Thank you for all that @sulfur. You've made several good points and I agree with all of them. I'm old enough to remember well the vision of the Palm Jumeriah and The World Islands, 20 and 18 years ago respectively. The Palm Jumeriah got off the ground, but The World Islands ran into strife during 2007-2008, resulting in only 2 islands being developed.
Looking them up now, it's interesting to see that the Heart of Europe is now proceeding. From Wikipedia:
Josef Kleindienst and his firm JK Properties are developing The Heart of Europe, a collection of seven islands (Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Ukraine, Main Europe, Switzerland and Monaco) in the European section of the World, into an island luxury resort.[40] The resort is meant to create a fully immersive European experience, with outdoor snow,[41] and stores accepting only the Euro as a currency.[42] It is set to open in 2020.[43]
In June 2020, a street called Raining Street was being built as part of the Heart of Europe project, with plans to create artificial rainfall once the outdoor temperature exceeds 27 degrees Celsius.[44]
As you allude to the Middle East's blue sky, yesterday afternoon whilst pondering the UAE's media references to a regional electric vehicle supply chain, I randomly Googled "UAE green revolution." I was surprised to find it's a thing: "ultra-modern" vertical farms in the desert, begun only last year. When they commit to a notion, they run with it.
Searching "UAE ev industry" provided links to multiple articles on government backed initiatives:- 20% of government vehicles are now electric.
- Dubai bought 200 Teslas for their taxi industry and are aiming to electrify 50% of their fleet by next year. "This deal was a part of Dubai’s plan to turn 25% of all transportation trips driverless by 2030."
- Dubai's RTA provides electric car owners with free charging, free registration, free parking slots, free tags, no road tolls and a bonus car warranty.
- The neighbouring city Sharjah last year added 50 semi-electric Tesla trucks to their waste management fleet.
- 240 charging stations in Dubai, 750 nationally as of last year. Haven't found a more current figure, but multiple articles claim the UAE has the second highest ratio globally, behind only Amsterdam.
- "Since the launch of Tesla’s showroom in Dubai in 2017, the local government has been encouraging people to buy EVs over traditional cars."
- "In addition to electric cars, the UAE is championing the use of electric powered buses in the country. The launch of new fleet of electric buses in Abu Dhabi epitomises the country’s relentless efforts towards sustainability." https://www.bayut.com/mybayut/electric-cars-uae/
“We passed from horses to cars and are now transitioning to EVs, so it’s not about reaching 90 per cent share; it’s about the speed at which we can go from one per cent to 90 per cent. Starting with the Expo in October, we hope that EVs won’t be a thing of the future any longer, but of the present.”
As a step in that direction, EV Lab — the first-of-its-kind omnichannel, multi-brand electric platform — is creating awareness by setting up pop-up stores in Dubai, allowing people to learn more about EVs.
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/your-guide-to-owning-an-electric-vehicle-in-uae-free-parking-car-registration
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is keen to lead the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).
Despite the region’s wealth in oil and fossil fuels, renewable energy remains a key focus for governmental bodies, which are influenced by the desire to be the pioneers in clean technologies and environmental concerns.
Government policies and incentives to adopt EVs are predicted to significantly drive market growth in the coming years.... The UAE is at the forefront of innovation....
https://www.esi-africa.com/renewable-energy/uae-targets-reliable-electric-vehicle-charging-driven-by-customer-demand/
Apologies to all this is becoming long, but there's a lot written out there, because there's plenty of recent movement in the space. Cutting to the chase regarding an EV supply chain in the Middle East:
1) The UAE already has one company: One Moto. Their factory is in Asia, but they are looking at "manufacturing opportunities in the UAE." https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/379639
UAE-Based Electric Vehicle Manufacturer One Moto Is Ready To Take On The World
Launched in 2018, One Moto is an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer offering a fleet of vehicles such as electric motorcycles, bikes, scooters, delivery and grocery vans, catering to the last-mile industry, as well as urban commuters.
2) Whilst its population of only 10 million is a constraint, the UAE's immediate neighbours, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both are establishing manufacturing plants. Qatar has signed with Yutong to establish and operate a bus factory.
Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup in 2022 has quickened the pace of introducing electric bus manufacturing and later EVs.
The agreement partially strives to achieve Qatar’s Vision, which aims to shift 25% of Qatar’s public transit bus fleet to electric by 2022. The first phase of e-buses will be used for the Qatar FIFA World Cup to transport the expected 1.5 million World Cup visitors between football stadiums. Qatar is aiming for all its public transport to be e-powered by 2030.
3) Saudi Arabia's $400 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) "has been active in the electric-vehicle space, going back several years."
Saudi has hired advisers including Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to look into creating its own domestic electric-car maker.
Electric-car startup Lucid has an undisclosed commitment to build an assembly plant in Saudi.
Last January, the head of the kingdom’s wealth fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, said: “In relation to cars, there is more than one project that we’re now looking at, and they will be executed this year or next year at the latest.”
https://www.ameinfo.com/tech-and-mobility/saudi-and-qatar-plan-to-open-ev-factories-uae-not-gaining-traction/
With Qatar sitting just to the west of the UAE, looking at this map, Abu Dhabi seems to be quite well-placed regionally to service a Middle Eastern electric vehicle supply chain. As we prove up a larger resource at Karibib, I won't be surprised to hear of P2P plans for KIZAD. Personally, I find it more likely that feedstock for our US P2P will come from North America. AJIMHO, GLTAH
(20min delay)