MASDAR - Doorway to the Future
When UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon spoke at the opening ceremony of theWorld Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi this week, he praised the
work of Masdar, the Middle East’s first graduate research
institution dedicated to clean energy research and
education.
“The future is showcased in Masdar,” he said, noting that
the public - private partnerships that led to this initiative will
benefit the entire planet.
class=”MsoNormal”>His words were echoed by many
attending World Future Energy Summit, which in a few short years
has become the window on the clean energy technologies and ideas
that will shape cities and affect the lives of millions throughout
the world.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>The fact that the Masdar
initiative and Future Energy Summit are sponsored by one of the
world’s leading fossil fuel producers is doubly significant as a
signal that all economies must adapt to the realities of a lower
carbon future.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>The proximity of the two - The
Future Energy Summit and Masdar - is deliberate. Corporate
executives and leading experts in clean energy and urban design
assembled at the Summit to exchange ideas and insights, have only
to point to the $2 billion city of the future rising in the barren
desert near Abu Dhabi as the showcase of what could become
commonplace in cities around the world over the next two
decades.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>That is why industry giants
such as Siemens, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Ernst &
Young, Vestas, Johnson Controls, BP, CH2M Hill, Exxon Mobil,
Deloitte & Touche and GE were highly visible at the Summit,
along with delegations from state and national governments from
every leading economy.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>GE, the first corporate
resident of the Masdar Institute, is researching a wide range of
energy efficiency innovations that in time will find expression and
deployment through the company’s highly successful Ecomagination
Initiative.
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class=”MsoNormal”>For many technology
developers, the lure of Masdar goes beyond the excitement of
innovation. There is money available to support new technology
commercialization.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>The Masdar Clean Tech
Investment Fund, in partnership with various financial institutions
such as Swiss bank Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Macquarie
Capital, has been funding solar, wind, solar, wind, and waste to
energy companies around the world. A new fund will be launched
presently which may extend broader than the narrow focus of clean
tech.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal box”>‘Partnerships’ is the operative
word, not only with respect to the investment fund, but also in
relationship to capacity building for the
future.
British Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, noted in an article
in the
target=”_blank”>UAE’s The Nati
target=”_blank”>o
target=”_blank”>nal that the World Future
Energy Summit provides the ideal platform to showcase the UK’s
capabilities in technology, innovation, and research and
development to contribute to the UAE’s low-carbon future,
particularly where demand for skills and knowledge is high, such as
grid connection, carbon capture and storage, and energy
efficiency.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>It is a view echoed by
Klaus-Peter Brandes, Germany’s Ambassador to the UAE who
signaled his country’s role in the launch of the WFES
and as a pioneer for climate protection through the development and
deployment of renewable energy to mitigate global climate
change.
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Energy is not the sole focus of the
event. Innovative solutions for waste management, air quality
control, water and wastewater management and green building have
become important showcases for technology developers from many
countries seeking to gain a foothold in the burgeoning Middle
Eastern markets.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>Water is a particularly
important issue in this region, with demonstrating water
purification technologies, desalination systems and an innovative
approach to harvesting water from atmospheric moisture.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>The Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency is
testing a new
solar energy desalination system touted as a
“zero-carbon process which helps reduce cost of water treatment,
especially in desert areas where dust and high temperatures impair
the efficiency of solar panels used in the existing desalination
system.”
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>As well, the Summit features seminars
and forums involving leading experts on carbon financing, venture
capital investing and risk management, all addressing the one
common element needed by all participants -
money.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>The Government of Canada is
present at the Summit, with delegations organized by Canada’s
National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program
(NRC-IRAP) and WADE Canada, the country chapter of the World
Alliance for Decentralized Energy (WADE).
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>Clean energy companies from Ontario
(
target=”_blank”>Advanced Androneks
Inc.) and British Columbia (
target=”_blank”>Corvus Energy
- a developer of Lithium Ion batteries and
target=”_blank”>Molten
Power, a geothermal energy company)
are also present to demonstrate Canada’s strengths in this
area.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal box”>Since its inception in 2008, the
World Future Energy Summit has become the must-attend annual
meeting for the renewable energy and environment
industry.
from 148 countries tool part in the event, including world leaders,
international policy makers, industry executives , investors and
technology developers seeking practical solutions for today’s
energy and climate change challenges
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>Held under the patronage of His
Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu
Dhabi, the Summit not only provides a platform for the
international renewable energy industry, it places Abu Dhabi
as the focal point for the global shift toward a lower carbon
future.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>Abu Dhabi is also the host city
for IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency.
IRENA’s 150 member states pledge to advance the use of
renewable energy in their own national policies and programs, and
to promote, both domestically and through international
cooperation, the transition to a sustainable and secure energy
supply.
class=”MsoNormal”>
class=”MsoNormal”>For more information on the
target=”_blank”>World Future Energy
Summit, visit here.
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