Home grown public private partnerships key to UAE Energy Sustainability

Among key speakers at the event was global energy leader Shell who has teamed up with key UAE universities to develop local innovation in cleaner energy with home grown fuel efficient vehicles, as part of the company's commitment on advancing energy efficiency, innovation and the future of energy.

Students from Abu Dhabi Men's College, who developed a fuel-efficient car in 2012, showcased the car and shared their best practices with fellow students at the EEG Forum. In recognition of their working prototype, the HCT Engineering students were invited to compete in the Shell Eco-Marathon global event, alongside more than 420 teams from more than 40 countries all over the world.

Commenting on the event and Shell's collaboration with UAE universities, Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson of the EEG and President of the UN Global Compact Network in GCC States, said: "Cleaner energy and energy conservation are critical issues to the UAE's sustainable growth and development. We believe that the private sector can play a big role with the educational sector, to develop localized technology initiatives to protect the environment. We encourage other companies to be inspired by Shell's initiative and hope that the Abu Dhabi Men's College students positive experience in clean energy will inspire many other UAE students towards embracing an environmentally responsible way of life."

Also present at the event was Khulood Qayed, Communications Manager, Shell Markets, who said: "Shell Eco-Marathon is part of Shell's ongoing partnership with the UAE community, which spans over 50 years. We are proud to collaborate with EEG, a pioneering organization in the field of energy conservation and sustainability, for spearheading and encouraging environmentally responsible initiatives and would like to thank them for giving us the opportunity to be here today. We would like to thank them for enabling the Abu Dhabi Men's College team to share their experience, which demonstrated local creativity and innovation towards creating environmentally friendly transportation solutions for a sustainable energy future. We are very proud about the UAE's first time participation in this global energy initiative that challenges students towards technology and innovation. They held the UAE's name high."

At the forum, Shell highlighted that by 2050, global energy demand is expected to double and oil will continue to be the leading energy source to feed this demand in the Middle East. Over half of all oil consumption goes towards transportation and vehicle fleet is expected to triple, reaching 1.2 billion during this time frame.

This increase is putting undue pressure on the environment with transportation responsible for 22% of world's co2 emissions today, a percentage that is expected to grow, as the number of vehicles on the road continues to increase.