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SHARM EL-SHEIKH – UNIDO Director General, Gerd Müller, took part in the “Investing in the Future of Energy: Green Hydrogen” high-level roundtable at COP27, co-chaired by Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Arab Republic of Egypt, and Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany.The roundtable focused on ways to enhance investments in the field of green hydrogen to confront climate change and activate the role of the private sector.In his opening remarks, President El-Sisi stressed, “Green hydrogen represents a real opportunity for economic development that is compatible with efforts to confront climate change and with the Paris Agreement goals.”In his statement, Chancellor Scholz said “Green hydrogen is the key to decarbonizing our economies, especially for hard-to-electrify sectors such as steel production, the chemical industry, heavy shipping and aviation.”There was a major announcement with President El-Sisi, and Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, launching the Global Renewable Hydrogen Forum. The Forum is billed as a multi-stakeholder public-private platform to facilitate the use of renewable hydrogen to foster the decarbonization of industries and accelerate a just transition, and to identify the best instruments to enable the cross-border trade of renewable hydrogen between renewables-rich developing countries and developed countries.UNIDO’s Gerd Müller welcomed the founding of the Forum, describing it as a global platform to exchange knowledge and technology. He said, “We need it worldwide, not in the European Union. And we need it to define a global framework…UNIDO is the industrial agency and partner for Egypt and Europe to implement this multi-stakeholder platform designed to facilitate large-scale deployments of renewable hydrogen.”Müller concluded, “Our common goal must be to make sure developing countries and emerging economies have access to the benefits of green hydrogen.”

1. ABOUT THE EVENTThe special evening event “Future Energy – Green Hydrogen” will bring together representatives and experts from developing and developed countries to discuss future energy concepts in a creative atmosphere, visualizing the potential of green hydrogen.Organizers: UNIDO in cooperation with the Egyptian COP 27 Presidency and partners (see below) 2. TARGET AUDIENCEPolicymakersDelegates of UNFCCC COP27Representatives of international organizationsCEOs/heads of private sector and finance companiesAcademiaRepresentatives of civil society3. AGENDAOpening by high-level representatives from the Government of Egypt and UNIDO Director GeneralFuture Energy – Green HydrogenWe only have one planet!The voice of future generations4. LIVESTREAMINGThe event will be livestreamed via YouTube on 9 November 2022 at 19:00 -20:00 (UTC +2)

A Special Session - as part of the 8th Global Review of Aid for Trade.Watch the video here.More information here.

VIENNA, 6 JULY 2022 – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) provided its Member States with an online introduction to the different types of colour-based hydrogen (for example green and blue) together with a classification that quantifies the hydrogen’s CO2 content or carbon footprint.“Hydrogen is a global affair that we can only move forward together”, said Petra Schwager, Chief of the Climate and Technology Partnerships Division. “We are therefore further expanding our Global Partnership for hydrogen in industry as we believe that it will drive renewable energy production”.The online discussion provided an overview of the hydrogen colours as well as the transition towards identifying hydrogen production through measuring its CO2 content. Furthermore, numerous hydrogen initiatives were presented by government and industry representatives.“Emissions along the hydrogen value chain should be identified beyond its production sources”, said Alicia Eastman, President of InterContinental Energy. “As a green producer, a certification process is of utmost importance to be able to draw adequate comparisons”.“While certification is important, we also need to avoid new trading barriers as project developers cannot afford to work on too many different schemes”, said Hans Dieter Hermes, Vice President of Clean Hydrogen. “It is important to focus more on the current barriers and instances to close the gap”.Other high-level participants included Nangula Uaandja, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board, who spoke of her country’s green hydrogen production facilities that concur with the growing investment stemming from renewable energy potential in the country; Eduardo Soriano, Director of Applied Technologies, Department of the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation of Brazil, who pointed out that the establishment of certifications and standards are needed to determine what type of hydrogen to produce in the country; and Tudor Constantinescu, Principal Adviser to the Director General for Energy of the European Commission, who introduced the EU hydrogen strategy and RePowerEU Plan, which will give additional support to hydrogen valleys across the European Union.Within the framework of the Global Partnership for Hydrogen in Industry, UNIDO will centre its work on accelerating the uptake of green hydrogen from the production to its end-use. Echoing the interest gathered from, and the requests expressed by Member States, UNIDO will address the needs and priorities identified and proceed with a series of key activities focusing on policy dialogue.Petra SchwagerChief of the Climate and Technology Partnerships Division, UNIDOp.schwager@unido.org

VIENNA, 22 JUNE 2022 – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Hydrogen Energy Centre (IHEC) organized a virtual Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on capacity building and to establish a Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).“There are numerous activities related to Hydrogen throughout the world and progress is gradually being achieved”, said UNIDO Chief Rana Ghoneim, speaking on behalf of Tareq Emtairah, Director of the Department of Energy. “Still, to successfully transition to a hydrogen economy and global trade, the international cooperation on the entire value chain must be enhanced”.“Indeed, the international standards and certification systems are to be gradually improved”, said FU Xiaolong, Deputy Director of the Beijing Tsinghua Industrial Development Research Institute, which is hosting the IHEC ever since its inception in July 2021. “They are essential to facilitate cooperation and development and the use of renewables, nuclear, geothermal and other low/zero carbon generation should be considered in global standards, policies and project developments”.The EGM exchanged on the progress of hydrogen development progress and provided advice on potential challenges to accelerate scaling-up production, transportation, storage and use of hydrogen, including the balance between supply and demand also related to clean energy sources.The EGM also reviewed the progress, work plan and draft outline of the Global Green Hydrogen Development Outlook in industry, which IHEC is currently developing, and agreed on a series of conclusion, including the need to set-up a global hydrogen information and knowledge-sharing network as well as to further emphasize related safety approaches. Furthermore, the EGM reiterated that globally harmonized standards and norms would be of great benefit to a global deployment and cooperation of hydrogen, and that, in an initial phase, IHEC could focus more on global standardization in the hydrogen production, transportation and storage area, and especially metallurgical standards.The EGM further commended IHEC for its progress and for its comprehensive work plan taking into account the importance of accessible and affordable access to clean energy, especially to reduce the dependency of developing countries on energy imports, whereby hydrogen could be generated and used in a local-for-local business model.For more information, please contact:LIU HengSenior Technical AdviserEnergy Technologies and Industrial Applications Division, Department of EnergyUnited Nations Industrial Development Organizationh.liu@unido.org

Photo: IHECSince its inception on 7 July 2021, and with the support of the Government of China and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Hydrogen Energy Centre (IHEC) has been promoting the development of hydrogen energy, including through the world's largest demonstration project – jointly led by IHEC and Beijing Sinohytec – of hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as more than 850 hydrogen fuel cell buses were used to transport athletes and officials with 9 green hydrogen refueling stations built in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province. In total, the buses operated over 3.2 million kilometers and consumed around 200 tons of green hydrogen, which saved an estimated 2,000 tons of carbon.Another IHEC flagship programme, which was developed with the Shuimu Mingtuo Group and Hualu, is the establishment of the International Hydrogen Energy Metallurgy and Chemical Demonstration Zone, which is the world's first comprehensive demonstration project on green hydrogen production and its applications for the metallurgical and chemicals industries. The zone’s construction in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, is planned to start at the end of 2022 and should start its official operations in 2025.The feasibility study report was completed in close cooperation with ThyssenKrupp Technology (Shanghai), the General Electric Power Planning and Design Institute, and Aerospace Changzheng Chemical Engineering. The research and engineering design of the green ammonia is under development in close cooperation with Rhine Technology (Shanghai), TUV (Germany) and Hualu Engineering Technology.The demonstration zone is intended to promote the formation of a green and low-carbon chemical industry chain and achieve comprehensive carbon neutrality in the metallurgical and chemical industries. The annual capacity of green hydrogen is expected to be 300,000 tons derived from building the country’s largest 5-million-kilowatt wind power generation and 1.5 million kilowatt photovoltaic power. China’s first set of 2×550,000 tons of direct reduced iron will be built using green hydrogen as a reducing agent. At the same time, using green hydrogen and air-captured nitrogen as raw materials, the project will produce an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons of green ammonia synthesis. For more information, please contact:LIU HengSenior Technical Advisor, Department of Energy,  UNIDOEmail

RABAT, 16 May 2022 – Gerd Müller, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), is making an official visit to the Kingdom of Morocco to discuss future cooperation between UNIDO and Morocco.The Director General met with Aziz Akhannouch, Head of Government of Morocco, and agreed on stronger cooperation and a new joint initiative on green hydrogen.Müller said, “Together, we have achieved great success in many areas to advance industrial development in the country. We have cooperated on more than 250 projects, and in 2019 we signed a new framework for cooperation: the Programme for Country Partnership. Today, we renew our commitment to take this cooperation further.”During a meeting with Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade, the two agreed to join forces to accelerate the Programme for Country Partnership, implement a road map for the decarbonization of industry and mobilize green funding. They also launched a portal on industrial zones, jointly developed with MCA-Morocco (a programme agreed by Morocco and the US Millennium Challenge Corporation) to promote investment in industry and strengthen competitiveness.In a second joint declaration, signed by Müller, Mezzour, and Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, UNIDO and Morocco agreed to accelerate the use of green hydrogen in industry.Mezzour said, “This new impetus given to our partnership will promote the emergence of highly relevant projects responding to the major challenges of our industry, particularly in terms of industrial decarbonization and resilient, inclusive and sustainable development, as well as the priorities of the Kingdom’s New Development Model. It will undoubtedly contribute to achieving our goal of making Morocco the most competitive low-carbon industrial base in the world.”For his part, Müller underlined, “UNIDO will provide strong support to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, which directly contributes to Morocco`s New Development Model. As we join forces with other UN agencies, UNIDO will use its partnership platform to support Morocco in renewable energy, a circular economy and data-driven industry to realize ambitious decarbonization goals for the industrial sector and the Sustainable Development Goals”.The UNIDO delegation started the mission in Morocco by visiting the Mohammed V Mausoleum to pay tribute to the late sovereigns, King Hassan II and King Mohammed V.

MARRAKESH, 22 June 2022 - Director General Gerd Müller delivered an opening address at the World PtX Summit in Marrakesh, Morocco. The World PtX Summit is organized in a joint effort between the Moroccan Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN) and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University with the aim of creating a regional platform dedicated to green hydrogen. Speaking via a video link, Müller talked about the future of green hydrogen as a lever for the transition towards more sustainable industry.