Fraunhofer Gesellschaft to develop partnership in Sustainable Cities Research in Masdar City

Masdar City, currently under construction, will be the world's first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city completely powered by renewable energy.

The city is the most ambitious sustainable development in the world today and will be a test bed for clean technologies.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has over 80 research centres across Europe, Asia and the United States and is internationally renowned for its ability to develop new technologies and bring them to market. The Sustainable Cities Research Centre would be the organisation's first Middle Eastern research hub.

"Our mission is to accelerate innovation in clean and renewable technologies and make these available and affordable on a global scale. We believe global collaboration is essential to achieving this mission and our partnerships with MIT, DLR, Imperial College and the Tokyo Institute of Technology are proof of this,"

said Masdar CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber.

"The collaboration with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will also ensure Masdar plays a key role in the development of Abu Dhabi's renewable energy sector; driving continual innovation and commercialisation of clean and sustainable energy technologies," he added.

The research centre will focus on critical technologies for sustainable cities of the future including solar energy, energy efficient buildings, water and desalination technologies, cooling technologies, intelligent electricity supply concepts, electro-mobility and carbon footprint measurement and evaluation.

The agreement also includes close collaboration with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and regional institutions to undertake joint research programs and achieve the transfer of knowledge between the Gulf and Europe.

"Combining applied research and sustainability is one of the strengths of Fraunhofer, and we welcome the opportunity to be involved in one of the world's leading examples of sustainable development," said Prof. Hans-Jörg Bullinger, President of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.

"Masdar City will be a magnet for the world's top minds in renewable energy and a hub of innovation. As a living laboratory, it will connect research and application every day across the full spectrum of clean technologies," he added.

The Fraunhofer Institutes for Industrial Engineering (IAO), Building Physics (IBP) and Solar Energy Systems (ISE) will be involved in the partnership and other institutes of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft may follow. At the beginning of 2009, Fraunhofer ISE achieved a new world record, with the development of multi-junction solar cells that have an efficiency level of 41.1%.

Construction of Masdar City officially commenced with a formal ground-breaking ceremony on February 9, 2008. The City will be constructed over six phases and is due to be completed by 2016.