DUBAI — The UAE-German Working Group, an initiative by the two countries to boost cooperation in hydrogen and industrial fuels, convened its first meeting in Dubai to discuss a set of future directions and priorities in this regard and ways to unify the vision and goals for cooperation in the coming years.
It also discussed directions supporting the hydrogen and industrial fuel sector.
Sharif Al Olama, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, led the meeting from the UAE side, whereas Ernst Peter Fischer, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UAE, chaired the meeting from the German side.
At the meeting were Yousef Al Ali, Assistant Under-Secretary for Water, Electricity and Future Energy Affairs; Elien Von Zitwitzer, Director of Bilateral Energy Cooperation at the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Protection, and several concerned officials from both sides.
The meeting was informed that specialist technical groups had been formed to develop the hydrogen market in the two countries. The first working group is concerned with developing hydrogen business and technology while the second will develop policies and legislation in hydrogen, to realise the vision of both countries, and to achieve the roadmap for leadership in hydrogen for the UAE, launched at the Global Climate Change Summit (COP26) in Glasgow.
The roadmap represents a comprehensive national plan to support low-carbon local industries, achieve climate neutrality and enhance the country’s position as a source of hydrogen. This is within the framework of consolidating the directions of rational leadership by promoting future solutions to support the Global Climate Initiative. The latest of these is the UAE’s strategic initiative for climate neutrality 2050, the first in the Middle East and North Africa.
Sharif Al Olama stressed that the joint working group announced in November 2021 aims to maximise the benefit of bilateral cooperation in the field of clean energy between the two countries, especially green hydrogen, by strengthening cooperation and strengthening ties between the two governments and the private sector and research institutes. The group is working on organising a forum to discuss obstacles to the market’s absorption of green hydrogen, promoting ambitions to expand the horizons of clean energy production, and supporting the Paris Agreement on climate change.
He said that the UAE can be a global centre for clean energy in all its forms, especially hydrogen, and it is currently one of the leading countries in developing this field.
Al Olama praised the bilateral relations between the UAE and Germany, which have witnessed tremendous progress over the past few years, thanks to the leadership of the two countries, mutual trust, respect, and shared interests.
The meeting is part of a high-level steering group established from the “Declaration of Intent” of the cooperation agreement signed by the UAE and Germany in 2017.
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