TotalEnergies is joining Germany's Siemens Energy on a Masdar-led initiative to produce sustainable aviation fuel from green hydrogen as the UAE offers cleaner solutions to help the global aviation sector to reduce its carbon footprint.
The three companies will develop a pilot plant that will be based in Masdar City in the UAE capital.
The project will enter the front-end engineering and design stage later this year and is expected to start operations by the "middle of this decade", Siemens Energy chief executive Christian Bruch told The National.
“We are discussing with partners to take it forward because it is obviously now important to get into the realisation mode,” he said.
“We are about to take the next steps, which means getting into the conceptual engineering [stage] and preparing the ground for an investment decision.”
Last year, Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Siemens Energy, Marubeni Corporation, Etihad Airways and the Lufthansa Group signed a preliminary agreement for the demonstrator plant initiative.
In the first phase, the project partners will focus on the production of green hydrogen for passenger cars and buses in Masdar City. They will also build a plant to convert the majority of the green hydrogen into sustainable aviation fuel.
At a later stage, the pilot programme will explore the production of decarbonised fuels for the maritime sector.
The Masdar-led initiative is expected to reduce the UAE’s carbon footprint, create domestic demand for sustainable fuels and establish a local knowledge and industry base for their production, Siemens Energy said at the time.
Since January 2021, the project partners have completed a range of evaluations on technology suppliers and feasibility studies while working closely with regulators on compliance issues.
TotalEnergies brings expertise in the production, offtake and supply of sustainable aviation fuel to partner airlines, which will help the pilot programme to move forward.
The French oil company would be a "great addition to the team" and the inclusion of an international oil company “brings nicely together producers, technology companies [and] consumers”, Mr Bruch said.
Last July, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) called on governments and oil companies to redirect their focus and invest more in sustainable aviation fuels to help the airline industry meet its environmental goals.
Higher production could lower the price of sustainable aviation fuels as airlines around the world push to cut their carbon footprint, Iata director general Willie Walsh said at the time.
In September 2021, about 60 companies in the aviation sector pledged to increase the share of sustainable aviation fuel in the industry to 10 per cent by 2030 in an effort to help the world to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
Companies such as Shell, Airbus, Bank of America, Boeing, American Airlines, British Airways, Heathrow Airport, Iberia, TotalEnergies and Visa are among the 60 signatories to the pledge to drive the use of sustainable aviation fuel.
“The aviation companies will have no [option] but to go down this road in the next few years to come if they really want to substantially decarbonise,” Mr Bruch said.
We are discussing with partners to take it forward because it is obviously now important to get into the realisation mode
Christian Bruch,
chief executive of Siemens Energy
Siemens Energy, which was spun off from industrial conglomerate Siemens, is jointly exploring options with Mubadala Investment Company to drive investment into the development of advanced technology and the production of green hydrogen and synthetic fuel.
The demonstrator plant in Masdar City is part of that broader pact and the two partners are looking at other projects beyond the UAE market, Mr Bruch said.
Siemens Energy is also a partner in a Dh50 million ($13.62m), 300-kilowatt green hydrogen pilot project with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and Expo 2020 Dubai.
The plant is located at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the site of the UAE's biggest solar plant.
The pilot project is intended to demonstrate how hydrogen can be produced from solar power and how it can be stored.
The German company is also exploring opportunities in Egypt, where it is developing a hydrogen centre.
"In Egypt, we are thinking of a pilot or prototyping installation ... in the range of 100 megawatts," Jochen Eickholt, executive board member at Siemens Energy, told The National in December.
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Book%20Details
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Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
EA Sports FC 24
Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
ACC%20T20%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Championship
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Persuasion
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
Results
57kg quarter-finals
Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Hamed Al Matari (YEM) by points 3-0.
60kg quarter-finals
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) RSC round 2.
63.5kg quarter-finals
Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Shamlan A Othman (KUW) by points 3-0.
67kg quarter-finals
Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Ahmad Ondash (LBN) by points 2-1.
71kg quarter-finals
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) defeated Lalthasanga Lelhchhun (IND) by points 3-0.
Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Seyed Kaveh Safakhaneh (IRI) by points 3-0.
81kg quarter-finals
Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Ahmad Hilal (PLE) by points 3-0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Champions'
Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
Rating: 2/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
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Europe's top EV producers
- Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
- Iceland (33%)
- Netherlands (20%)
- Sweden (19%)
- Austria (14%)
- Germany (14%)
- Denmark (13%)
- Switzerland (13%)
- United Kingdom (12%)
- Luxembourg (10%)
Source: VCOe
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
