A flower-shaped solar panel that can reorient itself to face sunlight has been announced by Dubai Municipality. Courtesy Dubai Municipality
A flower-shaped solar panel that can reorient itself to face sunlight has been announced by Dubai Municipality. Courtesy Dubai Municipality
A flower-shaped solar panel that can reorient itself to face sunlight has been announced by Dubai Municipality. Courtesy Dubai Municipality
A flower-shaped solar panel that can reorient itself to face sunlight has been announced by Dubai Municipality. Courtesy Dubai Municipality

Dubai Municipality launches Smart Flower solar panel


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DUBAI // A flower-shaped solar panel that can reorient itself to face sunlight has been announced by Dubai Municipality.

The Smart Flower was developed by an Austrian company and contains sensors allowing it to automatically track rays of sunlight, the municipality said on Wednesday.

This feature makes it 23 per cent more efficient than traditional roof-top solar systems.

The device has a weather-adapting feature and a passive ventilation system to ensure it is efficient in high temperatures.

Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of the municipality, said the Smart Flower is in line with the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

“Dubai Municipality’s commitment to innovation and implementation of creative ideas in line with Dubai Government’s vision of becoming the world’s most innovative and sustainable city,” said Mr Lootah.

The Smart Flower is one of several initiatives started by the municipality’s sustainability and renewable energy department, said Khalid Al Awadhi, assistant director general for the municipality’s environment, health and safety control sector.

Another project was the Dubai Lamp, which he said was the world's most efficient LED lamp available commercially. It is expected to reduce energy consumption by 90 per cent.

newsdesk@thenational.ae

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: 3/5

BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce 

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

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360Vuz PROFILE

Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah 
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology 
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million 
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

 

Company: Instabug

Founded: 2013

Based: Egypt, Cairo

Sector: IT

Employees: 100

Stage: Series A

Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors

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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

England World Cup squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en