Boris Johnson, Bertrand Piccard to attend Green Hydrogen Summit

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has announced a stellar international lineup for its Green Hydrogen Summit including former UK Prime Minister Rt Hon Boris Johnson, ministerial speakers from the UAE, Azerbaijan, Japan and the Netherlands, industry leaders and global adventurer Dr Bertrand Piccard.

Masdar’s second Green Hydrogen Summit, taking place on 16th April at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi, will be held under the theme “Building the Hydrogen Economy: From Dialogue to Reality”. It will convene hydrogen players worldwide for in-depth discussions to accelerate the green hydrogen economy in support of the energy transition.

Keynote speaker Boris Johnson brings significant international experience of advancing clean energy initiatives. During his leadership as UK Prime Minister, Johnson laid out plans to develop a thriving low-carbon hydrogen sector as a key part of the country’s transition to net zero. Dr. Bertrand Piccard, Chairman of Climate Impulse, will also be speaking at the Summit. During his session he will outline progress on his aim for the first hydrogen-powered flight to circumnavigate the planet. Dr. Piccard’s record-breaking adventures include the first non-stop balloon flight around the world, as well as Solar Impulse, the first flight around the world in a solar-powered aircraft.

Hosted by the UAE’s clean energy champion Masdar, the Green Hydrogen Summit will feature a high-level ministerial panel focusing on national strategies and policies to accelerate green hydrogen economies. Ministers taking part in the panel include: Parviz Shahbazov, Minister of Energy, Azerbaijan; Yoshida Nobuhiro, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan; and Frederik Wisselink, Energy Special Envoy, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Netherlands.

Abu Dhabi’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Policy, and its impact on crucial industries, will be the subject of another panel. Speakers in this session will include Ahmed Mohammed Al Rumaithi, Undersecretary, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy and Mohammad Abdelqader El-Ramahi, Chief Green Hydrogen Officer, Masdar, alongside other high-level Abu Dhabi stakeholders.

The Green Hydrogen Summit will bring together the public and private sector, from policymakers and industry leaders to forward-thinking investors and pioneering entrepreneurs. A conversation on ‘Financing the Transition’ will focus on factors needed to make green hydrogen projects bankable, and will feature Lina Osman, Managing Director & Head - Sustainable Finance, Standard Chartered Bank and Dr Michael Whiteley, Global Head Clean Hydrogen, HSBC, amongst other global finance leaders.

There will also be a pan-regional focus looking at the development of green hydrogen economies in Asia, the US and Europe. Speakers include Daria Nochevnik, Director for Policy and Partnerships, Hydrogen Council; Joaquin Rodriguez Jadraque, Director of Hydrogen and Clean Energies, Cepsa; and Alicia Eastman, Host of Everything About Hydrogen and Board Member, InterContinental Energy.

Other panels will spotlight hard-to-abate industries including aviation, shipping and heavy industry, with a key conversation on decarbonising the steel sector featuring industry leaders such as Micheal Rion, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Steel Arkan.

As major economies look to decarbonize their end-use sectors, participants will discuss industries representing the largest demand segments for green hydrogen and take an in-depth look at economies and regions leading the emerging green hydrogen market. Conversations during the Green Hydrogen Summit will explore how governments are enabling progress in investment and developing policy frameworks to scale up and facilitate their hydrogen economies and the global trade of green hydrogen.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said: “Masdar is working to accelerate the journey to net zero and triple global renewable capacity as part of the historic UAE Consensus reached at COP28. Green hydrogen is key to a sustainable energy transition and a vital component of global decarbonization efforts. That’s why it is important that we continue to focus on developing the whole green hydrogen value chain, establishing clear frameworks for cooperation, sharing best practices and aligning regulations to accelerate the transition to a sustainable hydrogen economy.”

Masdar’s green hydrogen business aims to be a leading global producer by 2030, supporting Abu Dhabi’s Low-Carbon Hydrogen Policy announced during COP28, following a trilateral strategic collaboration between Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, ADIO and Masdar to position the UAE as a global hydrogen leader.

Masdar is at the vanguard of making this vision a reality, developing power-to-X projects, both in the UAE and globally, that turn water and electricity into carbon-neutral synthetic fuels. Major announcements in the last 12 months demonstrate Masdar’s commitment to realizing large-scale green projects for hydrogen and its derivatives. Masdar will explore the production of e-methane in Abu Dhabi with Japanese energy companies INPEX, Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas, and has partnered with OMV on a project to produce green hydrogen for decarbonizing industrial processes.