Hub71 and Siemens Energy to support tech start-ups addressing climate issues

Partnership supports the UAE’s commitment towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050

Hub71 and Siemens Energy will promote corporate venturing in driving a sustainable future for the planet. Photo: Hub71

Abu Dhabi's Hub71 and Siemens Energy have joined forces to support the emirate's tech start-ups that are addressing climate change issues, as the UAE works to achieve its goals of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The two entities will help Abu Dhabi's CleanTech and ClimateTech start-ups to develop innovative technologies that address climate change challenges, Hub71 said on Monday.

Hub71 and Siemens Energy will also identify prominent CleanTech and ClimateTech start-ups to explore investment opportunities that have the potential to accelerate the clean energy transition.

The partnership reinforces the importance of energy transition as the world pivots towards more sustainable and renewable energy sources, Badr Al-Olama, acting chief executive of Hub71, said.

"The powerful combination of technology and entrepreneurship raises our ability to address global challenges," Mr Al-Olama said.

"By capitalising on the expertise of Siemens Energy, we will focus our efforts to attract leading CleanTech and ClimateTech start-ups to establish a presence in Hub71 so that we can pool our combined efforts towards reducing emissions and promoting a low carbon economy."

The agreement comes at a time when the UAE is set to host Cop28 in 2023 and is working towards its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The partnership supports the country's ability to drive investments in green infrastructure and clean energy projects, both locally and globally.

Abu Dhabi continues to enhance its start-up environment, harnessing advanced technology to drive economic growth and inclusion across all sectors.

Hub71, which was set up in 2019, is backed by the government of Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Investment Company, the emirate's sovereign wealth fund. It is also supported by Adio and the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the capital's financial free zone.

As part of its agreement with Hub71, Siemens Energy will also provide select start-ups with mentorship by participating in knowledge-sharing platforms, building from its expertise in developing sustainable, reliable, and affordable clean energy technologies.

“Accelerating the energy transition requires investment, innovation, and partnership. It is through collaboration with sustainability-focused and forward-looking organisations like Hub71 that we will transition faster," Kendra Rauschenberger, General Partner at Siemens Energy Ventures, said.

"We are excited to work with Hub71 to identify and support start-ups, and to leverage our extensive resources in the fields of innovation, finance, and strategic development, to accelerate and the development of tomorrow’s technologies, today.”

Siemens Energy will explore opportunities to participate in Hub71’s value-driven programmes focused on increasing market access and the potential for fund-raising. These programmes include Ventures Lab, a venture-builder by Hub71 and Modus Capital, which helps exceptional entrepreneurs to build ideas into market-leading businesses.

Furthermore, Siemens Energy will explore participating in Hub71’s The Outliers programme, designed for tech start-ups worldwide to solve real industry challenges of corporate and government bodies.

In pursuit of increasing the number of clean and renewable energy start-ups, Hub71 will fast-track companies referred by Siemens Energy to its incentive programme. This provides founders with up to Dh500,000 ($136,147) worth of incentives and benefits, including set-up and operational support.

Hub71 has $500 million in available capital and offers incentives such as free housing, office space and health insurance.

It is now home to more than 170 start-ups, and those in the pre-seed, seed and series A stages have collectively raised more than $67m.

Start-ups in the technology community have generated about $700m in revenue and created about 1,000 jobs since it was set up.

In the first half of 2022, the start-ups raised $436m from global investors.