The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) opened in Abu Dhabi last month andplayed host to a number of international government representatives
WFES was a platform for intercountry agreements, with appearances from Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederick and the UAE’s minister of foreign affairs, HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The pair attended the event to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Denmark and the UAE.
With an enormous exhibition hall, divided into international pavilions, and a varied and diverse programme of lectures and seminars to attend, visitors were spoilt for choice as to what events they might attend.
Every subject from the business of clean energy to the regional success of the Middle East and North Africa was covered by a line-up of industry experts and analysts.
Wind, solar and nuclear energy featured heavily but there was also a huge contingent of representatives from the traditional oil & gas industry. One of the summit’s key themes was how oil & gas producers can work in harmony with their competitors in the renewable sector.
Interactive displays exhibiting various renewable energy projects, spearheaded by the region’s youth were on display. Amongst the most striking of these was the project to build the world’s fastest, most efficient hybrid-electric car.
The project was open to university students from across the GCC and a number of prototypes were on display to visitors in WFES’s main exhibition hall. Students were on hand to answer questions about the design competition.
World Future Energy Summit 2014 formed part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week along with the International Water Summit and the Abu Dhabi Renewable Energy Conference and the International Renewable Energy Meeting.
The event attracted 30,000 visitors from 172 different countries. There were over 800 exhibitors and 200 speakers in attendance, making it the largest summit on sustainability and energy production in the Middle East region.
