Abu Dhabi-UAE: 16 April, 2012 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today signed agreements with the Directorate of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), and Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), through the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), formalizing the funding contributions to the recently announced UAE National Atlas of solar and wind resources.

The announcement was made after a signing ceremony at Masdar Institute that was attended by His Excellency Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi, Undersecretary, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice-Chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Council of Energy, Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary-General, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Adnan Amin, Director-General of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Masdar Institute, CEO of Masdar, and the UAE Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Change, and Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute.

Nejib Zaafrani, Secretary-General and CEO of DSCE, and Waleed Salman, Chairman of Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, were also present at the event.

Aimed at investors, policymakers, and researchers, the atlas will offer universal access to resource quality, grid, and land use data, helping to efficiently assess the feasibility of renewable energy projects for planning and investment decisions.

The UAE participates as a partner in the IRENA Global Atlas initiative, which is a project of international dimension. At the same time, the country is also leading the National Atlas of the UAE, which will contribute to the IRENA Global Atlas.

His Excellency Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi said: “Offering and developing resources that facilitate use of clean energy is one of the UAE’s primary objectives in its economic planning and international relations. The Atlas project also reflects the UAE’s commitment to encourage wider adoption of renewable sources of energy, and we are delighted to be part of this venture that brings together national and international partners. We are confident the collaboration efforts will result in projects that optimize benefits for communities across the world.”

Significantly, Masdar Institute will make available its dust and humidity reconciliation tools, which allow researchers for the first time to account for the aerosols’ impacts on solar quality. Traditional assessments of renewable energy resources in countries like the UAE can be inaccurate by more than 25%, creating high financial risk during project siting.

His Excellency Saeed Al Tayer said: “The agreement reflects our shared commitment to implement the UAE’s vision for a green economy under the slogan ‘A green economy for sustainable development’ as outlined by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It also shows continued progress in the implementation of the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, developed by the Council, which includes the adoption of solar power in order to diversify energy supply and promote sustainable development. We applaud the national atlas initiative of the Masdar Institute and look forward to working closely with all stakeholders in advancing the renewable and clean energy industry in the UAE.”

The Masdar Institute agreements with DSCE and EAD are part of a broader understanding for joint collaboration. DSCE and EAD will directly contribute to the required collection of ground measurement and land use data, as well as data processing and modeling, in order to accurately estimate renewable energy resource quality across the UAE.

Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak said: “As the agency mandated to protect and manage biodiversity, while providing a clean environment and promoting sustainable development in Abu Dhabi, EAD is honored to support a project that directly enables sustainable energy supply. We believe benefits from the atlas project will impact all corners of the globe as the call for clean energy gains further momentum.”

The UAE National Atlas project aligns with the Global Atlas led by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the 157-member intergovernmental organization headquartered in Abu Dhabi. IRENA earlier this year signed an agreement on atlas collaboration with Masdar Institute.

Adnan Amin said: “The global renewable energy atlas will be one of the foremost decision-making tools for governments and investors in the coming years. MOFA’s, EAD’s, DSCE’s and Masdar Institute’s contribution, and their commitment to publicly accessible data, are a stellar example of the kind of outlook and collaboration that make the UAE such an exciting locus for the renewable energy industry.”

The atlas data will notably assist in the realization of the UAE’s renewable energy targets, including 7% of generation capacity (or 1,500MW) in Abu Dhabi by 2020, and 5% of energy production (or 1,000MW) in Dubai by 2030.

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: “The concept of spatial planning to locate and map renewable energy resources is not new. However, while some areas in the world are covered – others have hardly been investigated – especially in developing countries. “This is our opportunity to ensure that this Atlas becomes a comprehensive, shared, global decision- making instrument that informs and benefits governments, companies, academics and tools of communication. This Atlas will eventually become a global decision-making instrument and enable a sustainable future powered by renewable energy. The UAE’s leadership has to be commended for launching this important National Atlas initiative and for contributing to the IRENA Global Atlas.

“The fact that these stakeholders have come together to sign the agreements reflects their strong commitment to share expertise with each other for the sake of the community. At the same time, I urge the partner organizations to capitalize on the knowledge resources available with Masdar and Masdar Institute in capacity building and human capital development to guide the much-needed R&D along the fast-track in the UAE.”

Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh said: “The agreement reflects Masdar Institute’s commitment to knowledge sharing for the benefit of the wider community. As the renewable energy industry gathers momentum, the need for reliable, comprehensive data on primary renewable energy resources will only become increasingly important. We are delighted to enter into this arrangement with DSCE and EAD to provide a world-class tool for both domestic and international audiences.”

The UAE Atlas is led by the Research Center for Renewable Energy Mapping and Assessment at Masdar Institute. Data will be made freely available in early 2013 through IRENA.

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 12 April, 2012: The Advanced Technology Investment Company and the state of Saxony, Germany, today announced the establishment of two research labs working in tandem on areas of interest to the semiconductor industry. The ‘Twin Labs’ project will be backed by the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) and Saxony, which have each pledged US$2.4 million towards the plan over two years. Masdar Institute of Science and Technology will host the Abu Dhabi research center, while Technische Universität Dresden will oversee development of the Saxony lab.

Both sites will be of similar size, initially staffed with 10-12 graduate/Ph.D. students. Additional faculty members will be engaged at a later stage after the centers have established initial successes. Research will focus primarily on three-dimensional chip stacking, a potentially faster and more energy efficient semiconductor technology that follows ATIC’s broader emphasis on minimum electronic energy systems, or MEES.

“Dresden, Saxony has become the largest microelectronics hub in Europe, and we are pleased to strengthen our collaboration in driving the semiconductor industry forward,” said Ibrahim Ajami, CEO of ATIC. “This working partnership is particularly significant as we work to establish Abu Dhabi as a global R&D hub. The areas of research Twin Labs will be addressing are promising and timely to the industry, and I am confident the intellectual property generated will be of great value to ATIC, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Abu Dhabi.”

Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President of Masdar Institute, said: “The Twin Labs project will provide substantial benefits to Abu Dhabi in terms of human and intellectual capital development. The cooperation between Masdar Institute and TU-Dresden will produce highly educated manpower ready to directly contribute the Abu Dhabi’s growing Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) workforce. The cooperation will also provide a strategic connection between Saxony and Abu Dhabi –both regions that have aligned their interests to achieve regional competitive advantage through establishment of robust semiconductor industries.”

The landmark agreement comes on the heels of a 2010 memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Abu Dhabi and Saxony to facilitate a strong working partnership. The Twin Labs concept was conceived by the R&D working group established under the MOU, jointly chaired by Sami Issa, Executive Director leading the Abu Dhabi Technology Ecosystem Unit at ATIC and Prof. Gerhard Fettweis, Professor and Vodafone Chair at TU-Dresden.

Gerhard Fettweis of TU Dresden said: “Microelectronics is the driving force behind a myriad of innovations pushing the economy and society, with 3D integration of chip stacks expected to be the next fundamental innovation push for microelectronics. So, Twin Labs has the chance to heavily impact the local industry and support its sustainable technology leadership in microelectronics.”

On the Abu Dhabi side, the group “Three-Dimensional Integrated Microelectronics for Minimum Energy Design” will be led by Dr. Abe Elfadel, Professor of Microsystems Engineering at Masdar Institute. It will explore and illustrate the minimum-energy/low-power features of 3D-integrated microelectronics in a variety of computing, communication, storage and sensing design contexts.

On the Saxon side, the Twin Labs group led by Professor Gerhard Fettweis will be known as“ESF Young Investigators Group 3D Chip Stack Intra-connects,” nicely complementing the research work being conducted at Masdar Institute. The research will focus on the interconnect aspects of 3D integration, especially the crucial role of TSV in the back-end-of-the-line structure of 3D-stacked chips. The goal is to develop modules (design blocks) for high-rate interfaces between multiple chips in a semiconductor chip-stack.

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 10 April, 2012 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced 3 May will be the last day for submission of applications for the six-week summer internship program this year.

Current trends indicate the UAE national students opting for a cross-section of most of the 15 research projects on highly advanced research areas that are being offered for internship this summer. A panel of experts will vet the applications in line with the stringent Masdar Institute criteria after the 3 May deadline.

All UAE nationals who are university seniors and/or those graduating this year with science, engineering or computer science as major subjects are eligible to submit their intentions for the programs of their choice.

Other eligibility criteria include a GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) and an IELTS score of 6.0 (or equivalent). A letter of recommendation is also mandatory for the applicant. Applications can be completed online through the Masdar Institute website, which additionally offers students a special option for obtaining extra information on the programs.

The summer internship program this year also encourages students to take up more than one area for research. However, students interested in joining more than one program may have to submit multiple applications. Details for each project category with a complete description and a list of tasks an intern is expected to do, as well as the recommended skills and the formal education required are available on the Masdar Institute website.

Dr Kenneth Volk, Head of Outreach, Masdar Institute, said: “Going by the number of applications received so far, we have already witnessed a surge of interest in the internship programs. The diversity and scope of the program offerings have attracted a large spectrum of students across the engineering and science streams this year. We are confident more students will make use of this opportunity to do their summer internships in highly focused research areas by submitting their applications before the 3 May deadline and we thank the country’s wise leadership for offering a platform for the students to expand their knowledge horizon.”

The bouquet of internship programs being offered for the UAE national graduates and senior students range from desalination and power grid systems to advanced technology topics such as carbon capture and solvents for post-combustion. Students with keen interest in clean and advanced energy subjects are already signing up in large numbers for the programs this summer.

The 15 research projects offered for summer internships are also expected to provide students with a preview of the post-graduate programs in clean energy and advanced technology that are currently available for Master’s degrees at Masdar Institute. Some of the projects offered for internships this year will include: Development of Advanced Amine-Based Solvents for CO2 Post-Combustion Capture; Solar Cell Technologies and Applications Investigation of Luminescent Solar Concentrators for UAE Conditions + Desalination and Renewable Energy; Developing a Graphical User Interface Design for Health Data; An Economic Analysis on the Optimal Regulatory Scope of CO2 Capture; and Experimental Studies of CO2 Geological Storage.

Established as an ongoing collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow. With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 4 April, 2012 – There is no single solution for the CO2 emissions problem, although a portfolio of solutions is available and carbon capture and storage (CCS) plays a major part of the solutions with a clear direct impact, according to Dr. Mohammad Abu Zahra, Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.

Dr. Abu Zahra was speaking at a lecture titled ‘CO2 Post-Combustion Capture: A Novel Solvent System is a Necessity but What Directions to Go?’ The event held at Masdar Institute gathered several students and faculty members.

Dr. Marwan Khraisheh, Dean of Engineering at Masdar Institute,said: “Hosting lectures on highly specialized subjects such as carbon capture by qualified faculty is part of Masdar Institute’s overall offering as an academic institution. These lectures along with other mode of imparting knowledge are designed to enrich the students with a holistic educational experience. We believe the key issues raised by Dr. Abu Zahra will stimulate Interest by students and faculty to carry on research that leads to new innovative solutions. We thank the UAE’s wise leadership for their support in providing the right knowledge developing tools to equip the future generation.”

Dr. Abu Zahra highlighted the industry’s dilemma in finding the novel solvent system inpost-combustion carbon capture, which involves removing the dilute CO2 from flue gases after hydrocarbon combustion. It can be typically built into existing industrial plants and power stations (known as retro-fitting) without significant modifications to the original plant.

Reiterating his recommendations, Dr Abu Zahra said: “Conventional process optimization has major limitations and will result in limited improvement, while improving the solvent capacity will have the major influence on the solvent behaviour. In this context, mixed solvents seem to have better performance than single solvents and combining tertiary amine solvent, especially with an activator (primary amine) is an area of major interest.

“Developing solvents for carbon capture applications require complete evaluation of the overall parameters and long-term bench-scale testing is a must before going into large scale commercialization.”

Currently, Masdar Institute is implementing a carbon capture solvent development and characterization project in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The two-year project that commenced in September 2011 will aim for the development and characterization of amine-based solvents for short-term post-combustion capture application, as well as developing a carbon-binding organic sorbents for post-combustion carbon capture. The project is led by Dr. Abu Zahra from the Masdar Institute side and by Dr. T. Alan Hatton, Ralph Landau Professor of Chemical Engineering Practice, Department of Chemical Engineering, and Director, David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice, from the MIT side.

Listing the advantages of the retrofit possibility,Dr Abu Zahra said: “Capture technologies are available and the solvent technologies are proven on a smaller scale. Capture readiness makes the post combustion capture relatively easy to incorporate into power plants. In addition, it has more operational flexibility in switching between capture/no capture mode.” He added that learning by implementing will lead to cost reductions, while ‘learning by exploring’ will lead to better solvents and processes.

Other areas covered by Dr Abu Zahra during the lecture included definition of the conventional solvent-based capture technology; conventional process optimization, challenges and limitations; directions for novel solvents development; global solvent development efforts; and current solvent development research project at Masdar Institute.

Masdar Institute has an existing agreement with Siemens to optimize the technical and economic aspects of environmentally friendly post-combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow. With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.

Nearly 25 Librarians from Across UAE Attend YBP Library Services Event that Showcases Advantages of GOBI Online Database

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 20 March, 2012 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced it hosted an informative workshop on advanced professional services offered by YBP Library Services, the academic division of Baker & Taylor.

The event at Masdar Institute gathered nearly 25 officials, representing research and scholarly libraries from universities and higher academic institutions across the UAE. It included an overview of YBP’s services for academic and research libraries as well as presentations by local libraries that are using YBP’s collection development, acquisitions, and technical services to streamline workflows.

The event commenced with a tour of the campus. The visitors were offered an outline of the various sustainability features, special academic and outreach initiatives, as well as research projects currently being undertaken at Masdar Institute. Joining the guests at the auditorium after the tour, Dr Joe Cecchi, Provost of Masdar Institute, offered them a brief overview of the research-driven institution’s current offerings.
 
Dr. Abdullah Al Hefeiti, Ph.D., Library Director, Masdar Institute, and Chairman of UAE Academic and Research Library consortium, welcomed the gathering, offering an overview of the facilities currently available for students and faculty at the research-driven institution. Masdar Institute already has an existing agreement with YBP for acquiring books and building collections in innovative ways and has acquired the services of the GOBI online database.

Dr. Al Hefeiti said: “Technology has become integral to today’s books publishing industry, necessitating academic and research libraries to remain in the forefront through collaborations. Our agreement with YBP Library Services enables us to offer access to scores of books and journals which contain the most updated and relevant information for our research-oriented students and faculty. We are delighted to host this event that has gathered so many representatives from libraries across the UAE. We thank the UAE’s wise leadership for their support in building our resources that enable us to share knowledge with the community.”

Simon Samoeil, Collection Development Manager – Middle East, and Michael Walmsley, Director of Sales, offered an overview of YBP Services to libraries and strategic initiatives. Henry Owino, Acquisitions Librarian, Petroleum Institute of Abu Dhabi, offered his perspectives during a session titled ‘Using GOBI to Organize Library Workflows – A Customer Experience’. A demonstration of the GOBI system followed and YBP officials underlined their partnership with the leading e-book aggregators and publishers to offer the most comprehensive digital and print discovery and fulfillment services available.

Currently, 33 local libraries in the UAE are using YBP’s collection development, acquisitions, and technical services to streamline workflows. Out of this, 23 are very active with some using technical services and acquisitions.

YBP Library Services is the global leader in meeting the acquisition, collection development and technical service needs of libraries and their consortia. It also provides books and supporting collection management and technical services to academic, research and special libraries around the world. The key highlight of the event was the presentation on Global Online Bibliographic Information (GOBI) – YBP’s most comprehensive acquisition and collection management database.

Utilized by academic, research and special libraries worldwide, GOBI provides a sophisticated acquisitions and collection management support system. It offers ready access to querying, selecting, ordering, reporting, and approval plan profile management functions across a database of more than four million titles, including 500,000 e-book titles from aggregators and publishers.

Established as an ongoing collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow.  With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.
 

Last Date for Submission of Application 5 April

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 13 March, 2012 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced it is organizing a six-week summer internship program for talented UAE national students.

Scheduled to commence from 1 July, the Masdar Institute internship program is offered to the UAE nationals who are university seniors and/or those graduating this year with science, engineering or computer science as major subjects. The last day for submission of application is 5 April.

Prospective students interested to join the internship program for a specific project need to send a single application available on the Masdar Institute website. Multiple applications will be required for more than one project and the website offers adequate details for each project category with a complete description and a list of tasks an intern is expected to do as well as the recommended skills and the formal education required. More than 15 project opportunities are available for student interns this summer.

In addition to valuable research and professional experience interns will also receive on-campus housing and a monthly stipend.
The internship program offers a unique opportunity for those students interested in learning and conducting research in clean and advanced energy, sustainable technologies and environment-related areas. An applicant is required to have a GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). An IELTS score of 6.0 (or equivalent) is mandatory for the applicant who also has to submit a letter of recommendation.

Dr. Kenneth Volk, Head of Outreach, Masdar Institute, said: “This year, the profile of the Masdar Institute summer internship program has expanded to provide a comprehensive experience to the participants. This is part of our endeavor to optimize the learning environment for the Emirati students.

“We are confident talented UAE national students with a keen interest in subjects that deal with sustainability will take advantage of this opportunity to augment their academic advancement. We thank the UAE’s wise leadership for creating an infrastructure at Masdar Institute that significantly contributes to capacity building and human capital development.”

Some of the projects that will be offered at the summer internship program will include: Detection and Quantification of Emerging Contaminants in Abu Dhabi Recycled Water Using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry; MATLAB Simulation Development for Power Grid Systems; Developing a Graphical User Interface Design for Health Data; Experimental Studies of CO2 Geological Storage; and Cost Comparisons of Renewable and Fossil Fuel Technologies.

Established as an ongoing collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow.  With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.
 

Antarctica Expedition Part of Masdar Institute’s Outreach Initiative Young Future Energy Leaders (YFEL) program

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 14 March, 2012 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced two of its students proudly displayed the UAE National flag and the Masdar insignia in Antarctica.

Reem Al Junaibi and Maitha Al Kaabi, the two Masdar Institute students, were part of the International Antarctica Expedition (IAE) 2012 team that was led by polar explorer Sir Robert Swan from 27 February – 12 March. Al Kaabi and Al Junaibi, with Sir Robert Swan, proudly held the UAE National Flag and the Masdar Insignia during the expedition in Antarctica.

The two students’ Antarctica expedition comes as part of the Young Future Energy Leaders (YFEL) program, a Masdar Institute outreach initiative that aims to inspire, educate and empower energy leaders of tomorrow.

Maitha Al Kaabi said: “It was truly a momentous occasion for me to stand with Sir Robert Swan and proudly display the Masdar insignia, which represents Abu Dhabi’s achievements in renewable energy. As a student, it was also an opportunity for me to represent Masdar Institute through the YFEL program, and remember all the research work I could conduct down in the Antarctic cold. This is really an honor for me, my parents and my country.”

Reem Al Junaibi said: “Holding the UAE national flag in Antarctica was an exhilarating moment for me. It was also a privilege to hold the national flag aloft as a Masdar Institute student and remember everything we have accomplished so far in renewable energy and sustainability through the YFEL program. My research work progressed well in Antarctica, which I believe will greatly delight my parents, family and the entire country. This is a proud moment for all.”

The two Masdar Institute students, who are back in Argentina after successfully completing their Antarctica expedition, will arrive in Abu Dhabi on 16 March.

Established as an ongoing collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow.  With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.

 

 

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 12 March, 2012 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced it will highlight its academic offerings at the inaugural Bahrain International Green Technology Expo and Forum.

Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multifaceted renewable energy company, is a key supporter of the Bahrain International Green Technology Expo and Forum, which is being organized under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Personal Representative of His Majesty the King of Bahrain,and President of the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife. Hosted in collaboration with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the event will be held from 13-15 March at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre.

International experts will be promoting green technologies to investors, regulators as well as trade and industry visitors at the event.

Masdar Institute serves as an academic magnet that attracts scientists, researchers, and technology businesses to the UAE and the region. Through participating in the Bahrain International Green Technology Expo, Masdar Institute will seek to create awareness among the trade visitors and clean energy professionals about its academic programs and research offerings that focus on green energy and sustainable technologies.

The center-piece of Masdar City, one of the most sustainable andlow-carbon cities in the world, Masdar Institute provides students an unparalleled opportunity in the entire spectrum of research, from theory to applied research to commercialization in a single location. Established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute remains committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.
 

By Dr Mahieddine Emziane

Buildings account for around two-thirds of the Gulf’s energy consumption. And the region’s cities grow, the need to reduce this figure is ever more pressing.

One answer to that is to integrate of solar cells into buildings. That is particularly advantageous for the UAE and wider Gulf, where a good chunk of the population live reside in areas where it is not economically feasible to provide electricity through the national grid.

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) not only generate energy, but also contribute to buildings’ architecture, as roofs, façades, skylights and glass cladding. If you use a solar panel for your roof, you may not need to spend so much on the roof itself.

So why is it still rare in the Gulf? One reason is that the atmospheric conditions here are quite different from other regions – the air, for one thing, is much dustier. That means many of the lessons learnt and technologies fine-tuned elsewhere are not wholly transferable.

So we need to look at different solar panel technologies. For each, we need to assess cost, efficiency, climate, flexibility, use of diffuse sunlight, long-term stability, sensitivity to the angle of inclination, transparency, aesthetics, and long-term operation costs.

Cost has long been the biggest barrier to large-scale use of solar cell technologies. We need to work out how to make them more cheaply, and put in place a system of feed-in tariffs to make the pay-off of installing them worth it.

In a solar plant out in the desert, efficiency is less important – you can happily have thousands upon thousands of low-yield cells that sprawl over many square kilometres and add up to a large total production. But in cities space is limited, so the technology has to be compact and collect as much energy available as possible.

That is where climate – namely temperature – becomes a problem. 
Some photovoltaic technologies work dramatically less well when it’s hot, making them unsuitable for the Gulf. We need to look at technologies that do not suffer this temperature drop-off.

Flexibility is important, too. Buildings are not always simple flat structures; they can be nearly any shape, making a flexible PV module more useful than a rigid one.

Even square buildings are an awkward shape for solar panels. They are often tall, with lots of vertical but few horizontal surfaces. And they are of course immobile, so the amount of power received by any one panel changes as the sun moves.

So they need to be as tolerant as possible to various angles of inclination, giving a similar power output when installed on either the façade or the roof.

And they need to be able to efficiently harvest energy both from full direct sunlight, and more diffuse light – perhaps reflected from another surface. Transparency is useful – a transparent cell can be used as a window, dramatically increasing the area on which it can be used. And if not transparent, they at least need to look good, or architects are unlikely to want to use them.

They need to last, too. If incorporated into buildings, solar cells need to last as long as possible without losing power over time.
And while operation and maintenance costs for photovoltaics tend not to be very high, they still contribute to the overall cost. Their maintenance requirements must be manageable for the Gulf market.

All these parameters need to be assessed together to meet the local needs. To this end the solar energy materials and devices laboratory, which I head at the Masdar Institute, has received funding from a foreign institutions to test flexible solar cell technologies in the built environment within our campus and under the real outdoor conditions.

This joint project is allowing us to investigate the performance and other key features of these flexible solar cells for integration into the built environment.

Abu Dhabi is a very good model for a coastal Gulf city, so our results could be used as reference for applications throughout this region – as well as feeding into the Abu Dhabi solar rooftop plan, which aims to install 500 megawatts of photovoltaic panels on the emirate’s buildings over the next 20 years.

Dr Mahieddine Emziane is Associate Professor in Materials Science and Engineering and heads the Solar Energy Materials and Devices Laboratory at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.

2012 Women as Global Leaders Conference to be Held Under the Patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima, Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation and Chairperson of the UAE Women’s Federation

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 11 March, 2012 – Representatives from Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, will drive discussions on strategies to inspire the next generation of young women at the 2012 Women as Global Leaders Conference in Abu Dhabi.

Members of a panel titled ‘Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Women’s Initiative Roundtable Discussion’ will also focus on professional and academic challenges faced by women, as well as factors that impact women in renewable energy industry during the fourth edition of the conference.

The event is organized under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation and Chairperson of the UAE Women’s Federation.

The 2012 Women as Global Leaders Conference will be held from 13-15 March at the Convention Center of Zayed University new campus in Abu Dhabi. Participants from over 40 countries across a variety of sectors including education, government and non-governmental organizations will gather for the conference.

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister for Higher Education & Scientific Research and President of Zayed University, will offer the welcome address. The conference is themed “Creating a Sustainable Future for the World” and will gather internationally and regionally-renowned women leaders to share ideas; and engage in debates.

In addition to Dr. Noura Al Kaabi, Assistant Professor of Construction Engineering and Management at UAEU, and Noor Ghazal Aswad, Junior Programme Officer-Policy Advisory Services and Capacity Building Directorate, IRENA, the representatives from Masdar Institute including Dr. Inas Khayal, Assistant Professor, Dr. Amal Al Ghaferi, Assistant Professor, Ms. Reem Ketail, Research Assistant, and Dr Ken Volk, Head of Outreach Program, will participate in a panel titled ‘Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Women’s Initiative Roundtable Discussion’.

Dr. Amal Al Ghaferi said: “Arab women have consistently registered progress as leading professionals and successful entrepreneurs across the social and economic landscape. While we need to highlight the achievements, it is equally essential to identify ways to inspire the next generation of women leaders.

“Masdar Institute remains in the forefront not only in launching and implementing cutting-edge research projects but in also providing women with the right opportunities to chart their professional and academic career. We are confident the Women as Global Leaders Conference will generate new ideas to strengthen women’s progress and we thank the country’s wise leadership for their continuous support to this cause.”

Dr. Noura Al Kaabi continues to be a key supporter of all Masdar Institute women’s initatives since May 2010. Her academic and industrial experience as a member of the GCC Green Building Committee within the Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology (ESMA), and as Projects Director at the National Rehabilitation Center in Abu Dhabi, is expected to enrich the panel discussions.

The panelists will share their professional and personal development in their respective fields and how they are paving the way to a clean energy future. The audience will be invited to be actively involved in questioning and contributing to the topics discussed.

Established as an ongoing collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow.  With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.
 

First Operational 2032 Lithium-ion Coin Cell Developed with New Solid Polymer Electrolyte

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 5 February, 2012 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced it has filed a  provisional patent application with the US Patents and Trademarks Office for a new lithium ion battery technology, marking a milestone in developing advanced materials for the renewable energy sector.

This is the first lithium battery-related patent application filed by Masdar Institute, although the research-driven institution has already filed eight other patent applications on technologies developed by faculty and students over the past year. The filing of a patent application is the first step before the technology begins the commercialization process.

A team of scientists and researchers led by Dr Raed Hashaikeh, Associate Professor – Materials Science and Engineering, Masdar Institute, has successfully developed the first operational 2032-coin cell type lithium battery using the new patented technology. The team included Materials Science and Engineering students Yarjan Abdul Samad, Ali Asghar, and post-doctoral fellow Dr. Boor Lalia.

The technology is currently termed ‘solid polymer electrolyte containing networked cellulose/PEG/LiClO4’. The ‘2032-coin cell type lithium battery’ is a small cell of 20mm diameter and 3mm in thickness, used for testing purposes at laboratories.

Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, President of Masdar Institute, said: “We have crossed another key milestone in driving innovation. The patent filing for the new solid polymer electrolyte has once again demonstrated Masdar Institute’s inherent strength as a research-driven institution. Our efforts towards reaching new frontiers in technology will continue and we thank the country’s leadership for their support that has kept us in the forefront of research and innovation.”

The electrolyte material that researchers at Masdar Institute have developed can be used to make batteries of varying sizes for different applications. It also has an enhanced room temperature ionic conductivity and enhanced mechanical stability which enables it to be used at a wide temperature range. This can be achieved without adding any flammable organic solvents that are typically used with lithium ion batteries. In addition, the conventional solid polymer electrolytes have poor mechanical properties at elevated temperatures, compared to the electrolyte developed at Masdar Institute.

Dr Raed Hashaikeh said: “With our recent 2032-coin cell prototype, we have passed the ‘proof of concept’ stage. However, further optimization, as well as research and development are still needed prior to commercializing this technology. At Masdar Institute, we are focused on developing new technologies, while commercialization of these technologies depends on many other external factors.

“The new technology may not have any direct relation with the Mitsubishi EVs that are being piloted at Masdar Institute. However, EVs in general that use Li-ion batteries – especially in extreme weather conditions and desert regions including the UAE – and can therefore benefit from the functional and mechanical stability of the newly developed electrolyte at elevated temperatures.”

Karen Hersey, Director, Technology Transfer Office (TTO), Masdar Institute, said: “At any time within 12 months of filing the provisional application, Masdar Institute can convert it into a full utility application in the USPTO and, if we choose, file it in the European system as well. This puts the application into a full examination process. If the invention is found to be novel and passes other tests required for patentability, it will be issued as a Masdar Institute-owned patent in 24-36 months. While the application is pending, Masdar Institute will look for commercial partners to develop useful applications for this new technology.”

Dr Hashaikeh received his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from McGill University. Before joining Masdar Institute, he spent two years at FP Innovations-Paprican division, Canada, as Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Research and Development Fellow. In 2008-2009, he was a visiting scholar at MIT.

Established as an on-going collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow.  With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.
 

International Antarctic Expedition 2012 Team Members to Gather in Argentina’s Ushuaia Town

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 28 February, 2012 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced two students – Reem Al Junaibi and Maitha Al Kaabi – have departed on their way to Antarctica.

Dr Kenneth Volk, Head of Outreach Programs, Masdar Institute, and Bader Al Zarei, Communications Manager, were present at the airport to wish them luck.

The expedition organized for the two students is part of the Young Future Energy Leaders (YFEL) program, a Masdar Institute outreach initiative that aims to inspire, educate and empower energy leaders of tomorrow.

The students will reach Ushuaia in Argentina on 28 February and board the Sea Spirit on 1 March with members of polar explorer Sir Robert Swan’s International Antarctic Expedition (IAE) 2012 team for a voyage to the southern continent. The expedition will traverse through Chilean territories on Antarctica including Cape Horn, Drake Channel, King George Island and South Shetlands.

During the journey, Reem Al Junaibi and Maitha Al Kaabi will participate in the ‘2041 Education Base (E-Base) Goes Live’ mission by utilizing the knowledge they gained at Masdar Institute. The E-Base, powered solely by renewable energy, is intended to educate young people on the importance of preserving Antarctica, to promote the use of renewable energy, and to raise the awareness of global warming. They will also experience ‘Leadership on the Edge’, Sir Robert Swan’s personal leadership and sustainability program.

Al Junaibi will be applying the planning and forecasting tools she learned from Masdar Institute in Antarctica to help improve the reliability of renewable energy. Al Kaabi will conduct research on the process of temperature-induced salt precipitation, a key principle in her research, in a natural environment. In the dynamic classroom of the Antarctica, guest experts will host presentations, debates, and lessons on environment, climate change, sustainable development, and outdoor leadership.

After completing their expedition, they will return to Ushuaia on 12 March to board their flights home. The two students will reach Abu Dhabi on 16 March. Later, they will share their experience in sustainable living and use of renewable energy with students and faculty of Masdar Institute as well as the wider community in the UAE.

Established as an ongoing collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow.  With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change.