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Abu Dhabi and Siemens intensify alliance through a strategic partnership with Masdar.

 
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20 Oct 2010

Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy initiative, and Siemens signed an agreement establishing a long term strategic partnership. Siemens will implement an innovative power grid combined with advanced building technologies in the first phase of Masdar City. This will serve as both an energy efficient power solution and a living R&D platform.

The partnership also covers collaboration in the field of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) which will involve research and development with the Masdar Institute. Siemens will establish an anchor presence in Masdar City, housing their Middle East Headquarters, a Centre of Excellence in Building Technologies and other initiatives including a Leadership Development Centre.

The Centre of Excellence will begin R&D activities on the ground at Masdar City in 2010. “Masdar is a global pioneer in clean tech initiatives. We are proud to be the strategic partner for this groundbreaking project,” said Peter Löscher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG. “It also highlights our strong relationship with Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates.”

As part of the agreement, Siemens will provide integrated building automation technologies and jointly develop smart grid applications for the initial phase of Masdar City that will optimize energy consumption in the City. This living R&D facility will collect user data and consumer reaction to shape product design and automation while supporting Masdar City to achieve their energy efficiency targets.

The energy solution will function by integrating several Building Management Systems (BMS) and vertically linking them to an advanced energy Distribution Management System (DMS). By joining a number of buildings and consumer types (residential, commercial and educational), across a “district” BMS, Masdar and Siemens will be able to track and influence energy consumption in innovative ways. By connecting this “district” BMS to the DMS, the ability to implement end-to-end demand response from the utility direct to consumers will be created.

Masdar-CEO Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and Siemens-CEO Peter Löscher in front of the model of Masdar City at the European Future Energy Forum in London.
Masdar-CEO Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and Siemens-CEO Peter Löscher in front of the model of Masdar City at the European Future Energy Forum in London.

“Partnering with technology leaders such as Siemens to create a clean-tech and R&D hub at Masdar City is what Masdar is about. As we build out Masdar City, we are constantly looking to keep pace with technology innovations. We are pushing the frontiers of science, technology and engineering to not only redefine sustainable urban development but also to create a thriving R&D centre that will help turn Abu Dhabi into a technology developer and exporter. Both our companies share and support this vision for Masdar City,” said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar.

In addition, Siemens will collaborate with Masdar and the Masdar Institute to optimize the technical and economic aspects of environmentally friendly post-combustion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS technologies capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from sources such as fossil fuel power plants and preventing the release of emissions into the atmosphere by using the CO2 for Enhanced Oil Recovery or permanently storing the CO2 in geological structures such as oil reservoirs or deep saline acquifers.

The research and development aspect of the partnership with the Masdar Institute is Siemens’ largest global investment of its kind with a science and technology organisation. It comprises a long term R&D program for Smart Grid, Smart Buildings, and Carbon Capture and Storage and will manifest itself in grants, scholarships and educational programs for the advancement of the knowledge economy in the United Arab Emirates.

The Siemens Middle East Headquarters facilities in Masdar City will showcase the latest energy efficient technologies developed by the company and when complete, will accommodate a staff of almost 2,000 specialists.

The company plans to occupy 18,000sqm that could be extended to a total of 25,000sqm in the longer term. In the first phase, Siemens will lease 12,000sqm of space which is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2013. The facilities will host major corporate facilities including a Centre of Excellence for Smart Buildings and a Leadership Development and Conference Centre for both customer and corporate use. “Siemens’ presence is a valuable addition to the Masdar City eco-system of industry leaders interested in developing advanced technologies, sustainable architecture and energy efficiency,” said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar.

This strategic framework agreement marks a major enhancement to the existing relationship between Masdar and Siemens where the German company is a major investor in the Masdar Clean Tech Funds I and II.

Energy-efficient and resource-conserving technologies are part of the Siemens Environmental Portfolio, with which the company posted revenue totalling more than EUR23 billion in fiscal 2009. That is equivalent to about a quarter of the company’s total revenue and makes Siemens the world’s leading provider of infrastructures for eco-friendly technology.



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