WFES 2020 hosted in Abu Dhabi, delivered extraordinary business success. There was strong growth in international attendance up 11% from the 2019 event and around 840 global brands represented.
The recently concluded World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2020 has seen another year of success, with independent onsite research projecting that buyers attending the event will place orders worth billions of dollars within the next annual business cycle, offering the perfect business platform as the Middle East’s largest future energy and sustainability event.
Further demonstrating Abu Dhabi’s position at the business crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa, international attendee numbers grew by 11 percent compared with 2019, while the number of countries represented reached 125, up around 17 percent year-on-year. Attendance during the four days of the World Future Energy Summit is estimated at close to 34,000.
Records of at least 27 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed during the event, which hosted 227 international companies and 72 from the UAE, showcasing around 840 global brands.
Potential for renewable energy growth
“This is a great result and shows once again that the market for renewable energy, and other sustainable technology, continues to expand,” said Grant Tuchten, Group Event Director, World Future Energy Summit.
As the premier renewables and sustainability business platform in the Middle East, the 2020 edition attracted a strong contingent of GCC exhibitors, including Al Marafiq, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), and Saudi Aramco from Saudi Arabia, as well as the GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA).
This edition also demonstrated the World Future Energy Summit’s increasing importance to markets neighbouring the GCC, such as the sub-continent and Africa, including a very strong 155 percent increase in exhibitors from India.
Boost for CLIX
Start-ups also performed strongly at the World Future Energy Summit, with the event supporting new ideas through the Climate Innovation Exchange –CLIX, which matched entrepreneurs and investors to accelerate growth for innovative business concepts. A total of 50 start-ups exhibited this year, including 41 as part of CLIX.
The World Future Energy Summit, first hosted by Masdar as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week since 2008, is a global platform for accelerating the world’s sustainable development, is held annually at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).
The next edition of the World Future Energy Summit will be held 18 to 21 January, 2021.
GCC boosts 9-fold renewable energy growth at WFES
Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, and Masdar take UAE innovations to a global audience
The GCC’s renewable energy market, which grew nine-fold to US$ 11 billion from 2008 to 2016 according to IRENA, was further boosted by the Energy Expo & Forum and the Solar Expo & Forum held from 13-16 January 2020 at the World Future Energy Summit.
Taking Abu Dhabi’s government-led renewable energy initiatives to a global level, exhibitors and speakers included the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy; the Abu Dhabi Power Corporation and its subsidiaries the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC), and TRANSCO; and Masdar showcasing their latest projects and innovations.
Solar Power
Solar Expo exhibitors included solar power developers such as Constructions Industrielles de la Méditerranée (CNIM), EDF, Engie Group, Marubeni, Skypower, and Taaleri Energia; smart grids firms Huawei, Ingeteam, Fronius, and Sungrow; solar trackers NEXTracker, PiA Solar, and Soltec; and solar panel manufacturers LONGi Solar Technology.
Energy Forum sessions included insights by senior executives from regional and international public and private sector leaders, such as the China National Nuclear Corporation, the Clean Energy Business Council MENA, the GCC Interconnection Authority, GE Power Digital, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Masdar Clean Energy, and TRANSCO.
Speakers included HE Mohammed Bin Jarsh AlFalasi, Undersecretary, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, who delivered the keynote address, as well as discussing the world’s largest virtual battery plant which went live in Abu Dhabi during 2019.
He also participated in a panel discussion on the future of electricity power in the GCC, joined by other government and industry leaders including HE Dr. Abdul Hussain Ali Mirza, President, Sustainable Energy Authority, Bahrain.
Also sharing their knowledge on expert panels were Eng. Ahmed Ali Al-Ebrahim, CEO, GCC Interconnection Authority, as part of a keynote panel discussion on energy transition as a grid stability challenge; and Prof. James Momoh, Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, in a discussion on financing for storage and PV projects.
Abu Dhabi Department of Energy signs MoU with Marubeni Corporation
Agreement to explore energy efficiency and hydrogen opportunities
Based on its strategy of cooperating with local and international entities working in the capital’s energy sector, the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) has established a partnership with Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni), a Japanese trading and investment firm that is one of the largest investors in Abu Dhabi’s power sector.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was struck between DoE and Marubeni at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2020. The agreement was signed by HE Eng. Mohammed Bin Jarsh Al Falasi, Undersecretary, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, and Ichiro Takahara, Chief Executive Officer, Power Business, Energy & Metals Group of Marubeni.
“Our partnership with Marubeni, one of the largest investors and developers in the power sector of Abu Dhabi, is strategic at all levels. This MoU represents a continuation of our existing relationship with Marubeni, a partner on Noor Abu Dhabi project – the largest solar power plant in the country,” said HE Eng. Al Falasi.
“We will harness our potentials and expertise in promoting investments in Abu Dhabi’s power sector, as the emirate pays great attention to the sector, and to finding innovative solutions to achieve sustainable development based on clean and renewable energy,” commented Takahara.
Three year agreement
The three-year agreement facilitates cooperation between the two parties in the spheres of improving the water and electricity usage, and exploring the commercial viability of producing and using hydrogen in Abu Dhabi.
As per the agreement, the two parties will work to identify and explore areas of cooperation and to find ways of efficiency in water and electricity use, researching the technical and commercial feasibility of producing hydrogen from clean energy sources in Abu Dhabi, and the opportunities for its final use and export.
