meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Working towards a common energy-transition goal

28 November 2022

Published in partnership with

In the end, it went right to the wire. Just as it looked like the UN’s 27th Conference of the Parties (Cop27) would conclude without an accord, the weary delegates announced that they had reached a landmark agreement on setting up a fund to help compensate poorer nations for the economic and social destruction caused by climate change. 

The statement, two days after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit’s original 18 November end date, was a culmination of some 30 years of negotiations between developed economies and developing nations. The latter had long argued that the damage they have experienced from global warming should be paid for by richer countries responsible for the crisis in the first place.

Although far from perfect, the global ‘loss and damage’ fund was hailed as an important and symbolic step towards hitting the agreed target of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2030. It also marked the continuing engagement and collaboration by governments across the globe.

“We rose to the occasion,” said Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and president of Cop27 Sameh Shoukry. 

“We worked around the clock, day and night, but united in working for one gain, one higher purpose, one common goal. In the end, we delivered. We listened to the calls of anguish and despair.”

Private sector involvement

While Cop27 has been and will continue to be a policy-setting mechanism negotiated at the highest level, companies played a critical role during the conference. 

Firms representing a broad range of sectors, including Vodafone, Microsoft, Boston Consulting Group and Bloomberg, partnered with the event, and many more participated in the main conference and exhibition areas. 

Ultimately, governments understand that the private sector will lead the drive towards net zero. Without corporates worldwide investing in clean energy projects and technology, there is little hope that targets will be reached.

Five consistency points

A key supporter of Cop27 was Siemens Energy. Sharing its expertise through panels covering subjects as varied as the Mediterranean’s North-South Energy Partnership, improving power access in Africa by unlocking its green hydrogen potential, and overcoming the challenges of decarbonisation, the energy technology company played a pivotal role in discussions and thought leadership.

It also participated in the world leader’s summit at a roundtable discussing green hydrogen, reinforcing its positioning of energy transition at the heart of its strategy. 

Before the Sharm el-Sheikh conference, Siemens Energy president and CEO Christian Bruch outlined five points of consistency that his company considers to be unifying elements in the decarbonisation drive.

The first is the acceleration of renewables. Replacing conventional power generation systems with solar, wind, hydro and other forms of renewable energy is essential to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Despite a considerable increase in the overall share of renewables in the past three years on the back of ever-lowering costs and more efficient technology, more must still be done.

For example, the US needs to triple its share of renewable energy as a proportion of the energy mix by 2050 for the energy transition to succeed. The Asia-Pacific region, meanwhile, will have to increase this figure fourfold. 

Regional targets

In the Middle East, every country has now set ambitious targets to increase renewable energy. The likes of Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the UAE are aiming for renewables to account for up to 50 per cent of total production by 2030. To reach these objectives, almost all new power generation projects come in the form of renewables.

However, the impact of greener electricity production could be somewhat offset by continuing demand growth caused by an increasing global population and economic growth. 

In this context, the second point is the requirement for improved energy conservation measures, such as policies to incentivise the electrification of industry and transport. 

Regionally, the industrial electrification of energy-intensive industries is an optimal opportunity to reduce harmful emissions by harnessing electric boilers and/or electricity-based fuels. Future large-scale blue and green hydrogen production will also have a role to play in industrial processes.

Siemens Energy’s third point of consistency is improving electrical efficiency. The increase in renewable energy capacity and the growth in power capacity, in general, require significant investment in transmission and distribution networks. 

This is particularly important in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, where almost 25 per cent of the population has little to no access to electricity. 

The fourth point covers the requirement to use existing conventional power infrastructure to help bridge the gap between the fossil-fuelled economies of today and the net zero of tomorrow. 

Progress cannot be made in one step alone and requires a gradual transition. In the meantime, existing thermal plants can employ measures such as combined-cycle technology and carbon capture to make them as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.

The energy transition is the biggest investment programme since the dawn of industrialisation. If governments, business and society work together, energy transition is a massive opportunity

Christian Bruch, Siemens Energy president and CEO

Mineral production

Finally, to achieve all of this, it is necessary to improve supply chains and increase the production of necessary minerals and rare earth metals required in net-zero technologies, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and chromium. 

Bruch gives the example of a typical electric car, which requires six times more mineral inputs than one powered by an internal combustion engine. He also cites onshore wind plants, which need nine times more than a gas-fired power plant. 

If mineral production is not increased and geographically diversified, there is a risk of future supply bottlenecks.

In the Middle East, a good illustration of this is the potential future supply gap for electrolyser systems, and the anodes and cathodes typically made from metals such as zinc, nickel and lithium. 

MEED estimates that about 75GW of electrolyser production capacity will be required by 2030 to meet the demand for the raft of planned green hydrogen plants in the region alone, compared with a total global output capacity of just 8GW today.

Industrial decarbonisation alliance

All five consistency points make salient arguments. However, they can only be achieved with close cooperation between the private and public sectors. While the former can spearhead and implement the decarbonisation drive, the latter can provide the regulations and incentives to encourage these initiatives. 

The newly formed Alliance for Industry Decarbonization initiated by Siemens Energy and coordinated and facilitated by the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an example of greater collaboration between the public and private sectors. 

The 28-member alliance – which encompasses a range of global energy, renewable, consulting and manufacturing companies – met for the first time during Cop27 to outline its joint vision and implementation plan. Its strategy focuses on six pillars and enablers that tie into the points of consistency: renewables, green hydrogen, bioenergy with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), heat process optimisation, human capital and finance.

Only through this kind of stakeholder dialogue can the immense and existential challenges posed by global warming be overcome. Governments or companies acting in isolation will only achieve so much on their own. The points of consistency must be considered as a whole and in unison if the world’s climate objectives are to succeed.

As Bruch says: “The energy transition is the biggest investment programme since the dawn of industrialisation. If governments, business and society work together, energy transition is a massive opportunity. There is no excuse for waiting any longer.”

Related reads:

Click here to visit Siemens Energy 
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10387284/main.gif
MEED Editorial

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Qatar’s new $8bn investment spices up global LNG race

    13 March 2026

     

    In the midst of the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel, which has spilled over into the GCC region, QatarEnergy has temporarily halted production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the country and declared force majeure on LNG shipments after its energy assets came under attack.

    When the fog of war clears, however, and the Strait of Hormuz reopens to oil and gas flows, the global economy will look to QatarEnergy to swiftly restore regular LNG cargoes in order to bring gas prices down from record highs.

    Beyond that short-term role, the recent $8bn investment the Qatari giant has committed to building two new LNG processing trains will also cement its position as a reliable long-term supplier, while further intensifying the race among global LNG producers to carve out larger market shares in an increasingly gas-hungry world.

    North Field West – a game changer

    The state-owned company has progressed from the front-end engineering and design (feed) phase to the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) stage of its North Field West LNG project at pace.

    It awarded the main EPC contract for the scheme – covering two LNG processing trains with a total capacity of 16 million tonnes a year (t/y) – to a joint venture comprising France’s Technip Energies, Greece/Lebanon-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) and Gulf Asia Contracting on 25 February.

    The contract, estimated to be worth $8bn, was awarded just a month after Japan-based Chiyoda Corporation won the project’s feed contract.

    Such a short interval between the feed and EPC phases for a project as large as North Field West LNG would typically be considered improbable. Industry sources suggest QatarEnergy may have been in discussions with Chiyoda and the Technip Energies-CCC consortium for at least a year regarding the feed and EPC contracts, respectively – particularly given the two-year gap between the project’s announcement in February 2024 and the start of the EPC phase.

    Chiyoda, Technip Energies and CCC are also involved in the first two phases of QatarEnergy’s $40bn North Field LNG expansion project. A consortium of Chiyoda and Technip Energies is executing EPC works on the North Field East project, which involves the construction of four LNG trains with a combined capacity of 32 million t/y, following the award of a $13bn contract in February 2021. Meanwhile, a Technip Energies-CCC consortium is carrying out EPC works on two 7.8 million t/y LNG trains as part of the North Field South project, having secured a $10bn contract in May 2023.

    More significant, however, is the speed with which QatarEnergy is advancing its strategic objective of reaching a total LNG production capacity of 142 million t/y by the end of the decade, from 77.5 million t/y at present.

    With all three phases of the North Field LNG expansion programme now under EPC execution – and North Field East scheduled for commissioning later this year – QatarEnergy appears firmly on track to become one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers over the long term, reinforcing Qatar’s economic future in the process.

    US domination

    While QatarEnergy is on course to increase its LNG production capacity by 83% by 2030 through the overall North Field LNG expansion programme, it is still some way behind the US, which is set to account for over half of the total global LNG liquefaction projects by 2030.

    There are 40 new-build and expansion LNG liquefaction projects planned or under way in the US, according to UK analytics firm GlobalData. Among these, two projects stand out.

    The first is the Rio Grande LNG production project, being developed by NextDecade in Texas, on the US Gulf of Mexico coast. Up to 10 processing trains are planned for the complex, the first three of which are in the EPC phase.

    NextDecade achieved the final investment decision on the fourth and fifth trains at the facility, estimated to cost $6.7bn each, in September and October last year. The company has awarded EPC contracts to build all five trains at the Rio Grande facility to US-based Bechtel.

    On the investments front, the overseas-focused energy investment vehicle of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), XRG, acquired an indirect 11.7% stake in the first phase of the project from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), part of US asset manager BlackRock, in September last year. In February 2026, XRG entered into another transaction with GIP to raise its overall participation in the Rio Grande LNG project by acquiring additional 7.6% equity interests in trains four and five of the scheme.

    Additionally, as part of that transaction, another Adnoc Group subsidiary, Adnoc Trading, entered into a 20-year offtake agreement with NextDecade last year to purchase 1.9 million t/y of LNG from Rio Grande train four, on a free-on-board basis at a Henry Hub-indexed price. France’s TotalEnergies and Saudi Aramco are the other LNG offtakers for train four.

    Separately, the Commonwealth LNG facility in the US state of Louisiana has also received backing from Abu Dhabi. Expected to start operations in 2030, the facility is designed to produce up to 9.5 million metric t/y of LNG.

    Commonwealth LNG is a project of US-based alternative asset manager Kimmeridge Energy Management Company and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company through their joint venture Caturus.

    Caturus was formed in August 2025 when Kimmeridge announced a rebranding that saw Commonwealth LNG and Kimmeridge’s upstream operations combined under a new integrated platform. At the same time, Mubadala acquired a 24.1% equity stake in Caturus, providing financial backing for the new entity to proceed with the Commonwealth LNG project.

    Also in August, Caturus awarded Technip Energies the contract for EPC works on the Commonwealth LNG project. The French contractor had previously performed the project’s feed work.

    Moreover, Aramco subsidiary Aramco Trading signed a 20-year agreement to buy 1 million metric t/y of LNG from the Commonwealth LNG facility in February, increasing offtake deals secured by Caturus to cover 8 million metric t/y of the project’s total planned output capacity.

    Positive outlook

    The growth in LNG production capacity in the US, as well as in wider North America, is driven by several factors, including abundant natural gas reserves, the shale gas revolution and advancements in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.

    While it might be a challenge for QatarEnergy to compete with US players in combined liquefaction capacity, its strength and success will lie in clinching long-term offtake deals with customers in Asia, where the bulk of global LNG demand growth is expected.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15954252/main3511.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Bahrain opens bids for first solar IPP project

    13 March 2026

    Two companies have made offers for a contract to develop Bahrain’s first solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power project (IPP).

    Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) opened bids for the Bilaj Al-Jazayer solar IPP project on 12 March.

    The bidders include Saudi Arabia’s Acwa, formerly Acwa Power, and UAE-headquartered Yellow Door Energy.

    The 150 MWac Bilaj Al-Jazayer solar IPP project will be Bahrain’s first grid-connected solar PV power plant developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework on a build-own-operate basis. It will be delivered as a long-term concession and is intended to come online by 2027.

    The proposed site covers more than 1 square kilometre, with the private sector responsible for end-to-end development, including financing, design, construction and operation.

    Last August, EWA held a market consultation event during which it outlined plans for the country’s first solar PV IPP. The main contract was then tendered in October.

    EWA said Yellow Door Energy’s proposal was “accepted with conditions”, but did not disclose further details.

    The local KPMG Fakhro is the financial consultant, the US’ WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff is the technical consultant, and the UK’s Trowers & Hamlins is the legal consultant.

    Bahrain’s clean energy targets, as set by its national plans, include 20% renewables by 2035, and net-zero emissions by 2060.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15968088/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • DP World sees Red Sea port volumes rising as Hormuz shuts

    13 March 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Dubai-based ports operator DP World is preparing for higher throughput at its Red Sea terminals as the Iran conflict approaches its second week, CEO Yuvraj Narayan said on Thursday.

    With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and tanker attacks escalating, shipping movements into Gulf ports have fallen.

    The disruption began after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, rattling energy and freight markets and cutting access through what is widely seen as the world’s most critical oil corridor.

    Since most major Gulf ports rely on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the shutdown is weighing on regional trade flows.

    Narayan said Jebel Ali, DP World’s main hub in Dubai, has not suffered any infrastructure damage and is operating normally, but inbound vessel arrivals are down. Some cargo is still moving through terminals on the eastern side of the strait, he added.

    Ports in the UAE that sit outside Hormuz have limited headroom to absorb the shortfall. Khorfakkan can handle about 5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and Fujairah under 1 million TEUs, which Narayan indicated would not be enough to offset lost volume from Jebel Ali or Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port.

    Jebel Ali alone processed 15.6 million TEUs last year, out of DP World’s 56.1 million TEUs globally.

    DP World is rolling out rerouting options and other operational measures to keep supply chains moving. Narayan said the company’s Red Sea assets, such as Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Sokhna in Egypt, are likely to see increased traffic, though he did not quantify the additional volumes or specify cargo types.

    He cautioned that logistical and security risks remain elevated.

    Earlier this week, DP World announced record financial results for 2025, with revenue up 22% to $24.4bn and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) up 18% to $6.4bn, delivering a 26.3% margin, as MEED reported.

    DP World said that this performance was driven by strong momentum across its ports and terminals and logistics business.

    The group’s gross throughput rose 5.8% to 93.4 million TEUs.

    Profit for the year increased 32.2% to $1.96bn, and operating cash flow grew 14% to $6.3bn.

    Return on capital employed increased to 9.9% in 2025, up from 8.9% in 2024, reflecting stronger earnings despite ongoing geopolitical and trade uncertainty.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15968045/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Frontrunner emerges for Saudi sewage treatment project

    13 March 2026

     

    A consortium led by China’s Jiangsu United Water Technology has emerged as the frontrunner for a contract to build and upgrade two sewage treatment plants in Saudi Arabia, according to sources.

    The contract covers the North Western A Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 11 (LTOM11), part of the next phase of National Water Company’s (NWC) long-term operations and maintenance (LTOM) sewage treatment programme.

    The consortium comprising United Water, Prosus Energy (UAE) and Armada Holding (Saudi Arabia) offered “the lowest tariff” for the project, sources told MEED.

    It is understood that Turkey’s Kuzu has made the next-lowest bid.

    The development, estimated to cost about $211m, will have a combined capacity of about 440,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

    In February, MEED exclusively reported that six bidders were competing for the contract.

    The other companies that have submitted proposals include:

    • Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (Saudi Arabia)
    • Civil Works Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • VA Tech Wabag (India)
    • Aguas de Valencia (Spain)

    LTOM11, also known as the North Western A Cluster, forms part of the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.

    The scheme is being procured on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis with a long-term operations component.

    The main contract was tendered last year, with an award initially expected by the end of 2025.

    It is now understood that NWC is preparing to offer the main contract in the second quarter.

    As previously reported, Saudi Arabia’s NWC is also evaluating five bids for package 12 of its long-term operations and maintenance (LTOM12) sewage treatment programme.

    Known as the North Western B Cluster, LTOM12 forms part of the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.

    In January, the same United Water-led consortium won the main contract for the Northern Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 10 (LTOM10).

    That project includes the rehabilitation and operation of nine sewage treatment plants located across the Hail, Qassim, Al-Jouf and Northern Borders provinces

    NWC is also preparing to tender a contract for the construction of 10 sewage treatment plants as part of package 14 of the programme.

    The final details of the Eastern A Cluster (LTOM14) package are being finalised, with a tender likely to be issued in March or April, sources told MEED.

    READ THE MARCH 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15968035/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Medina tenders Sikkah Al-Hadid PPP project

    13 March 2026

    Saudi entities including Al-Madinah Regional Municipality, in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipalities & Housing and the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP), have floated a request for proposal (RFP) notice for the development of the Sikkah Al-Hadid project.

    The project will be procured through build-own-operate-transfer contracts with a 50-year duration, using a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

    The deadline for bid submission is 23 June.

    The project will be located to the west of Medina on an 84,657-square-metre (sq m) site. 

    It includes a four-storey medical centre with a capacity of up to 200 beds and a shopping mall offering retail, food and beverage, and other entertainment facilities.

    In January last year, NCP asked firms to express their interest and prequalify for a contract to develop two mixed-use developments in Medina, which included the Sikkah Al-Hadid project and the Dhul Hulaifah project.

    The Dhul Hulaifah project will be built on a 30,112 sq m site located six kilometres from the Prophet’s Mosque. 

    The development will consist of a four-star hotel integrated with retail and healthcare facilities.

    MEED previously reported that Saudi Arabia had announced a P&PPP pipeline comprising 200 projects across 16 sectors.

    This pipeline aims to attract local and international investors and ensure their readiness to participate in the schemes tendered to the market.

    The initiative comes as the kingdom strives to increase the attractiveness of its economy and raise the private sector’s contribution to GDP.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15968021/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal