Dubai, UAE, 29 September 2022: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) hosted 34 seminars and panel discussions by an array of experts and specialists from around the world during the third day of the 24th Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) and Dubai Solar Show (DSS). DEWA organised the exhibition under the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, from 27 to 29 September, at the Dubai World Trade Centre
DEWA organised 11 key sessions on Day 3, including ‘HTL’s Fuel Supply Management System’; ‘Aluminum Sheathed Cables; ‘The Role of Direct Air Capture in Decarbonisation’; ‘The Decarbonisation of Industry, Mines and Businesses’; ‘The ANTRAKS Group’s System of Monitoring and Controlling the Power Grid’; ‘An Integrated Approach to Water Treatment’; ‘Real Hardware, Real World: Accelerated Life Cycle Testing for Mega Project Panels and Robots’; ‘Digital Transformation for an Efficient and Sustainable Water Industry’; and ‘On-site High Concentration NaOCl Generator’.
Day 3 also comprised six panel discussions on renewable energy and sustainability entitled ‘Energy Efficiency in MENA: Challenges and Opportunities’; ‘ESCO Market in MENA: Status and Outlook’; ‘Charging the Mobility of the Future’; ‘Building the Smart City of the Future’; ‘Building a Climate Tech Ecosystem in the MENA Region’; ‘Nuclear Energy and its Role in the Energy Transition’; and ‘Start-Up Innovation in Energy and Mobility’.
The Water Hall hosted five seminars on ‘IDE Technologies’; ‘Turn the tide by globally turning deserts into forests’; ‘Control pH, TSS & Algae in Industrial Water’; ‘Decentralised Water Recycling in the Build Environment and its impact on LEED requirements’; ‘Clever Energy’; and Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings with DEWA’s representatives.
DEWA also held seven open seminars and discussions on Supplier Relationships in collaboration with Lined in and Higher College of Technology. The Education and Innovation Zone which is dedicated for youth, organised five panel discussions, presentations and round table sessions by the Energy Industry Council, Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Emirates Green Building Council, Emirates Global Aluminum, and Heriot-Watt University.
At the “Dive into Digital with Everything as a Service” session, Basil Jawdat Ahmad Al Khatib, Regional Sales Director of Huawei Middle East Cloud said, “With the recent launch of the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 strategic initiative, it is increasingly important to focus on digital transformation in the energy industry. Cloud-native operations are at the heart of this transformation in key areas, including grid automation, smart energy solutions and green mobility, smart grid artificial intelligence, and innovative value-added services. At Huawei, our strong focus on R&D allows us to be at the forefront of future development of Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), which will power the use of robots and drones to run maintenance operations using real-time, zero-latency AR/VR technologies.”
During the “Sustainability on LinkedIn” session, Rony Sarkis, Account Director, LinkedIn said, “As a professional social platform, LinkedIn helps businesses to promote their sustainability practices, and raise brand awareness, by building trust and engagement. The increased consumer focus on sustainability is projected to create USD 12 trillion in business opportunities for the private sector in addition to 380 million job opportunities. It is important to use the right measures to ensure the delivery of the message properly, by driving engagement and focusing on the current trends. Many brands were able to highlight their sustainability efforts through their posts on LinkedIn, attracting environmentally conscious members with memorable content.”
At the “Real Hardware, Real World: Accelerated Life Cycle Testing for Mega Project Panels and Robots” session, Raed Al Ahmdi, R&D Technology Manager at NOMADD said, “As the first cleantech hardware company in Saudi Arabia, NOMADD grew from a King Abdulla University startup, to become a regional exporter of Saudi-developed and manufactured cleantech robotics technologies. Our latest technologies include the ultralight tracker bridges, which are available commercially this year, and offer clients many benefits.”
“The key challenges facing the EV market are regulations and tariffs, and the incompatibility of EVs with the regional market. Government support is key to driving growth in the region, whereas encouraging private sector engagement in the UAE has resulted in a 200% growth in demand for EV cars in 2022,” said Rami Abu Hayah, CEO of CATEC Mobility.
“Changing mindsets and adapting new modes of mobility is the main factor to overcome the current challenges, including the limited EV models which hinder the wide adoption of EVs,” said Lylia Mezhoud, Sr. Project Manager, EV Charging TotalEnergies.
Robert Juthenholtz, Director of Operations LeasePlan Emirates, highlighted that Dubai is a leader in implementing best practices in the EV industry. “I believe that it is important to help organisations and end-users reduce the carbon emissions of their mobility to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Juthenholtz.
