A project kick-off meeting of the four participating NATO member countries (United States, France, Germany, Turkey) with Morocco and Mauritania as NATO Mediterranean Dialogue countries has been held in Rabat on the 29-30th of November 2007. This meeting marked the effective launch of the NATO Science for Peace SfP-982620 "Sahara Trade Winds to Hydrogen: Applied Research for Sustainable Energy Systems" Project. The NATO SfP-982620 Project of the ‘Science for Peace and Security Program’ is an integral part of the mechanisms made available to the Mediterranean Dialogue Partner Countries of NATO. The Sahara Wind Energy Development Company is coordinating this regional applied research program aimed at co-developing new energy technology solutions in Morocco and Mauritania through industrial synergies.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its report on assessing the transition to a hydrogen economy. The research on hydrogen is coordinated worldwide by the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE) that was established in 2003 as an international institution to accelerate the transition to a hydrogen economy. The report entitled "Building the Hydrogen Economy: Enabling Infrastructure Development - Part II: Sharing the European Vision" is part of a series of workshops, the second of which took place on 10-12 July 2007 in Paris at the headquarters of the International Energy Agency.