Khalifa University of Science and Technology will host Siemens Energy’s Abu Dhabi Innovation Center at its Sas Al Nakhl Campus, in a move that will leverage both partners’ strengths, to accelerate the journey to Net Zero, with technology and research co-creation opportunities, knowledge transfer, development of local capabilities, as well as employment opportunities.
On the sidelines of Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) 2022, Khalifa University and Siemens Energy signed a ‘teaming agreement’ providing a dedicated location for the Innovation Center at the university’s campus located near the Maqta Bridge, which connects Abu Dhabi Island to the mainland.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University and Dr Fahad Al Yafei, Chief Technology Officer, Siemens Energy Abu Dhabi Innovation Center. Professor Sir John O’Reilly, President, Khalifa University, and His Excellency Homaid Al Shimmari, Member of The Board of Trustees of Khalifa University, as well as Vinod Philip, Executive Board Member, Siemens Energy, and Dietmar Siersdorfer, Managing Director, Middle East and UAE, Siemens Energy, were also present on the occasion.
The consistently top-ranked university in the UAE provides a world-class faculty and state-of-the-art research facilities, enabling the Innovation Center’s work on co-creating decarbonization technologies in the areas of Power-to-X, Decarbonized Heat and Industrial Processes, Condition-based Service Interventions, Energy Storage & Fuel Cells, and Block-chain for Energy applications, among others.
As a research-intensive educational institution that seeks to produce world leaders and critical thinkers in applied science and engineering, while catalyzing the growth of Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s rapidly developing knowledge economy, Khalifa University is an ideal location for Siemens Energy’s regional Innovation Center.
Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University, said: “The hosting of Siemens Energy’s Abu Dhabi Innovation Center at our Sas Al Nakhl Campus reflects further strengthening of our long-standing legacy collaboration with Siemens Energy since 2011, especially in innovation, research and academics. From Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects to solar panel coatings, our previous partnerships have demonstrated some of the most successful research and innovation outcomes. We believe the Abu Dhabi Innovation Center that will offer access to Siemens Energy’s global technology hubs infrastructure will also pave the way for productive collaborative outcomes in energy storage, fuel cells, blockchain and industrial processes, as well as human capital development for the UAE.”
“To accelerate decarbonization and reach net zero faster, we need to leverage partnership and innovation. Locating this Innovation Center at Khalifa University’s campus will prove to be mutually beneficial. As well as helping to develop local capabilities, locating the innovation at Khalifa University’s campus will provide opportunities for co-research, internships and training, and for Siemens Energy experts to be visiting lecturers,” said Dr. Fahad Alyafei, Chief Technology Officer, Siemens Energy Innovation Center Abu Dhabi.
The Innovation Center will strengthen specialized skill sets and create 75 high-skilled jobs in Abu Dhabi by 2025. Siemens Energy will also offer at least six internships annually to students from Abu Dhabi universities, of which 50% of the interns will be Emiratis.
This Innovation Center is one of only four globally that Siemens Energy has created, with the other locations in Orlando in the United States, Shenzhen in China, and Berlin in Germany. It will leverage the company’s expertise in developing sustainable, reliable and affordable clean energy technologies.
It will also act as an incubator for new technologies, bringing together customers, industrial partners, academia, and research centers, to accelerate the commercialization of innovative solutions driving the energy transition.
