Where are energy ties between the UAE and India headed?

The latest renewable energy agreement between the UAE and India will further increase co-operation between the two countries in areas such as clean energy, electricity grid connectivity and green hydrogen, experts and officials have said.

Earlier this week, both countries signed initial agreementsto expand bilateral investments in renewable energy, food processing and healthcare sectors.

The agreement aims to invest in renewable energy projects in India, potentially reaching a total capacity of 60 gigawatts.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said one of the pacts was on renewable energy, which also includes green hydrogen and solar.

“There is an inherent thought of possible grid connectivity between India and the UAE in that space,” Mr Kwatra told reporters at a summit in India’s Gujarat state.

The preliminary agreement between the two countries would focus on combining new areas of technology with renewable energy, Navdeep Suri, former ambassador of India to the UAE, said.

“There are some really ambitious ideas that are being discussed, particularly in terms of trying to connect grids in the two countries [and] there’s a fair bit of discussion on green hydrogen,” Mr Suri told media.

He also said the latest round of agreements could support the goals of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and the I2U2 economic co-operation grouping. The I2U2 group is a grouping of India, Israel, the UAE and the US.

The trade corridor, which was announced at the G20 Summit in India in September, will originate in India, connect the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, and terminate in the EU.

It has called for the development of a mix of rail and sea links for physical connectivity and includes plans for pipelines to transport hydrogen produced in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

I2U2 was formed in 2021 following the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, to deal with issues concerning maritime security, infrastructure and transport in the region.

Less than a year after the group’s creation, the countries announced a partnership to advance a 300-megawatt wind-solar hybrid project complemented by a battery energy storage system in Gujarat.