Sharjah 24: The Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park), which recently launched the MEA Energy Innovation Hub, is looking for participants in the 48-hour global hackathon who will identify and co-create innovative solutions that provide a multidisciplinary and socially beneficial response to urgent energy challenges.

The challenge
Participants can take part in teams of up to four (4) people or individually, and come with innovative ideas in one or more of the following categories:

- Decarbonisation – how to capture and reduce CO2 emission; more efficient biogas, biofuels, e-fuels, green hydrogen, carbon-dioxide storage, etc.

- Renewable energies – innovative proposals for renewable energies such as solar, wind, hydro, wave, geothermal, or biomass fuels.

- Energy efficiency – come up with ideas based on cutting-edge technologies such as Internet of things (IoT), AI (artificial intelligence), Big Data, or Blockchain that can maximise energy use, lower costs and produce small carbon footprint.

- Energy storage - proposals based on storage options with batteries, thermal systems, mechanical systems, or any other emerging technology.

- Sustainable mobility – develop technology-based ideas to boost green mobility green and embrace zero-emissions vehicles and infrastructures as well as eco-friendly transport of goods, and connected multi-modal mobility.

- Circular economy – proposals relating production of energy, industrial symbiosis, co-operation at a municipal level, client interface and satisfaction.

The award
A total of 15 best ideas will be chosen from among all participants to go through to the 48-hour hackathon. A panel of experts will guide the finalists in the development of a prototype Business Model for their ideas. The climax of the hackathon will be a Pitching Session, where all participants will showcase their prototypes before a jury, which will decide the three best projects winning prizes of US$5,000 for 1st place; US$3,000, 2nd place; and US$2,000 for 3rd place.

All hackathon participants will be part of the SRTI Park ecosystem and will join the incubation program in September. They can also be a speaker in one of the monthly events to showcase their solutions to smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable energy.

How to join
Join the Virtual Hackathon now! Interested parties can sign up by following this link: https://energyhubmea.com/hackathon/. Registration of ideas is until May 27, 2021 (23:59 GMT+4). The selected 15 ideas will be announced on June 7 and the 48-hour virtual event will happen on June 22-23 this year.  This call is open to university students and professors around the world.

For our planet’s future
MEA Energy Innovation Hub is supported by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. Based at SRTI Park, the MEA Energy Innovation Hub is the regional gateway to innovation and business growth, where all players in the energy ecosystem collaborate and accelerate opportunities in the energy, low carbon, and oil & gas sectors.

Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of SRTI Park, said: “MEA Energy Innovation Hub will scale up technology ventures through initiatives such as accelerators and collaboration programme. It will also develop human capital and foster the triple-helix engagement among the government, private industries and academia.”

“MEA Energy Innovation Hub is a unique platform that boosts the UAE’s position as a pole of innovation. The partners and stakeholders of MENA Energy Innovation Hub are corporates belonging to the energy sector and allied sectors. The academia and research centres also benefit from the innovation by means of  knowledge transfer, new collaborative projects as well as positioning and creating R&D initiatives. The pole of innovation will result in the growth of the sector, resolution of challenges, public- private partnerships, demand generation, job creation and attraction of investment to the territory,” he underlined.