|
||||||||||||
Nine Emiratis Reach CLIX Event Finals |
||||||||||||
|
Nine UAE innovators have been selected as finalists in the Climate Innovation Exchange, CLIX – a World Future Energy Summit initiative – and a platform that will be hosted by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, MOCCAE, during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2019. With nine innovations out of 48, these Emirati innovators represent around 19 percent of the total finalists. The diversity of Emirati innovations falls within three categories, including Sustainability in Space, Future of Energy, Food and Agriculture, all of which aim to achieve sustainability and a better future to current and future generations by protecting the environment and ensuring the sustainability of natural resources. By allowing these innovations to be showcased during CLIX, UAE innovators will have the opportunity to meet businessmen and investors to discuss their innovations and seek financing that could turn them from pilot ideas and models into real projects that benefit local and global communities. Speaking on the strong representation of homegrown innovations at CLIX 2019, Taif Al Amiri, Director of the Government Communication Department at MOCCAE, said, "The UAE’s visionary leadership invests extensively in youth, creating a conducive environment for the young generation to innovate." "We are proud of the level of innovation demonstrated by the UAE participants. The ideas they presented have the potential to enhance the sustainability of diverse sectors and contribute to building a better future for current and future generations," she added. Al Amiri noted that CLIX is an out-of-the-box platform that facilitates access to funding for sustainability solutions by connecting innovative start-ups with forward-thinking private sector organisations that recognise the potential of investing in disruptive clean technology. The projects of some of the finalists include one for building antennas for a CubeSat operating as transducers converting radio frequencies into current or the opposite and intended to monitor red tide waves and detect methane and carbon dioxide levels to protect the environment. Another is an "Optimal Management of a Mobile Energy Generation and Storage System" that addresses dispatch and scheduling problems through an alternative power source to bypass high demand charges imposed on industrial customers during operations. There is also a project to develop a solar-powered drone capable of operating in inaccessible locations to extinguish a fire using a laser gun containing balls of special pressurised chemicals. This year’s edition of CLIX covers a wide range of innovations including applied space technologies for sustainable development on Earth, new energy generation, storage and efficiency methods and food sector technologies enhancing sustainable agriculture systems such as vertical farming, biotechnology, and drones and robotics. With a total of 48 selected start-up and pre-start-up finalists invited to demonstrate their innovative ideas and projects, CLIX will attract a diverse attendance of over 3,000 entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, industry experts, professionals and students. |
||||||||||||
