Conference in Doha reviews the future of nuclear energy and its challenges in the Arab world

Salem Hamdi attributes Arab countries' need for nuclear energy as being the most losing due to climate change (Al Jazeera)

DOHA—Nuclear energy is clean and cheap energy that carries many benefits and opportunities, but it also comes with motivations, challenges and hindering factors, which was highlighted by the 12th Arab Energy Conference in Doha.

During one of its sessions "Energy Sources in the Arab Countries and the World", the conference discussed many key issues related to energy sources, introducing the current and future opportunities available to the Arab countries, and reviewing the challenges and factors of disability.

Nuclear energy has recently emerged as one of the most prominent clean energy options for Arab countries, especially in light of the inclusion of many of them as nuclear in their electricity generation strategies, but the challenges and obstacles in this way require great work and effort.

The Director General of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Salem Hamdi, reviewed the Arab strategy for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and the most prominent motives for the use of nuclear energy in the Arab countries, as well as the challenges and factors of disability.

Salem explained during his research paper in the session that the motives of the Arab strategy for the peaceful use of nuclear energy are that competition for energy, water and food resources has become a societal challenge in light of global motives, such as: population growth, climate change, changing consumption patterns and urbanization.

He added that nuclear energy is clean energy and contributes to preserving the environment, and nuclear techniques in diagnosing diseases play a prominent role, in addition to the Arab countries losing the most in their GDP due to climate change.

Part of the closing session of the 12th Arab Energy Conference (Al Jazeera)

Motives

The Director General of the Arab Energy Authority touched on the motives for the use of nuclear energy in the Arab countries, which were:

• Increased energy demand, water scarcity, and cost economy.
• The growing shortage of oil and gas reserves and the fluctuation of oil and gas prices.
• Increasing improvement in nuclear safety and security.
• Energy security, self-sufficiency, diversification of energy sources, and the possibility of using it to desalinate seawater.
• Greenhouse gas emissions are lower, as does air pollution.
• Reduce dependence on fossil fuel sources that are threatened with depletion.
• Economic feasibility given environmental impacts.
• The entry of the nuclear option represents a promising opportunity for the development of industrial and scientific infrastructure.

Challenges

Salem believes that the most prominent challenges to the use of nuclear energy in the Arab countries are:

• The decision to establish a nuclear plant requires careful planning, preparation and human and financial investment.
• The difference between nuclear and other power plants is their relationship to the possession and handling of nuclear material.
• A country's decision to embark on a nuclear program must be based on a commitment to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and to use it in high safety and security. These commitments require the construction of sustainable infrastructure.

The final statement of the conference recommended the need to adopt balanced development policies (Qatari press)

Disability factors

According to the research paper, the Arab environment contains many factors that hinder the establishment of the nuclear program, including:

• Government commitment and political and social conditions.
• Nuclear fuel cycle and long-term fuel assurance.
• Dangers and circumstances of non-proliferation.
• Disposal of radioactive waste.
• Nuclear security and safety.
• The Director General of the Arab Energy Agency explained that the Arab countries are in dire need of the use of nuclear energy in electricity generation, especially in light of the rapid growth in the Arab demand for electricity, the highest in the world, which reaches between 5 to 8% annually and sometimes 10%, which is 3 times greater than the global average of 2.3 to 2.4%. The UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, pointing to the global trend of nuclear electricity generation in light of the presence of 436 powerful reactors operating in 31 countries, with a total electrical capacity of 392,10 megawatts of electricity, amounting to about 61% of the world's electricity, in addition to that there are 112 powerful reactors under construction, 318 reactors planned for construction and <> proposed reactors.

Hydrogen Market

On the other hand, the session "The Subsequent Petroleum Industries: Arab and International" dealt with the future role of hydrogen in the energy mix, where the OAPEC expert, Eng. Wael Abdel Moaty, considered that the hydrogen market is huge and growing, and has large investments, as it is not a nascent industry, but extends for more than 6 decades.

He explained that the international trade of hydrogen is non-existent, as global production reaches 95 million tons, but the place of production consumes raw material, noting that the market demand for hydrogen as an energy source will reach 150 million tons by 2030 and 650 to 700 million tons by 2050.

Hydrogen supports the energy transition by integrating with renewables to increase their share in energy production, decarbonizing key carbon-emitting sectors such as industry and transport, as well as enhancing energy security and diversifying the mix for a sustainable energy future, Abdel Moaty said.

He believed that the Arab region has the potential to produce and export hydrogen, as it is characterized by natural gas as a resource that can be used in the production process, in addition to the infrastructure that can be exploited in the transportation process, as well as its possession of renewable energy represented by the strength of wind speed and a long period of sunshine, in addition to the geographical location in the middle of the world.

He promised that the most prominent challenges to building a hydrogen economy are its need for a high capital cost, as well as the difficulty of finding sources of financing, in addition to providing the appropriate infrastructure, in addition to creating the appropriate political and legislative environment that deals with the hydrogen industry.

Balanced development policies

On the closing day of the 12th Arab Energy Conference, several sessions were held that dealt with the most prominent challenges and issues facing energy sources and their transformations in the Arab region and the world, including the session "Energy Sources in the Arab Countries and the World", the session "Managing Energy Demand in the Arab Countries", and the session "Technological Developments and their Implications for the Energy Sector".

The final communiqué of the conference recommended the need for all Arab countries to adopt balanced development policies, including the integration of the environmental dimension into development plans, the balanced use of resources, the diversification of the economy, and the development of appropriate environmental standards to achieve sustainable development to the fullest. In addition to working to consolidate the basic concepts of sustainable development in the petroleum industry, through the acquisition of modern technologies, energy conservation and rationalization of its consumption, the production of cleaner fuels, the reduction of emissions, and the improvement of performance in all stages of this industry.

He believed that the exploitation of hydrocarbon sources while controlling their emissions through clean technologies will enhance the world's access to the desired zero neutrality in 2050, stressing that hydrocarbon sources are part of the solution towards a balanced, gradual and responsible transition, towards more sustainable energy sources, taking into account the national conditions and priorities of each country.

Source : Al Jazeera