CEOs, managing directors and industry leaders all took part at the first physical event for the MEA Energy Innovation Hub that was recently launched last March. 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.
The drive towards creating a cleaner energy future for the world took centre stage during the ‘Energy & Innovation Leadership Talk’ organised by SRTI Park. Discussions revolved around how the region can fully harness its natural resources and contribute to the global effort to secure the future of the world’s energy through innovation.
Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of SRTI Park, said that discussions such as the ‘Energy & Innovation Leadership Talk’ are in line with the UAE’s plans for the 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.”
In a continuous effort to support a clean-energy future, SRTI Park will hold a 48-hour global hackathon for energy to identify and co-create innovative solutions that will provide a multidisciplinary and socially beneficial response to urgent energy challenges.
Only the top 15 ideas will be chosen from among all participants to go through to the final stage of the hackathon where all participants will showcase their prototypes before a jury to compete for winning prizes of $5,000 for 1st place; $3,000, 2nd place; and $2,000 for 3rd place.
In a previous interview, Al Mahmoudi explained: “The MEA Energy Innovation Hub is planned with milestones and activities to have the greatest impact on the sector, including tackling pressing challenges such as data power, asset inspection, and unleashing emerging innovation and connecting ecosystems.
“The hub will feature an intense roadmap of activities for sponsors, including an annual Global Startup Convening to give birth to global game changers; accelerator programs to solve complex challenges; the Pilot Factory to ensure a perfect fit for implementing technologies; and a Sandbox to showcase and test innovative solutions.”
