Sharjah24: The drive towards creating a cleaner energy future for the world took centre stage during the ‘Energy & Innovation Leadership Talk’ organised by Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park) at its headquarters over the weekend.

The gathering of CEOs, managing directors and industry leaders was the first physical event for the MENA Energy Innovation Hub, that was recently launched by SRTI Park. Supported by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI) and based at SRTI Park, MEA Energy Innovation Hub was created to foster and accelerate an innovation ecosystem that will create more opportunities within the clean energy, low carbon, and oil & gas sectors.

Discussions revolved around how the region can fully harness its natural resources and contribute to the global effort to secure the future of world’s energy through innovation. 

Speakers during the ‘Energy & Innovation Leadership Talk’ were Majid Jaffar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum; MoEI Assistant Undersecretary Yousif Ahmed Al Ali; Michael Bueker, Senior Vice President Finance at Siemens Energy; Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee'ah; and Abdurrahman Khalidi, CTO of GE Gas Power MENA and South Asia.

VIP guests were Ali Abdallah, Country Chair of Petrofac; Daniel Zywietz, Founder & CEO of Enerwhere; Ahmed Khashan, Cluster President, Schneider Electric; Adel Abdullah Ali, CEO of Air Arabia; Khalid Bin Butti Al Hajri, Director General of Sharjah University City; and Najla Al Midfa, CEO of Sheraa Forum moderators were Fahmi Al Shawa, CEO of Immensa Technology Laboratories, and Dr Mohammad Hamdan, Professor of Engineering at American University in Sharjah.

Industry thought leaders
Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of SRTI Park, said: “Initiatives through MEA Energy Innovation Hub will scale up technology ventures and collaboration programme. 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. They are thought leaders and their actions will ensure the growth of the energy sector.”

Al Mahmoudi added discussions such as the ‘Energy & Innovation Leadership Talk’ are in line with the charting the path for the UAE’s next 50 years, with focus on boosting the collaboration among industry stakeholders, enhancing the public-private partnership, transitioning to clean technology, integrate renewables across sectors and attracting and integrating scientists in the UAE.

There’s a lot of great research that goes on in universities around the world but the mechanisms to bring that into application and scale are not always there, and for that you need government policy,” said Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum “This hub at AUS is particularly timely because by promoting research here in the UAE it spurs development of technologies that might not otherwise be developed, and it also enables you to bring in research from other parts of the world and have a pilot project for them and start to test something at scale.”

There’s a lot of great research that goes on in universities around the world but the mechanisms to bring that into application and scale are not always there, and for that you need government policy,” said Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum “This hub at AUS is particularly timely because by promoting research here in the UAE it spurs development of technologies that might not otherwise be developed, and it also enables you to bring in research from other parts of the world and have a pilot project for them and start to test something at scale.”
 
Pillar of future energy
It can be noted that recently, Bee'ah announced a waste-to-hydrogen project. Green hydrogen is deemed a vital pillar of future energy landscape and Bee’ah has been looking into this market for some time now. With the new project that will recover and produce energy from waste, Bee'ah is also supporting a circular economy across multiple fronts in the region.
 
Siemens Energy also have several hydrogen pilot projects that will have an important role to play in the decarbonisation of energy systems. GE, meanwhile, recently release a study that outlines how gas power can complement renewables to offer decarbonisation at scale in the near-term, with pathways to near zero in the long term, while providing affordable and reliable baseload power.

Global hackathon for energy
Meanwhile, SRTI Park will hold a 48-hour global hackathon from June 22-23, to identify and co-create innovative solutions that will provide a multidisciplinary and socially beneficial response to urgent energy challenges. 
 
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 July. They will also be invited during forums to showcase their solutions to have smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable energy.