Oil-rich countries around the Persian Gulf are not exactly known for their promotion of renewable energy.
So the fact that one of those countries, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—which sits on about eight percent of the world’s oil reserves, is trying to make a name for itself as an innovator and educator in renewable energy technologies and green urban planning is attracting attention. At a conference at MIT yesterday, the audience heard about a new six square-kilometer city that’s being built from scratch near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. The new city, which will be home to 50,000 residents, aims to be zero-carbon and zero-waste, thanks to solar technologies and the banning of cars.
Construction of the $22 billion Masdar City began earlier this year and is being financed in part by the government of Abu Dhabi through its Masdar Initiative, an economic development group created in 2006 with $15 billion from the government, aiming to put Abu Dhabi on the forefront of alternative energy R&D. (Incidentally, Fortune magazine last year called Abu Dhabi “the richest city in the world.”)
(See coverage of Masdar City from NPR, Boston Globe, NY Times and MIT Tech Review)
At the heart of Masdar City will be the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), a graduate level research institute devoted to renewable energy. It was developed with the help of MIT and will open in September 2009 with 30 faculty and 100 master’s students. It will begin granting PhDs in 2011.
MIST faculty members (15 recruited so far, many of them MIT grads) are at MIT now working with MIT faculty on seven projects, funded by Abu Dhabi, that will be moved to MIST when it gets set up in its new home. Over the long term, MIT researchers can continue to collaborate with MIST researchers on MIST-funded projects, gaining access to Abu Dhabi’s wealth of resources.
I had a chance to sit down today with the Masdar Initiative CEO, Sultan Al Jaber, who was in town for the MIT conference and to promote MIST to Boston-area students.
(Credit: Masdar Initiative)
Why is oil-rich Abu Dhabi interested in developing sources of alternative energy?
Abu Dhabi recognizes that the global energy markets are evolving. If you look at the global energy demand curve, you’ll find that it’s increasing with substantial growth in renewable energy. Does that represent a threat or an opportunity? We believe that it represents a very unique opportunity for us to venture into.
Is this a way to prepare for the time when oil supplies run out?
It’s not only that. In order for the whole world to meet its energy requirements and demands, it can’t rely on one source of energy. It can’t. It’s not only going to be about hydrocarbons. We have to act now to find new sources of energy. We are believers that energy supplies should come from a portfolio of solutions. We prefer to go the clean energy route.
Why did you create MIST?
MIST is the centerpiece of this whole initiative. We saw how successful the Silicon Valley model has been, Singapore too and route 128 here in Boston. They all became successful because they have a university or research institute as the centerpiece of these clusters. They feed them with new technologies, enhance human capital and develop intellectual property. Based on that, we decided that we are going to build the home of alternative energy in Abu Dhabi. But in order for us to have a real home, we have to have a nucleus to provide the talent, the research and the technologies. That is MIST.
Will MIST students and faculty get to work on the development of Masdar City?
Definitely. We already have a few students accepted to MIST working on different activities within Masdar City.