UAE state-owned renewables developer Masdar and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) have agreed to explore ways to jointly support investment in green hydrogen production in emerging markets, with a focus on Africa.

Under a deal signed during this week’s World Government Summit 2023 in Dubai, the two parties will also potentially collaborate on financing African renewables projects, mechanisms to accelerate the rollout of distributed photovoltaics, and green finance initiatives.

Masdar, the UAE’s main vehicle for renewables development, has increased its exposure to international markets in recent months with a string of projects and new strategic alliances with governments including France and Kyrgyzstan. The UAE will host the Cop28 climate talks later this year.

10pc – Masdar estimate for Africa’s share of global green hydrogen market by 2050

“As the UAE prepares to host Cop28, we have placed a special emphasis on ensuring better, more efficient and more equitable access to climate finance. The UAE is a trusted partner of many nations and actively supports the development of emerging nations,” says Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, the UAE’s minister of industry and advanced technology and chairman of Masdar.

“We are excited to advance our partnership with Masdar today and leverage IFC’s climate expertise across emerging markets to support Masdar in achieving breakthroughs in sectors such as renewable energy, green hydrogen and green finance,” adds Makhtar Diop, managing director of IFC.

Masdar recently signed deals with Angola, Uganda and Zambia to develop renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of up to 5GW.

Africa could capture as much as 10pc of the global green hydrogen market by 2050, helping create up to 3.7mn jobs and adding as much as $120bn to the continent’s GDP, according to recent research by Masdar and management consultancy McKinsey. A separate report by the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance—a group of six African countries looking to promote regional development of the fuel—estimates the continent could even meet 22pc of expected international cross-border hydrogen and derivatives trade by that year.

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Author: Stuart Penson