DEWA’s R&D Centre: A leading global destination for applied research and sustainable solutions

The Research and Development (R&D) Centre of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) hosted 63 visits between 2022 and 2024 at its home at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. These included benchmarking visits and high-level delegations from renowned scientific organisations, academic institutions and leading companies from around the world, with other notable visitors including ambassadors, consuls and government representatives.

The visits fostered knowledge exchanges and the sharing of expertise, and also showcased the centre's pioneering achievements in solar energy, water research, smart grid integration, energy efficiency, space research, Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and DEWA’s Green Hydrogen project. The Green Hydrogen project, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, uses solar power to produce hydrogen at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest single-site solar park using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

“We are guided by the vision of our wise leadership to advance scientific and applied research, develop innovative solutions that support sustainable development, achieve the UAE’s ambitious plans, enhance global competitiveness and establish the nation as a platform for progress on various fronts. We are committed to sharing our successful experiences and knowledge with academic and research institutions worldwide. The widespread interest in DEWA’s R&D Centre reflects its leading scientific position and the achievements of its Emirati experts, who are driving progress and development in the utilities sector, energy of the future, water systems and space, as well as anticipating and shaping a sustainable future,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

High-profile visitors to the centre included the President of Namibia and delegations from the Government of South Africa, Siemens Energy and POWERCHINA Company, as well as representatives from the embassies of Singapore, Chile and the European Parliament. Other visits involved representatives from the GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA), the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), Stanford University, and numerous government entities, as well as local and international academic institutions.

The R&D Centre aspires to serve as a global platform, offering innovative solutions and technologies to enhance DEWA’s operations and services, while also contributing UAE-led research to the global academic community. Its mission is to enrich scientific knowledge in Dubai, the UAE and beyond. So far, the centre has published 269 Scopus-indexed scientific and research papers in prestigious international conferences, peer-reviewed journals and periodicals. Furthermore, it has filed 42 patent applications to protect DEWA’s intellectual property.