meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Region turns into battery storage hotspot

15 September 2023

Commentary
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Energy & technology editor

Register for MEED's guest programme 

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global awarded the multi-utility contract for Amaala this week. In addition to a 250MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant, the contract includes renewable energy-powered water desalination and wastewater treatment plants to cater to the development.

For some, the most eye-catching part of the deal is the 700 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system (bess) that will enable the utility infrastructure to be completely off-grid.

It is only the second project of its kind in the region, following the Red Sea Project, which in 2020-21 included a 1,300MWh battery energy storage system in its multi-utility infrastructure, the world’s largest at the time of construction.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the Red Sea multi-utility package, China’s Sepco 3, appointed fellow Chinese firm Huawei Digital Power as a sub-contractor for the battery energy storage system.

Eve Battery, a Huizhou-headquartered lithium battery manufacturer, and BYD Energy Storage, also of China, provided the project’s battery solutions.

Fast forward to 2023, Abu Dhabi state utility Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) appears to have started the procurement process for two 200MW battery energy storage facilities.

The first will be located near the existing solar PV farm in Sweihan, and the second in Madinat Zayed.

Oman, which does not plan to procure any additional gas-fired capacity, also intends to develop battery energy storage facilities to address the intermittency of its renewable energy resources.

While the Red Sea project demonstrates the China-centric nature of the battery energy storage supply chain, recent moves show that the region can potentially play a major role in developing lithium and battery storage solutions.

Australia-headquartered battery company EV Metals Group (EVM) is developing an integrated battery chemicals complex at Yanbu Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to house a lithium chemicals plant, with a scope to include a nickel chemicals plant and a cathode active materials plant. The estimated cost for phase one of the lithium chemicals plant is $1.3bn.

EVM is understood to have signed an agreement with the Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu (RCJY) for the allocation of 127 hectares of land, and with Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry for gas and power allocation.

According to EVM, the project is “strategically located to become a global hub for the midstream processing of critical raw materials required to foster a clean energy future”.

In July, China’s Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology disclosed plans to build a lithium-ion battery materials plant in Morocco.

The firm’s Singapore unit intends to invest as much as $280m to set up a project company in the North African country to produce lithium-ion battery materials locally, which it will then export to Europe. Morocco’s ample phosphorite ore resources underpin Tinci’s plans.

The same month, Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) signed an agreement with US-based Ivanhoe Electric to undertake exploration of the Arabian Shield zone in Saudi Arabia for high-demand minerals.

The partners will survey an area of 48,500 square kilometres in the Arabian Shield as part of the $130m deal. The Arabian Shield region – roughly the size of Switzerland – is understood to be rich in reserves of critical minerals such as copper, nickel, gold, silver and possibly lithium.

While it is still early days for these projects, they show the growing potential, and aspiration, of the region not only to deploy clean energy technologies but to produce them as well, which bodes well for dwindling hydrocarbon demand over the long term as energy transition takes hold.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11150378/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Iraq sets up commission for $5bn pipeline project

    30 April 2026

    Iraq is setting up a high-level commission to oversee the development of the planned $5bn Basra-Haditha crude oil pipeline project.

    The decision was made at a meeting held on 26 April, attended by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and the Minister of Petroleum Hayyan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad, as well as other officials and consultants.

    The commission will be chaired by the undersecretary of the Oil Ministry and include advisers to the prime minister, along with director-generals from the Oil Ministry and the Industry & Minerals Ministry.

    Al-Sudani said the pipeline project will increase flexibility in transporting crude oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, as well as the Syrian port of Baniyas and Jordan’s port of Aqaba.

    The pipeline is also expected to strengthen supply to refineries in central and northern Iraq and support higher domestic refining output.

    The meeting also approved allocating $1.5bn to the project this year, with funding provided through the Iraq-China oil-for-infrastructure mechanism, according to a statement issued by the Petroleum Ministry.

    Earlier this month, Iraq’s Council of Ministers approved amendments allowing the Oil Ministry to directly invite specialised companies to bid for the 685-kilometre pipeline.

    The pipeline is expected to have a capacity of up to 2.25 million barrels a day.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16621546/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Construction begins on Dubai Healthcare City projects

    30 April 2026

    Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA) has begun construction on Pixel DHCC and Ibn Sina+, two flagship developments in Dubai Healthcare City.

    Local contractor International Foundation Group has been appointed to carry out the enabling works.

    The two projects form part of Phase 1 of DHCA’s AED1.3bn ($354m) development programme and are scheduled for completion in November 2027.

    Pixel DHCC, designed by Hong Kong-based P&T Architects and Engineers, is planned as Dubai Healthcare City’s first LEED Platinum-certified office building. The nine-storey commercial development will cover 13,000 sq m.

    Ibn Sina+, designed by Dubai’s Design and Architecture Bureau, will be a five-storey medical complex spanning 5,800 sq m.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16611156/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Bahrain extends bid deadline for 1.2GW Sitra IWPP

    30 April 2026

     

    Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) has extended the developer bidding deadline for the Sitra independent water and power plant (IWPP).

    The new deadline is 17 May. 

    The Sitra IWPP is a combined-cycle gas turbine plant expected to have a generation capacity of about 1,200MW of electricity.

    The project’s seawater reverse osmosis desalination facility will have a production capacity of 30 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD).

    It is the second deadline extension on the main works package since the tender was released in August 2025.

    Lebanon-headquartered Khatib & Alami was recently awarded a consulting contract for the project, worth $1.91m. This was despite the consultancy submitting only the third-lowest bid behind Spain’s Ayesa ($1.25m) and WSP Middle East Architectural & Engineering ($1.27m).

    EWA’s transaction advisory team for the project comprises KPMG Fakhro as the financial consultant and Trowers & Hamlins as the legal consultant.

    MEED previously reported that seven international companies and consortiums had prequalified to bid. These are:

    • Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa, UAE)
    • Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia)
    • China Energy Engineering Corporation / China Datang (Overseas Hong Kong, China)
    • Gulf Investment Corporation (Kuwait)
    • Jera (Japan)
    • Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco, South Korea)
    • Sumitomo Corporation (Japan)

    EWA first received statements of qualifications from nine interested firms in December 2024.

    The build-own-operate (BOO) project is being procured under a public-private partnership framework for 20-25 years.

    It is Bahrain’s fourth IWPP, replacing the previously planned Al-Dur 3. The Sitra IWPP is expected to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2029.

    The project is in line with EWA’s plan to replace old plants with new, more efficient ones that reduce natural gas consumption.

    Procurement for the Sitra IWPP is advancing in parallel to other EWA initiatives, including the planned 60MIGD Al-Hidd independent water plant (IWP), for which two bids were submitted earlier this year.

    The contract to develop and operate the state’s first IWP remains under bid evaluation, a source said.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16611117/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Bidders get more time for Jebel Ali sewage EPC contract

    29 April 2026

     

    Dubai Municipality has extended the deadline for contractors to submit bids for a contract covering the expansion of the Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant (STP) phases one and two.

    Contractors now have until June to submit offers, a source told MEED. Bidding had been expected to close on 30 April.

    The upgraded facility will be capable of treating an additional sewage flow of 100,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), with the expansion estimated to cost $300m.

    The scope includes the design, construction and commissioning of infrastructure and systems required to support the increased capacity.

    Located on a 670-hectare site in Jebel Ali, the original wastewater facility has a treatment capacity of about 675,000 cm/d following the completion of phase two in 2019, combining approximately 300,000 cm/d from phase one and 375,000 cm/d from phase two.

    The main element of the expansion involves modifications to the secondary treatment process at Jebel Ali STP phase two.

    UK-headquartered KPMG and UAE-based Tribe Infrastructure are serving as financial advisers on the project.

    Future expansion

    It is understood that the project is part of long-term plans to treat about 1.05 million cm/d once all future phases are completed.

    According to sources, this includes a Jebel Ali-based build-operate-transfer (BOT) project to be developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

    It is understood that the prequalification process for this will begin in the coming months.

    In February, MEED exclusively revealed that the municipality is preparing to tender the main construction package for the Warsan STP by the end of the year.

    As MEED understands, the Warsan STP had previously been planned as a PPP project.

    The main package will now be procured as an engineering, procurement and construction contract, a source said.

    The project involves the construction of a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of about 175,000 cm/d, including treatment units, sludge handling systems and associated infrastructure.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16608027/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • UAE’s departure from Opec marks a tectonic shift

    29 April 2026

    Commentary
    Indrajit Sen
    Oil & gas editor

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    The UAE’s decision to leave Opec and the Opec+ grouping marks a significant turning point in global oil markets and highlights shifting geopolitical dynamics and evolving supply expectations.

    The UAE announced it will leave the producer alliance effective 1 May, ending nearly six decades of membership. The move reflects a broader strategic shift, as the country seeks greater flexibility over its production policy amid rising capacity and changing market conditions.

    For oil markets, this is about more than one country wanting to pump more oil. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has spent billions of dollars over the years to raise crude production capacity to 5 million barrels a day.

    Opec+ quotas had increasingly looked as though they were stifling Abu Dhabi’s growing desire to maximise revenues by tapping into its expanded spare capacity. Leaving the Opec+ coalition gives Abu Dhabi more room to monetise those investments.

    The timing also matters. It comes against a backdrop of regional security concerns, tensions around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, and a sense that consumers are once again being squeezed by high energy costs and depleted strategic reserves. 

    The immediate dip in the price of global benchmark Brent crude following the announcement of the UAE’s decision on 28 April showed the market’s first instinct: more UAE barrels could mean more supply and lower prices. However, the price rebound on 29 April, with Brent trading around $111 a barrel, also tells the other half of the story: extra capacity does not instantly become risk-free supply when regional bottlenecks and security threats remain front and centre.

    For Opec+, this is a blow to unity and to Saudi Arabia’s ability to marshal producer discipline. It does not mean that a price war will start tomorrow, but it raises the risk of other member states choosing to abandon the alliance’s cooperation mechanism and pursue a higher market share. In trading terms, this adds a new volatility premium: more potential supply, less cartel discipline and a Gulf energy landscape that looks significantly less predictable.

    The announcement comes at a time of heightened uncertainty in global energy markets, with geopolitical tensions, supply chain constraints and demand recovery trends all contributing to price volatility. The UAE’s exit is expected to reshape market expectations around supply flexibility and producer coordination.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16608006/main.gif
    Indrajit Sen