Siemens Energy partners with Adio to set up Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio) is joining up with Siemens Energy to accelerate the journey to net zero in the UAE and globally.

Under the agreement, Adio, the government body responsible for attracting investment to the emirate, will provide Siemens Energy with financial and non-financial incentives to help set up its Middle East Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi.

The incentives will be part of Adio’s Dh2 billion ($545 million) Innovation Programme, launched in 2020.

The Innovation Centre, one of only four that Siemens Energy has established globally, will focus on developing technologies incorporating digital decarbonisation solutions, green fuels, fuel cells, and the electrification of heat and industrial processes.

A “host” of intellectual property is expected to be developed at the centre, said Siemens Energy.

“We need to have technologies that are also registered here in order to increase the knowledge that is built in Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” Dietmar Siersdorfer, managing director of the UAE and the Middle East for Siemens Energy, told The National.

The company, which is looking to build several industry and research partnerships through the centre, has a few agreements “already in the pipeline”, Mr Siersdorfer said.

The executive is hoping to see the “first tangible results” in time for Cop28, which will be held in the UAE next year.

The agreement to set up the Middle East Innovation Centre follows efforts by the UAE and Germany to strengthen their strategic collaboration to advance their energy security, decarbonisation and climate change goals, the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The UAE, which aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, is investing Dh600bn in clean and renewable energy projects over the next three decades.

It is also exploring new technologies to support its decarbonisation push.

Earlier this year, the Emirates joined the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy, an international government partnership focused on facilitating and accelerating the transition to clean and efficient energy and mobility systems using hydrogen and fuel cell technologies across different sectors.

While acting as an incubator for new start-ups and technologies, the Siemens Energy hub is also expected to create 75 high-skilled jobs in Abu Dhabi by 2025.

The company will offer at least six internships annually to students from Abu Dhabi universities, of which 50 per cent will be Emiratis, it said.

Abu Dhabi has been boosting its regulations and business environment to become an attractive destination for professionals and companies in the innovation sector.

Adio's innovation programme aims to fuel the development and diversification of Abu Dhabi’s economy, led by an ecosystem in which partner companies create technological solutions.

Companies in the initiative, a part of Abu Dhabi’s Dh50bn Ghadan 21 project, operate in high-growth, tech-focused industries.

The partnership with Siemens Energy will “enrich the energy technology ecosystem with the introduction of new ideas and solutions that open pathways for the global energy transition”, said Abdulla AlShamsi, acting director general of Adio.

“Adio will continue to partner with innovation-driven companies in high-impact sectors to help them reach the next stage of their growth,” he said.

Last month, Adio announced its collaboration with Innovaccer, a health cloud company, to improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of health care in the UAE and across the Middle East.