Fund eyes Middle East hydrogen projects
28 February 2024
Register for MEED's guest programme
Paris-based hydrogen investor Hy24 is looking to expand its portfolio in the Middle East and North Africa region, following its investment in Green Energy Oman (GEO) and a joint development and investment agreement with Abu Dhabi's Masdar.
"We are looking to invest in project developers like we did with the GEO project," Amir Sharifi, Hy24's chief investment officer, tells MEED on the sidelines of the ongoing World Hydrogen Mena forum in Dubai.
Last year, Hy24 and Singapore's GIC committed a total of $115m equity investment in Intercontinental Energy, which leads the consortium developing the GEO project in Oman.
"We are looking and would like to invest in green hydrogen project developers across the region, including in the UAE, Oman and Morocco," Sharifi said.
Hy24 is a 50/50 joint venture of French private investment firm Ardian and FiveT Hydrogen, a clean hydrogen investment platform.
Launched in 2021, Hy24's founding anchor investors are Air Liquide, Vinci Concessions, TotalEnergies, Plug Power, Chart Industries and Baker Hughes.
In October 2022, Hy24 announced the closing of its Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund with a total of €2bn ($2.16bn) of allocations.
In December last year, Hy24 signed a joint development and investment framework agreement with Masdar to foster large-scale green hydrogen projects.
The firms agreed on a framework to explore developing and investing in projects along the so-called Power-to-X value chain in key regional hubs across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Mena.
The agreement involves producing renewable power converted via electrolysers into green hydrogen and its derivatives, such as green ammonia, e-methanol, sustainable aviation fuel and liquid hydrogen.
At the time, the firms said that the Hy24-managed Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund expects co-investment and co-development opportunities to be made available to Masdar, representing up to €2bn of investments in the next five years.
Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.
Exclusive from Meed
-
Firms prepare bids for 250MW Airtrunk data centre27 April 2026
-
Diriyah confirms $490m museum construction contract27 April 2026
-
UAE mandates In-Country Value for state firms27 April 2026
-
UAE GDP projection corrects on conflict24 April 2026
-
April 2026: Data drives regional projects24 April 2026
All of this is only 1% of what MEED.com has to offer
Subscribe now and unlock all the 153,671 articles on MEED.com
- All the latest news, data, and market intelligence across MENA at your fingerprints
- First-hand updates and inside information on projects, clients and competitors that matter to you
- 20 years' archive of information, data, and news for you to access at your convenience
- Strategize to succeed and minimise risks with timely analysis of current and future market trends
Related Articles
-
Firms prepare bids for 250MW Airtrunk data centre
27 April 2026
Contractors are preparing to submit commercial offers by 4 May for a contract to build a 250MW data centre in Riyadh.
The project is being co-developed by Australian firm AirTrunk in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company Humain, which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The bidders include:
- El-Seif Engineering Contracting / Larsen & Toubro (local/India)
- FCC / Alfanar Projects (Spain/local)
- Albawani / Orascom (local/Egypt)
- Nesma & Partners (local
- James L Williams (UAE)
- Alec (UAE)
In October last year, AirTrunk and Humain announced a $3bn partnership to build data centres in Saudi Arabia, marking AirTrunk’s first move into the region.
The firms said they would, along with AirTrunk investor Blackstone, “develop a long-term strategic partnership focused on financing, developing and operating next-generation data centres and AI infrastructure across the kingdom”.
This was followed by Humain signing a $1.2bn financing agreement with the state-backed National Infrastructure Fund to support the expansion of AI and digital infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia. The agreement was signed in January on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Humain said the deal will support its plan to develop up to 250MW of hyperscale AI data centre capacity in the kingdom.
According to a joint statement, the data centres will use graphics processing units for AI training and inference, serving Humain’s customers locally, regionally and globally.
The National Infrastructure Fund and Humain will also explore launching an AI data centre investment platform, with the two organisations acting as anchor investors to enable local and international institutional investors to back the scale-up of Humain’s AI programme.
The National Infrastructure Fund is Saudi Arabia’s lead development financing partner for infrastructure and operates under the supervision of the National Development Fund.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16577720/main.jpg -
Diriyah confirms $490m museum construction contract
27 April 2026
Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company has formally announced the award of a SR1.84bn ($490m) construction contract for its Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA) within the Diriyah development in Riyadh.
The contract has been awarded to a consortium comprising Egyptian contractor Hassan Allam Construction and Saudi Arabia’s Albawani.
In February, MEED exclusively reported that the contractors were preparing to start construction work on the project. MEED understands Diriyah Company awarded the contract to the consortium in December last year.
The announcement follows Diriyah Company’s award of an estimated SR2.5bn ($666m) contract to build the Pendry superblock package in the DG2 area.
The Pendry superblock includes the construction of the Pendry Hotel alongside residential and commercial assets. The package will cover 75,365 square metres and is located in the northwestern district of the DG2 area.
In February, Diriyah Company also awarded a SR717m ($192m) contract for the construction of the One Hotel, located in the Diriyah Two area of the masterplan, with a gross floor area of more than 31,000 sq m.
The Diriyah masterplan envisages the city as a cultural and lifestyle tourism destination. Located northwest of Riyadh city centre, it will span 14 square kilometres and combine 300 years of history, culture and heritage with hospitality facilities.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16577413/main.jpg -
UAE mandates In-Country Value for state firms
27 April 2026
The UAE Cabinet, chaired by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has approved an update to the National In-Country Value (ICV) programme that will shift it from an incentive-based framework to a mandatory requirement.
The mandate will apply to all federal entities and companies in which the UAE government holds a stake of 25% or more. The decision aims to steer government procurement and institutional demand towards national products, leveraging state spending to localise critical industries and strengthen national industrial security.
The cabinet also approved the establishment of the National Industrial Resilience Fund with a capital of AED1bn ($272m) to support the development of local industries. The fund will support the localisation of critical industries and strengthen supply chain resilience, focusing on improving industrial readiness for vital products and securing continuity of supply by leveraging artificial intelligence for forecasting and risk management.
Resources will be allocated based on national priorities, with a focus on food security, manufacturing, primary metals, and mechanical, electrical and chemical industries. Further investment will target pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, medical supplies, advanced technology and the construction sector.
“Our target is clear: fully localise more than 5,000 critical products,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “We are launching an AED1bn fund to strengthen resilience, expand local production, secure supply chains, and scale the use of artificial intelligence across production and operations.”
MEED’s May 2026 report on the UAE includes:
> COMMENT: Conflict tests UAE diversification
> GVT &: ECONOMY: UAE economy absorbs multi-sector shock
> BANKING: UAE banks ready to weather the storm
> ATTACKS: UAE counts energy infrastructure costs
> UPSTREAM: Adnoc builds long-term oil and gas production potential
> DOWNSTREAM: Adnoc Gas to rally UAE downstream project spending
> POWER: Large-scale IPPs drive UAE power market
> WATER: UAE water investment broadens beyond desalination
> CONSTRUCTION: War casts shadow over UAE construction boom
> TRANSPORT: UAE rail momentum grows as trade routes face strainTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16577427/main.jpg -
UAE GDP projection corrects on conflict
24 April 2026
MEED’s May 2026 report on the UAE includes:
> COMMENT: Conflict tests UAE diversification
> GVT &: ECONOMY: UAE economy absorbs multi-sector shock
> BANKING: UAE banks ready to weather the storm
> ATTACKS: UAE counts energy infrastructure costs
> UPSTREAM: Adnoc builds long-term oil and gas production potential
> DOWNSTREAM: Adnoc Gas to rally UAE downstream project spending
> POWER: Large-scale IPPs drive UAE power market
> WATER: UAE water investment broadens beyond desalination
> CONSTRUCTION: War casts shadow over UAE construction boom
> TRANSPORT: UAE rail momentum grows as trade routes face strainTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16554417/main.gif -
April 2026: Data drives regional projects
24 April 2026
Click here to download the PDF
Includes: Commodity tracker | Top 10 global contractors | Brent spot price | Construction output
MEED’s May 2026 report on the UAE includes:
> COMMENT: Conflict tests UAE diversification
> GVT &: ECONOMY: UAE economy absorbs multi-sector shock
> BANKING: UAE banks ready to weather the storm
> ATTACKS: UAE counts energy infrastructure costs
> UPSTREAM: Adnoc builds long-term oil and gas production potential
> DOWNSTREAM: Adnoc Gas to rally UAE downstream project spending
> POWER: Large-scale IPPs drive UAE power market
> WATER: UAE water investment broadens beyond desalination
> CONSTRUCTION: War casts shadow over UAE construction boom
> TRANSPORT: UAE rail momentum grows as trade routes face strainTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16553627/main.gif