France, UAE to Join Forces on RE and H2 Projects

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday that France will work with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on new projects in the energy sector including renewables and hydrogen fuel.

“Reaching zero carbon emissions by 2050 is an important goal, and we want to work with the UAE on this fight on climate change,” Le Maire told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

The minister called for economic and investment cooperation as France’s economy rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic, and he mentioned investments in new supply chains as one reason for his visit to the Gulf country.

“It’s time to give new impetus to economic cooperation between our countries,” he said regarding the new partnership between France and UAE.

Le Maire was scheduled to meet the heads of Abu Dhabi state funds ADQ and Mubadala, as well as state oil company ADNOC.

The French government plans to accelerate green hydrogen development in the country, aiming to have 20-40% of total hydrogen and industrial hydrogen consumption sourced from low-carbon and renewable hydrogen by 2030.

As per the government’s Multi-Annual Energy Programme (PPE), the first objective is to reach a rate of 10% carbon-free hydrogen for industrial usage by 31 December 2023, then between 20-40% by 31 December 2028. To this end, the government will invest €7 billion by 2030, with €2 billion to be directly invested as part of the government recovery plan to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In October this year, the UAE became the first Gulf petro-state to commit to fully decarbonise its economy and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. The country aims to invest 600 billion dirhams ($163 billion) in “clean and renewable” energy until 2050. That works out at around 21 billionn dirhams ($6bn) a year.

Notably, this month, the UAE revealed at COP26 the Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap aiming to support domestic decarbonisation through hydrogen whilst also becoming a key global export hub of the clean energy carrier by targeting a 25% market share by 2030.