Air Products Qudra to build NEOM’s first hydrogen station

Air Products Qudra announced it has signed an agreement with ENOWA, NEOM’s Energy, Water and Hydrogen subsidiary, to build, own and operate NEOM’s first hydrogen fuelling station in Saudi Arabia. Qudra will provide critical infrastructure for NEOM’s sustainability goals as it will help in decarbonizing heavy modes of transport, covering buses and heavy-duty trucks. Groundwork for the site is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2023.

Air Products Qudra is the development and investment company of Air Products in the Middle East with Qudra Energy as the joint venture partner, a subsidiary of Vision Invest. Air Products Qudra’s mission is to generate a cleaner future, and that involves experience, technology, and innovation on a world scale.

SPAR to add 60 stores by 2025

BWG Foods, operator of the SPAR and EUROSPAR brands in Ireland, plans to open 60 new stores by 2025. This will take the total number of stores across the country to 525.

The plan will see an investment of €65 million from BWG as well as by independent retailers of both brands. Since 2021, SPAR and EUROSPAR supermarkets have added over 30 stores and have exceeded €1.6 billion in retail sales across the combined network in 2022.

The firm has identified several potential greenfield and brownfield sites for the new stores and will be focusing on the emergence of new communities in the vicinity of the country’s major cities as new housing developments come up. The new stores will create over 1,100 new jobs. “Our SPAR and EUROSPAR brands continue to perform very well, and our exceptional sales are a tribute to the strength of the SPAR and EUROSPAR brands which have been at the forefront of the grocery sector in Ireland for the past 60 years,” said Leo Crawford, Chief Executive of BWG Group.

“We look forward to contributing our world-leading hydrogen expertise and fuelling technology in support of NEOM’s decarbonization goals. Producing and distributing clean hydrogen energy solutions for use in heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles, as well as industrial applications and energy storage, is part of our DNA,” said Ebubekir Koyuncu, CEO of Air Products Qudra.

NEOM is an initiative driven by prince Mohammed bin Salman and is part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to boost the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil.

Media describe the territory as a region that will be composed of various cities, resorts and other developments.

BWG Foods has also confirmed its intention to upgrade more than 100 existing stores across Ireland. The renovation plan includes the rollout of a new store design for the EUROSPAR Supermarket format featuring a number of carbon-reduction measures. These include refrigeration technologies, solar panel installations and recycled fixings.

The announcement came at the time of celebrating the 60th anniversary of the SPAR brand’s presence in Ireland, having first launched in 1963.