On the third day of the Egypt Energy Show EGYPES 2024, the CLIMATECH Challenge convened, serving as a platform for visionaries, investors, and emerging startups within the global energy industry. The event provided an opportunity to showcase pivotal innovations and cutting-edge climate technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions while creating value and offering innovative solutions.

“When we talk about climate change and how to combat it, we look for non-traditional ways, and of course, AI technologies, biotech technologies, and hydrogen technologies are all game changers.” Hossam Eldin Osama, Ministry Advisor of Communication, and Information Technology,” stated in his opening speech.

“We understand that startups are at the forefront of coming up with innovative solutions and new technologies to address such challenges,” Osama added.

The CLIMATECH Challenge featured two-panel discussions aimed at underscoring the crucial role of innovation and climate technologies in accelerating a path to net zero emissions. They also focused on the role of startups as a pivotal catalyst for delivering key solutions to climate change and presenting low-carbon projects.

Moderated by Karima El Hakim, Country Director-Egypt of Plug and Play Tech. Center, the first panel discussed means to attract capital for climate technology. start-ups.

“In terms of climate technologies, it becomes more difficult for us as bankers to deal with such projects because of the lack of sufficient knowledge that we need in order to understand the companies that we finance. So, we have been building the capacity of the front-line and back-office as well, but I think the solution is to have special funds for early-stage startups, at least for the time being,” said Helmy Ghazi, Deputy CEO and Head of Global Banking Egypt at HSBC.

He referred to the $1 billion global fund created by HSBC Bank, which was dedicated to financing early-stage startups including electric vehicles, battery storage, food sustainability, and carbon capture technologies. He also noted that the bank has established a fund worth one billion Egyptian pounds dedicated to a technology-based program.

In this same context, co-founder and CTO at Shift EV, Amr Helmy, highlighted three key factors that are driving investors to participate more in the area of climate change. The first is the trading of carbon credits, which provides a significant incentive for individuals to invest and gain access to these credits. The second factor is the implementation of carbon taxation, as people are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential impact of these taxes on a global scale. The third factor is the growing importance of disclosures, particularly with the introduction of emissions reporting standards under IFRS accounting standards.

“As we approach the deadlines for achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and as the global temperature continues to rise, more people will realize the urgency of the situation. This will lead to a further increase in investments in sustainability and climate technology, creating a massive influx of funds into these areas. This presents a unique opportunity for emerging markets to capture this investment and benefit from it. Unlike other sectors, major economies are required to invest certain amount in climate technology and energy, making it crucial for emerging markets to tap into this opportunity,” Helmy said.

Moderated by Steve Lutes, Vice President, Middle East Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce, the second panel dealt with means of enhancing collaboration between energy corporations and climate tech startups.

“It takes approximately five to ten years from an idea that gets generated all the way to actually commercializing and deploying that technology,” stated Zainub Noor, Director of Scouting and Innovation at Halliburton Labs.

She emphasized the lengthy process of bringing a new technology to market, using carbon capture as an example. “For those of us familiar with the whole CCUS value chain, the overall carbon that’s released into the atmosphere on an annual basis is around 37 gigatons,” she explained. “However, much of that is actually absorbed by the atmosphere. The target to achieve by 2030 is 5 gigatons.”

Despite this goal, the industry is currently only capturing around 45 million tons, which is less than what is emitted in a single day. This highlights the challenges and time-consuming nature of technology development and deployment, as she noted.

“We are very humbled by the idea that a lot of the innovations and technology will come from corporations, but also from academia, startups, and government programs such as the DOE in the US,” she added.

Noor then addressed the issue of what these innovators lack in order to successfully bring their ideas to market. “It’s basically access to industrial scaling resources on how to take a really neat innovation technology and convert it into a successful business,” she explained. This is where corporations can play a crucial role in providing these resources and helping to bridge the gap between innovation and commercialization.

The conference, sponsored by Petrojet and Ennpi, hosted five startup energy companies to pitch their technological solutions and business models in front of an influential judging committee, spotlighting pioneering start-ups with cutting-edge solutions to expedite the energy transition.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla awarded Turkish PikARE Water and Energy Technologies Inc. and Indian Golu Hydrogen Technologies Inc. for their innovative approaches to reaching low-carbon energy sources and means of combating climate change.

PiKARE Water and Energy Technology Inc. won the CLIMATECH Challenge Award for its AWEG groundbreaking solution to the masses, leveraging extensive R&D activities carried out over ten years. The AWEG System harnesses the energy required for its operation from the sun’s radiation, storing heat for use during periods of limited solar energy availability.

Meanwhile, Golu Hydrogen Technologies Inc. won the People’s Choice Award for innovating energy from a chemical perspective. Golu-H2 is a modular hydrogen generator, solving hurdles to widespread hydrogen adoption.

The day came to an end with Minister El Molla’s tour of the exhibition booths of international and local petroleum and energy companies participating in the EGYPES 2024 exhibition, highlighting the significance of exploring the latest technologies and advanced techniques applied in the energy fields.