energy sources, is increasingly viewed as a fuel of the future to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
The UAE aims to capture 25 percent of the global hydrogen fuel market by 2030 and is implementing more than seven ambitious hydrogen projects, targeting major export markets including Japan, South Korea, Germany and India, the state news agency WAM reported last week.
It also has a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and has said it would oversee 600 billion dirhams ($163 billion) in investment in renewable energy.
Asked later by reporters about US plans to release emergency oil reserves to cool surging energy prices, the minister said the UAE saw “no logic” in increasing its own contributions to global markets at the moment.
He said technical data gathered ahead of an upcoming OPEC+ meeting in December pointed to an oil surplus in the first quarter of 2022.
There should also be no worry about supplies in the second quarter of 2022, he added.
UAE builds first green hydrogen plant: minister
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UAE builds first green hydrogen plant: minister
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,167
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 46.43 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 11,167.54.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.88 billion ($1.30 billion), as 66 of the listed stocks advanced, while 192 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 5.52 points, or 0.37 percent, to close at 1,506.55.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 153.40 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 23,486.52. This comes as 32 of the listed stocks advanced, while 31 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Tourism Enterprise Co., with its share price surging 9.95 percent to SR14.36.
Other top performers included Mobile Telecommunication Co., Saudi Arabia, which saw its share price rise by 5.32 percent to SR11.48, and Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co., which saw a 4.86 percent increase to SR22.89.
On the downside, Almoosa Health Co. was the day’s weakest performer, with its share price falling 4.81 percent to SR150.40.
Dallah Healthcare Co. fell 3.81 percent to SR113.50, while Saudi Research and Media Group dropped 3.44 percent to SR100.90.
On the corporate front, Arabian Plastic Industrial Co. has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with K. K. Nag to explore the establishment of a specialized manufacturing facility for expanded polypropylene products.
According to a Tadawul statement, the agreement sets out initial mutual obligations and rights between the two parties as part of APICO’s broader expansion strategy to increase production capacity and meet rising industrial demand.
The company’s share price rose 1.21 percent to SR43.52 on the parallel market.
