UAE and Germany to boost clean energy management and development

High-level UAE delegation on four-day visit to Germany to explore ways the two countries can co-operate in energy transition

A worker fixes solar panels at a floating photovoltaic plant in Haltern, western Germany. The UAE and Germany are collaborating to create clean energy strategies. AFP

The UAE and Germany announced on Wednesday a plan to draft policies to govern energy management and development, especially in areas that promote renewable and clean energy, capacity building and youth empowerment in clean energy technology.

The announcement, first reported by state-owned news agency Wam, comes during a four-day visit by a senior-level UAE delegation — headed by Sharif Al Olama, undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure — to Germany to explore ways the two countries can co-operate in the area of clean energy.

“The Emirati-German partnership has helped achieve the objectives of the clean energy transition and supported the efforts of both sides to draft projects and initiatives in line with the Paris Climate Agreement,” Wam quoted Mr Al Olama as saying.

As part of the visit, the UAE delegation visited the 50Hertz Transmission GmbH, which manages the electricity transmission network in northern and eastern Germany and is responsible for securing electricity supplies for about 18 million people.

They were briefed at the site about how the system integrates renewable energy systems into the network.

The Emirates' embassy in Germany also hosted a meeting of the UAE-German Energy Partnership, during which officials completed a declaration of intent for joint co-operation.

The two countries signed the UAE-German Energy Partnership in 2017 to enhance dialogue and provide a framework for co-operation in the energy transition.

Officials explored future strategies to support the hydrogen sector and related developments in both countries, Wam reported.

The UAE and Germany have launched a bilateral Hydrogen Taskforce to engage ministries, companies and scientists in a systematic process to boost the hydrogen economy.

The countries aim to co-operate on upstream (joint production of green fuels), midstream (transport) and downstream (technology for industrial use) projects.

There are also two German-Emirati projects to produce green hydrogen already under way in the UAE, including one in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi.