The Oman Investment Authority has invested in US-based electric vehicle battery start-up Our Next Energy (One).
Oman’s sovereign wealth fund also signed a strategic co-operation agreement with One to identify potential areas of partnership in energy and battery storage in the sultanate, Oman News Agency reported on Wednesday.
The financial value of the transaction was not disclosed.
The move, which is consistent with Oman’s strategy to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, will ensure the growth of the electric car market, said Ibrahim Al Eisri, director general of private equity investments at the Oman Investment Authority.
In March, Oman signed a deal with the UK's Knights Bay to extract nickel in the sultanate's first mineral exploration agreement with a foreign partner.
The initial investment in the exploration and evaluation phase is about $25 million to $30 million in the first three years, Oman News Agency quoted the sultanate's Ministry of Energy and Minerals as saying.
EVs will make up about half of new car sales worldwide by 2035 as the push for net-zero carbon emissions picks up pace, Goldman Sachs Research said in a February report.
Sales will soar to 73 million units in 2040, from about two million in 2020, with the percentage of EVs in global car sales projected to rise to 61 per cent, from 2 per cent, during the period, the US investment bank said.
The International Energy Agency expects global electric car sales to surge by 35 per cent to 14 million this year.
These investments will contribute to accelerating the company’s progress towards a sustainable future and allow it to expand the scope of its products and networks to the global market, said Mujeeb Ijaz, founder and chief executive of One.
In February, One closed a $300 million series B capital raise, valuing the company at $1.2 billion. The investment round was led by venture capital firm Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton, according to its website.
Oman, the largest non-Opec producer in the Middle East, has been investing heavily in sectors such as renewable energy and tourism in an effort to diversify its economy.
The sultanate is on track to become one of the largest producers of hydrogen in the world by 2030, the IEA said in a June report.
The country, which could also be the top exporter of the low-carbon fuel in the Middle East by the end of the decade, benefits from ample renewable energy sources and vast tracts of available land, the Paris-based agency said.
Last year, Oman set up a state-owned company, Hydrogen Oman, to oversee the development of hydrogen projects in the country.
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Read more about the coronavirus
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White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers
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