37 French companies from oil and gas, petrochemical and renewables sector will be gathered in Abu Dhabi from 31 October to 3 November for Adipec, the region’s leading event in the energy sector.
This year edition will focus on securing affordable and clean energy systems one year away from the COP28 with a new strategic conference on creating decarbonisation strategies for a sustainable future.
Adipec 2022 will gather policy makers, energy leaders and industry professionals to share insights on key energy trends and to advance the industry’s ambitions in relation to climate change, the energy transition and net-zero energy systems.
Operated by Business France, the French Pavilion at Adipec 2022 is organised in partnership with TotalEnergies, Evolen and is sponsored by Trouvay and Cauvin, Valsem and Terracotta. It will highlight a forward-looking French energy sector presenting low-carbon solutions and advanced technologies to ensure energy security and sustainability globally.
On the side-lines of President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visit to Paris in July 2022, several strategic deals had been signed following the comprehensive energy partnership between the two countries. Major French energy suppliers already well established in the Middle East such as Total Energies, Technip Energies, EDF and Engie to name a few have been ever since ramping up their efforts to transform the energy value chain and decarbonise markets locally by being involved in key projects in renewables and hydrogen energy.
French engineering technology company Technip Energies has set up a joint venture (NT Energies) that is focusing on energy transition with National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) by providing value-added services in the blue and green hydrogen sector and the capture of carbon dioxide.
As for TotalEnergies, one of ADNOC’s oldest partner, present in the UAE for the past 80 years operating in a variety of business segments such as renewables and electricity, gas and green gas, oil and biofuels, petroleum, and bio-based products, has been very active lately in decarbonisation projects such as green hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).
The UAE has been investing a lot to hit its target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 through a wide-ranging green strategy focused on a shift to renewable energy and the use of new technology, which will help to reduce carbon emission levels. As the demand for clean fuels grows worldwide, the UAE aims to become a leader and exporter in the international hydrogen market. French expertise and capacity-building can be a game-changer to reach commitments to a net-zero world.
In this regard, this year, lots of exhibitors including 12 newcomers will be at the show to provide industry leaders with advanced solutions to enhance energy efficiency and optimise costs for affordable and cleaner energy systems: Vulcanic, Sercel, 2B1st Consulting, Buracco, Cryostar, Fuji Electric, Johnson Screens, Pemflow, Pompes Pollard, Sixense Group, SKF, Spare Parts 3D, Technogenia, , H-Expertise Services… The solutions displayed will range from optimisation of industrial process to gas analysis, digitalisation in energy, deepwater technologies, maintenance solutions, future proof operations… to name a few.
Axel Baroux, Managing director at Business France Middle East, said: “The ongoing energy transformation happening in the Middle East gives a momentum for French companies to showcase their innovations and cutting-edge technologies to further develop partnerships and shift investment opportunities to help decarbonise operations while meeting local energy providers to meet global energy demand growth through low-carbon fuel alternatives.”
Indeed, French energy companies are looking for more investments in renewables and hydrogen projects within the UAE and the region to adapt to changing market realities and meet rising energy needs. For example, EDF Renewables is in consortium with UAE’s Masdar, Taqa and China’s JinkoPower; and it is developing a 2-Gigawatt solar PV project in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region. French utilities company Engie’s first green hydrogen and ammonia project in the Middle East is the 200 MW development with Masdar and fertiliser company Fertiglobe, which will be built in the industrial hub of Ruwais in the emirate of Abu Dhabi and is expected to come on stream in 2025. Engie is also eying green hydrogen projects in Oman.
Those projects are timely as the UAE is the first Middle East country to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050 with clean energy being one of the main pillars of its Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative. To this end, the country wants to have a 25 per cent global market share in low-carbon hydrogen projects by 2030 and be a leading exporter. French delegates, under “la French Fab” pavilion, are bringing the best of the French manufacturing power to explore new pathways towards decarbonisation and the production of low carbon products.