A1RWATER, a UAE-based water innovation company, has announced plans to open an air-to-water bottling facility in Dubai to bolster the UAE's circular economy agenda and sustainability goals. It will operate in Dubai Industrial City, a business district managed by Tecom Group.
A1RWATER, founded in 2018 in Abu Dhabi, makes atmospheric water generators using proprietary technology that collects drinkable water from air humidity. It also boasts sustainable bottling techniques and packaging technologies that minimise emissions.
"Our mission is to redefine how the world accesses this vital resource, starting from a single drop to entire cities," said A1RWATER founder and chief executive Alex Guy.
"New water technology is all about getting to scale," he explained in an interview with The National. "The DIC facility is a major milestone, and a testament to our commitment ... we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what's possible."
Mr Guy said the facility is slated to open later in the year. A1RWATER, which also has offices in Switzerland and the UK, said the facility will help to eliminate the need for single-use plastic bottles.
"With regards to the bottling process, we're using reusable glass, the bottles can be used thousands of time," Mr Guy explained. "So for our customers we're delivering a clear cost advantage and a clear sustainability advantage."
Various companies around the world have created atmospheric water generators in recent years. The implementations of those systems has ranged from small to large, but generally possess similar qualities.
“Because our water never touches the ground, pipes or other contaminants, it’s the highest quality water requiring less infrastructure and no chemicals,” the A1RWATER's website reads in part.
The Abu Dhabi-based company said the ability to provide water from the air has the potential to eliminate complicated and environmentally burdensome supply chain logistics. “Our water takes a lighter approach, sourced from the skies and bottled in sustainable bottles and cans right on site,” it said.
According to a news release from A1RWATER, the facility will help "shift the trajectory of water access" in the UAE.
The company also has partnerships with Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Jotun, Emirates Palace and Adnoc, which in turn help those entities and communities source water more sustainably. It operates on a business-to-business model.
"If you're in some hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, hopefully you've seen a bottle of our water, if not already, hopefully you will coming soon," Mr Guy said.
Water scarcity and tech solutions
More than half of the world's population could live in water-stressed regions by 2050, according to a 2020 United Nations report that called for immediate action and investment.
Recent advancements in technology have shown that harvesting water directly from air is not only possible but increasingly efficient, even in the driest of environments like the Middle East, which also faces the potential for water stress in the not- too-distant future, due to climate change.
The advancements of atmospheric water generators are not necessarily a silver-bullet, however, in terms of a sustainable solution, they do help.
In many cases, those air-to-water technologies need to be powered from electricity grids, which could offset some environmental benefits if the power from the grid is not renewable.
Khalifa University recently announced it was in the process of preparing a patent application for its implementation of a water-generation technology that was powered by solar panels.
"It's a great solution," said Prof Samuel Mao during an interview in March, while showing Khalifa University's approach on the rooftop filled with solar panels at the Sas Al Nakhl campus.
“Water is generated as long as there is sunshine and moisture in air, and the system does not require electric power from the grid,” he said.
Other methods for providing drinking water, such as desalinating seawater or groundwater sourcing, also consume significant energy.
Initially, A1RWATER's DIC facility will be connected to the grid, but Mr Guy said that future projects will include other power sources.
"Going forward we'll introduce a large element of solar and I look forward to discussing more on that in the not-too-distant future," he explained.
"We think that air-to-water will disrupt water industries the same way solar disrupted power industries."
SPECS
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Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Indika
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Brief scores:
Arsenal 4
Xhaka 25', Lacazette 55', Ramsey 79', Aubameyang 83'
Fulham 1
Kamara 69'
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
THURSDAY FIXTURES
4.15pm: Italy v Spain (Group A)
5.30pm: Egypt v Mexico (Group B)
6.45pm: UAE v Japan (Group A)
8pm: Iran v Russia (Group B)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Afro%20salons
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
