Dubai: A new research paper will explore potential green hydrogen collaborations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK).

This comes as part of a joint commitment between the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO), a Dubai-based international platform that drives coalitions to enable green economic growth, and Zest Associates.

The report, sponsored by HSBC, will seek to uncover mutual opportunities to accelerate the development of the respective clean hydrogen markets of the UAE and the UK. Its research will engage business leaders, industry associations, policymakers, innovators and academics across both countries.

“As the UAE and UK look to deepen their trading relationship and spur investment and innovation in low-carbon technology, it is critical that we create spaces for dialogue and the exchange of ideas that lead to real practical action,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, chairman of WGEO.

“This report will align with the WGEO’s objective to enable and implement bankable and sustainable green projects and programmes by linking technology, capacity-building and finance,” he said in a press release.

The research paper will examine opportunities in the green hydrogen space between the two countries, with scalable suggestions for collaborations and partnerships. It will map innovation priorities, profile hydrogen companies, and look at how policy and regulatory collaboration between the UAE and UK can facilitate trade, encourage foreign direct investment, and guarantee the low carbon credentials of hydrogen.

Research for the report will include stakeholder meetings and workshops to test and validate findings. There will also be a panel discussion on the report’s conclusions in the first half of 2022.

Zest Associates, a Dubai-based sustainability consultancy with links to the UK and expertise in green finance, policy and cleantech innovation, is leading the report’s research.

Focus on cleantech
The announcement of the report builds on recent public statements aimed at supercharging the economic relationship between the UK and UAE, with a focus on cleantech and low carbon infrastructure, including expansion of the UAE-UK New Energy Partnership.

The report will also support the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100 per cent of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

In May 2021, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) inaugurated the first solar-driven green hydrogen production facility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in collaboration with Expo 2020 Dubai and Siemens Energy, with the aim of demonstrating the production of green hydrogen from solar power, storage and re-electrification.

The plant has been built to accommodate future applications and test platforms for the different uses of hydrogen, including energy, potential mobility and industrial uses.

DEWA has invited globally reputed consulting companies to submit their offers to develop an ambitious strategy for the production of green hydrogen, which represents one of the pillars of a sustainable future that depends on accelerating the transition to carbon neutrality to support a green economy.