Work to start on Maaden solar thermal facilty
19 January 2024
Mining and metals firm Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and US-based GlassPoint, which specialises in decarbonising industrial process heat, have confirmed plans to build the first stage of project development for Maaden's solar thermal project.
The first stage will have the capacity to supply 9 tonnes of steam an hour to begin decarbonising Maaden's aluminum supply chain, GlassPoint said.
Known as Technology Showcase, the project's first stage will combine the direct generation of heat and storage to provide a continuous base load of steam to Maaden's alumina refinery in Ras al-Khair.
The initial capacity will be about 1 per cent of the larger project, which is expected to save Maaden's refinery more than 12 metric million British thermal units (MMBtus) of energy and reduce carbon emissions by 600,000 tonnes annually.
GlassPoint signed a memorandum of understanding with Maaden to develop Maaden Solar 1, potentially the world’s largest solar process heat plant, in June 2022.
When complete, Maaden Solar 1 will be a 1,500 megawatt-thermal (MWth) facility.
The technology showcase "is an important first step to kick off project development and begin building on location", said GlassPoint founder and CEO Rod MacGregor.
It is understood that low-carbon aluminum increasingly commands a premium with industrial companies that are seeking to meet sustainability requirements from their customers.
"New policies such as the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism will tax high-carbon imports and make low-carbon aluminum, enabled by solar thermal solutions, even more appealing," GlassPoint said.
The technology showcase will include several new advancements from GlassPoint that are expected to reduce the cost of its solutions by more than 30 per cent.
Enhancements include GlassPoint's Unify storage system, which uses direct heat and ternary molten salts to provide around-the-clock steam, as well as lighter materials that will boost solar efficiency and reduce weight, materials, carbon intensity, shading and the levelised cost of energy.
Solar factory
In October last year, GlassPoint announced a partnership with the Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia (Misa) to build a solar manufacturing facility in the Eastern Province of the kingdom.
At full capacity, the planned factory will produce enough renewable energy technology annually to generate 5,000 tonnes of solar steam a day, which will be sufficient to offset 4 MMBtus of gas and reduce carbon emissions by 200,000 tonnes each year.
Technology manufactured at the facility will be used for projects in the metals and mining, building materials and other industrial sectors.
GlassPoint’s enclosed trough concentrated solar power technology uses large, curved mirrors to focus sunlight on a boiler tube containing water. The concentrated energy boils the water to produce high-quality steam, which is fed into existing industrial operations.
A self-cleaning structure encloses and protects the solar collectors from wind, sand and dust. The structure protects the operational environment, enabling lightweight mirrors and components.
MEED's October 2023 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:
> COMMENT: Riyadh reshapes its global role
> POLITICS: Saudi Arabia looks both east and west
> SPORT: Saudi Arabia’s football vision goes global
> ECONOMY: Riyadh prioritises stability over headline growth
> BANKS: Saudi banks track more modest growth path
> UPSTREAM: Aramco focuses on upstream capacity building
> DOWNSTREAM: Saudi chemical and downstream projects in motion
> POWER: Riyadh rides power projects surge
> WATER: Saudi water projects momentum holds steady
> GIGAPROJECTS: Gigaproject activity enters full swing
> TRANSPORT: Infrastructure projects support Riyadh’s logistics ambitions
> JEDDAH TOWER: Jeddah developer restarts world’s tallest tower
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Kuwait tenders main Saad Al-Abdullah substation contract
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TotalEnergies signs $11bn Morocco green hydrogen deal
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France's TotalEnergies has signed an agreement to develop an $11bn project to produce hydrogen and green ammonia in Morocco.
It was previously reported that the planned integrated facility will be located in Guelmim-Oued Noun in southern Morocco.
The deal is one of 22 that were signed during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the North African state on 28 October.
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne signed the agreement for the local production of green hydrogen and ammonia in the presence of Morocco's King Mohammed VI and Macron, according to local media reports
The counterparty includes Morocco's Minister of Energy, Leila Benali, Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fattah, Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, and the Minister Delegate in charge of Investment, Karim Zidane.
It is understood that the project will require the development of 10GW of solar and wind energy and a land area of 187,000 hectares.
It was reported that Morocco's Unified Regional Investment Commission (CRUI) approved the project’s launch in November 2022.
The other agreements signed during Macron's visit to Morocco cover financial cooperation in the rail, forestry, aviation, logistics and energy sectors, with a particular focus on decarbonisaton and energy transition.
TotalEnergies has been exploring green hydrogen-related and other related projects across the Middle East and North Africa region.
In August, the Courbevoie- headquartered firm and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), signed an agreement to assess the viability of developing a commercial green hydrogen to methanol to sustainable aviation fuel (saf) project.
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TotalEnergies acquired a minority stake in the company following an investment of $25.4m, which was announced in November last year.
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Tadweer and Japanese firms to build recycling plant
29 October 2024
Abu Dhabi-headquartered Tadweer Group is partnering with Japanese chemicals companies to build a plastic chemical recycling facility in Abu Dhabi.
The investment is expected to reach up to ¥40bn ($261.5m), with the facility set to be operational by 2026 or 2027.
The new facility will be capable of recycling a wide variety of plastics, including materials used in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and packaging containers, said Tadweer.
It will also introduce advanced technology that can revert plastic waste to raw materials.
Ali Al-Dhaheri, Tadweer Group managing director and CEO, said: "We are considering two or three Japanese companies with the necessary technological capabilities and hope to select partner or partners for collaboration within the next three to six months."
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Japan is recognised for its high PET bottle recycling rate and has made significant strides in the recycling of other plastics.
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Photo credit: Pixabay
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QatarEnergy to acquire 50% in Iraq 1GW solar project
29 October 2024
QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with France's Total Energies to acquire a 50% interest in the 1,000MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project as part of the $27bn gas growth integrated project (GGIP) in Iraq.
Total Energies will retain the remaining 50% of the project. The shared ownership is subject to regulatory approvals.
Located in Artawi – also known as Ratawi – in southern Iraq, the solar PV project is expected to start construction soon, MEED reported on 25 October.
In a statement, QatarEnergy said: "The project will consist of 2 million high-efficiency bifacial solar panels mounted on single-axis trackers and will, upon its completion, be capable of supplying up to 1.25 gigawatts (peak) of solar-generated power to the electricity grid in the Basra region of Iraq.
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TotalEnergies Renewables awarded China Energy Engineering International Group the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project in August.
China Energy Engineering Tianjin Electric Power Construction, International Group and Southwest Institute will deliver the project.
It was reported at the time that construction work is expected to start later this year, and completion is expected in early 2027.
The project includes the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the PV power station site and 132-kilovolt booster station, with a capacity of 1,000MW.
In addition to the solar PV independent power project (IPP), the three main projects that make up the $27bn GGIP project include:
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QatarEnergy announced in June 2023 that it had entered into a consortium to implement the GGIP project in Iraq, with a 25% participating interest, together with TotalEnergies (45%) and Iraq’s Basra Oil Company (30%).
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Kuwait tenders main Saad Al-Abdullah substation contract
28 October 2024
Kuwait's Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has tendered a contract to construct a main substation project at South Saad Al-Abdullah Residential City.
The selected bidder will supply, install, implement and maintain the planned 11/132/400-kilovolt (kV) substation
The PAHW expects to receive bids for the contract, for which it set a bid bond of KD500,000 ($1.6m), on 28 October.
Located in Kuwait's Al-Jahra Governorate, the South Saad Al-Abdullah housing project covers an area of 64 square kilometres and consists of five residential areas with 24,508 housing units.
The PAHW recently awarded two substation contracts for another city, which is being developed in Al-Jahra.
The Kuwait branch of Saudi Arabia's National Contracting Company (NCC) won a contract to build 10 132/11-kV substations in Sabah Al-Ahmad City, MEED reported earlier this month.
The substations will cater to neighbourhoods N5, N6, N8 and N10 in South Sabah Al-Ahmed City. The 24-month contract is valued at SR534m ($142m).
Al-Ahleia Switchboard Company won the other tender for the supply, installation, implementation and maintenance of 10 11/132kV main transformer stations in Sabah Al-Ahmed's N5, N7 and N9 neighbourhoods.
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Emsteel and Masdar inaugurate pilot hydrogen plant
28 October 2024
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Emsteel and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) have inaugurated a pilot green hydrogen plant at Emsteel's manufacturing complex in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi.
The pilot project's electrolyser capacity and equipment supplier have not yet been disclosed.
MEED understands the plant utilises solar power from the grid to produce hydrogen on site.
The project sets the stage for Emsteel to use green or renewable hydrogen, instead of natural gas, to extract iron from iron ore.
Emsteel Group CEO, Saeed Ghumran Al-Remeithi, said the partnership with Masdar is part of a commitment to "accelerate decarbonising green steel production in the UAE and the wider Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region".
During the launch event for the plant, Al-Remeithi said the project marks a significant step towards making the UAE "a world green hydrogen leader" and Emsteel "a hub for green steel".
In a press briefing on 28 October, Saeed Al-Ghafri, CEO of Emirates Steel, said the plan is to scale up the pilot green hydrogen facility to enable it to meet demand for green steel both locally and from abroad.
"We are decarbonising across verticals through carbon capture and green hydrogen … to serve the UAE market and eventually to go global," he said.
Al-Ghafri declined to confirm whether the plan entails developing a major integrated facility with Masdar in one of two planned green hydrogen oases in Abu Dhabi, or offtaking the hydrogen produced at one of the future facilities planned in the emirate.
Previously known as Emirates Steel Arkan, the steel and cement producer rebranded as Emsteel in September as part of a broader strategy to accelerate operational transformation and expand its global footprint.
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Emsteel operates 16 plants with an annual production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes a year (t/y) of steel and 4.6 million t/y of cement. The company exports its products to over 70 markets, which account for 30% of its sales.
The rebranding followed the merger of Emirates Steel and Arkan Building Materials in late 2021, establishing the UAE’s largest steel and construction materials company, valued at $3.53bn.
Emsteel, which contributes 11% of Abu Dhabi’s manufacturing output, operates through two main divisions: Emirates Steel and Emirates Cement.
The cement division includes Al-Ain Cement Factory, Emirates Blocks Factories, Anabeeb and Arkan Bags.
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