Everything About Hydrogen Hydrogen Media Ltd

Recently, the team has the pleasure of speaking with Frank Wouters, a true visionary in hydrogen as well as the untapped potential of deserts. Chris Jackson, Alicia Eastman, and Patrick Molloy delve into some timely topics including offsets and the Zero Emissions Trading Alliance (ZETA) as well as the newly funded EU MED-GEM Network.
About Frank Wouters:
Frank has been leading renewable energy projects, transactions, and technology development for more than thirty years and played a lead role in the development of renewable energy projects all over the world.
Frank was the Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) from 2012 to 2014 and has sat on the boards of energy companies in Europe, Asia, the US, and Africa. He currently serves as:
• Chairman of the MENA Hydrogen Alliance, Dubai
• Chairman of the Dii Advisory Board, Dubai
• Director of the EU MED-GEM Network, Brussels
• Fellow, Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines, Denver
• Chairman of the Benelux Business Council Abu Dhabi
• Chairman of the HyET Group Advisory Board, The Netherlands
• Non-Executive Board Director of Gore Street Capital, London
Frank has authored several books on renewable energy and green hydrogen and lives in Abu Dhabi. He has a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Delft University.
About MENA Hydrogen Alliance:
The organization aims to create the Middle East North Africa hydrogen community with a regional focus and global scope to accelerate the deployment of li-carbon hydrogen. The Alliance provides a platform for partners to meet and discuss pathways forward, to formulates common studies and connect producers and off-takers.

About the EU MED-GEM Network:
The EU MED-GEM project, supporting the development of Green Electrons and Molecules (GEM) in the Southern Mediterranean area, is an initiative funded by the European Union that aims to create and operate a sustainable and self-sustaining network in the Southern Neighbourhood region. By convening dialogue and collaborative activities between key energy stakeholders, MED-GEM activities facilitate and promote the growth of the GEM industry, in particular Renewable & Green Hydrogen, at regional level. The Network also aims at raising awareness on the imperative need for an accelerated clean energy transition.

About ZETA:
The Zero Emissions Trade Alliance (ZETA) was founded nearly ten years ago by Jan Haizmann. As an impartial and technically neutral platform for actors in the market of clean/low/no emissions energy carriers, it is intended to encourage and facilitate standards, certification, data exchange, and any related technologies and rules.
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Links:
MENA Hydrogen Alliance - https://dii-desertenergy.org/mena-hydrogen-alliance/
EU MED-GEM Network - https://med-gem.eu/home-page
ZETA - https://www.zeta-global.org/

On this episode of EAH, Patrick Molloy, Alicia Eastman, and Chris Jackson are delighted to speak with Arsenio Dominguez, the newly appointed Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Recorded before the highly successful MEPC81, Arsenio describes his vision for the IMO and his confidence in solutions that will reduce emissions from shipping without penalizing member states.
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About SG Arsenio Dominguez:
Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco is the tenth IMO Secretary-General, bringing with him more than three decades of experience serving the global maritime sector, across a spectrum of leadership roles of increasing scope and responsibility.
Initially representing his native Panama, first within the Panama Maritime Authority and in his lattermost appointment as Ambassador of Panama to the IMO, his affinity for building consensus saw him elected by his peers as Chair of several flagship IMO intergovernmental meetings, including: the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the Technical Committee of the 29th Assembly, and the Maritime Security, Piracy and Armed Robbery Group, as well as a number of Vice-Chair and Board member roles.
A naval architect at heart and by training, Mr. Dominguez gained his first degree at Veracruzana University, Mexico. Recognizing from the outset of his career the importance of a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectorial approach to the maritime sector, Mr. Dominguez later went on to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Hull, as well as an executive qualification in International Law and European Politics at Birkbeck University, both in the United Kingdom.
This agile approach served him well in better understanding the priorities and navigating the needs of the different stakeholders across the maritime sector, and indeed the complexities of a specialized UN agency whose mission it is to support them. In 2017, Mr. Dominguez harnessed this extensive technical and diplomatic knowledge and experience as a delegate for the benefit of IMO. He joined the Organization, first as Chief of Staff, followed by Administrative Director - leading the Organization through the COVID-19 pandemic. Directly prior to his election in July 2023 as Secretary-General, he was the Director of the Marine Environment Division.
His initial term as IMO Secretary-General was approved at the 33rd Assembly in December 2023.
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About the IMO:
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. The IMO work supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The main role of the IMO is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented.
Shipping is a truly international industry, and it can only operate effectively if the regulations and standards are themselves agreed, adopted and implemented on an international basis.
IMO measures cover all aspects of international shipping – including ship design, construction, equipment, manning, operation and disposal – to ensure that this vital sector for remains safe, environmentally sound, energy efficient and secure.
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Links:
IMO: https://www.imo.org/

This week Chris Jackson and Alicia Eastman interview a rising star in project finance - Patrick Gelstrup Rosenquist, Senior Vice President of the Danish Export and Investment Fund ("EIFO") and Patrick Molloy weighs in on the surprising advantages of Export Credit Agencies (“ECAs”).
About Patrick Gelstrup Rosenquist:
Patrick has worked for Denmark’s Export Credit Agency (EKF) and now EIFO for 15 years with a special focus on wind energy and Power-2-X. He is a renewable energy and infrastructure financing professional with expertise originating, analyzing, negotiating and structuring renewable energy assets. Key focus areas are export credits and international non-recourse finance for P-to-X projects worldwide.

About Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (“EIFO”):
EIFO is the national promotional bank and export credit agency of Denmark combined in one financial institution. It is the merger of three state funds – Vaekstfonden (The Growth Fund), EKF, and the Danish Green Investment Fund who all became subsidiaries under EIFO in January 2023.

About NZECA: Launched at COP28 in December 2023 the Net-Zero Export Credit Agencies Alliance (“NZECA) was launched by five founding and three affiliate members in partnership with Oxford, Future of Climate Cooperation, and the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative. Founding members include EKN of Sweden, EIFO, Export Development Canada (“EDC”), Svensk Exportkredit (SEK), and UK Export Credit. Affiliate members include Etihad Credit Export Insurance (“ECI”), Spain’s Export Credit Agency (“Cesme”) and KazakhExport. The Alliance unites leading public finance institutions committed to delivering net-zero economies by 2050 by supporting the decarbonisation of trade and facilitating joint action from public and private finance.

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Links
EIFO: eifo.dk/en/
NZECA: https://www.unepfi.org/climate-change/net-zero-export-credit-agencies/

This week on the Everything about Hydrogen podcast we are speaking to Kareem Afzal from PDC Machines. The company is a US based business, with >40yrs of experience in the world of compression. As market leaders in the supply of diaphragm compressors for industrial and mobility based applications in the hydrogen space, PDC Machines have seen the good, the bad and the ugly.
With manufacturing, sales and assets deployed across Europe, Asia and USA, we ask Kareem to talk through how PDC Machines sees the hydrogen project landscape evolving. What opportunities and challenges are PDC machines seeing for projects both under operation and attempting to achieve FID? Finally, Kareem speaks on how PDC Machines is able to maintain quality standards, whilst also accommodating supply chain pressures for local content as governments across the world seek to tie subsidies to new job creation.
 
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Links 
https://www.pdcmachines.com/about-us/#story

Today on the show we speak to Daniel Hanna, Global Head of Sustainable Finance for the Corporate & Investment Bank at Barclays Plc. On the show we discuss Daniel’s views on COP28 and climate investments globally, as well as his personal background and work in the sector. Finally, he speaks on what Barclays is doing to accelerate decarbonisation efforts and unlock climate financing solutions.
 
Daniel has long been a pioneer in innovative financing solutions to deliver social & environmental impact, having previously worked at Standard Chartered were he developed some of the first blended finance bond products to address issues such as water access and education, as well as supporting the NEOM project to raise its first financing. At Barclays, Daniel plays a key role in helping the bank to deliver on its ambition to enable $1trillion of Sustainable and Transition Financing between 2023 and the end of 2030. This is supported through several areas including Barclays internal £500mn Principal Investments arm, which provides growth capital to leading innovators in clean energy such as GeoPura, ZeroAvia, Protium, Zedify, Naked energy and many more. Barclays has also designed new products, including an innovative structured debt product that enabled a $300mn facility with EV services provider Einride, as well as helping companies in their corporate financing journey by providing investment banking support for fund raises such as Ohmium’s $200mn capital raise through TPG rise. All this and more we cover in the show as Daniel lays out how he sees Barclays as a leading provider of financing solutions for the clean energy space.
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Links
https://home.barclays/news/press-releases/2022/daniel-hanna-joins-barclays-as-global-head-of-sustainable-financ/
https://www.barclays.co.uk/sustainability/#:~:text=Setting%20a%20target%20to%20facilitate,and%20the%20end%20of%202030
https://trans.info/einride-secures-an-additional-500-million-in-funding-316547

To round off Season 5, the team are taking the podcast to COP28 in Dubai and providing listeners with a bit of texture including what the event was like to attend, as well as sharing a snapshot of some of the varied voices and discussions that took place. Having had a little time for reflection, Alicia, Chris and Patrick also offer their thoughts and takeaways on what this COP might mean for the future.
COP28 was the first in nearly 30 years to feature hydrogen as part of the Presidential Action Agenda with Daria Nochevnik of Hydrogen Council (also former EAH guest) as the Special Hydrogen Advisor to the COP Presidency, H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber.
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Speakers Featured (in order of appearance)
•⁠ ⁠Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar CEO
•⁠ ⁠Marie-Anaïs Esprit, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking
•⁠ ⁠Eng. Nawal Alhanaee, Director of Future Energy at the UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure
•⁠ ⁠Princess Mishel Bint Saud Al Shalan, Public Investment Fund (PIF) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, courtesy of her uncle, Modern Group Chairman HRH Prince Turki bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
•⁠ ⁠Kiruthika Sadagopan, Reliance Industries ‘Intrapreneur’
•⁠ ⁠Ana María Pinto, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Transport Division Chief
•⁠ ⁠Jeremy Nixon, ONE Singapore CEO and World Shipping Council Co-Chair
•⁠ ⁠Jean-François Gagné, Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Secretariat
•⁠ ⁠David Shukman, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change Visiting Professor in Practice
•⁠ ⁠Arsenio Dominguez, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General - Elect
Special thanks to Nelson Mojarro of International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Decarbonization Innovation Lead and team who organized an incredible two-day shipping event including the inaugural COP28 Presidency High Level Shipping Ministerial.