Last Tuesday, we looked at the decarbonisation challenge facing the MENA region, and explored the pivotal role carbon capture solutions could play in the charge to Net Zero.

This week we turn our attention to how MENA climate tech startups are utilising renewable energies in their efforts to achieve net-zero emissions.

⚡ Leading light

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has set a clear target: triple renewable energy usage by 2030 to reach net zero emissions. 

The challenge? Balancing energy reliability, affordability, and sustainability.

We know that renewable energy can be generated from a number of sources, including:

• geothermal

• solar

• wind

• hydropower

Solar gets all the headlines in MENA, because, well, it’s pretty sunny around here - but that doesn’t mean other renewables like wind and geothermal don’t also have a place.

After all, despite renewable energy growing 12.8% between 2021 and 2022, renewables still only make up 5% of the Middle East’s energy mix.

There’s certainly work to do, but the MENA region's geographical attributes uniquely position it to be a frontrunner in renewable energy, especially in solar power, where it holds a significant cost advantage compared to other regions.

🔎 How’s investment looking?

In the past year, energy projects received 40% of climate tech investments in the Middle East. From 2019 to 2022, the region experienced a significant 19% yearly growth in renewable energy investments, especially in solar and wind, surpassing global growth rates.

From 2023 to 2030, the GCC is expected to invest around $100 billion in renewable energy, a significant increase compared to the $28 billion spent from 2015 to 2022.

This surge in renewable energy development reflects the region's commitment to net-zero goals and its pursuit of a competitive advantage in renewable energy costs. 

📝 What’s the plan

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and the UAE's Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, among others, have significantly contributed to the growth of renewable energy in the Middle East. These plans involve improving public energy systems, opening opportunities for new companies.

With six out of the ten lowest-cost solar projects globally, the GCC is well-placed to develop various new sectors leveraging solar and wind power.

• Only earlier this month, Abu Dhabi launched the Al Dhafra solar power plant, one of the largest in the world. It's set to power 200,000 homes and cut over 2.4 million tonnes of CO2 annually, akin to taking 470,000 cars off the roads. Spanning over 20 km² in the desert, it offers the world's lowest solar PV tariff at USD 1.35 cents/kWh.

Let’s take a look at some of the MENA start-ups leading the decarbonisation charge through renewable energies…

Here’s Hydro Wind Energy, a UAE-based climatetech developing innovative renewable energy solutions to provide low-cost clean electricity, grid scale energy storage, and seawater desalination.

Founded by Lee King, Hayk Vasilyan, Maryam A Hassani and Aboozy Ghaly, the start-up has taken part in several development programs, including the Masdar Innovate Programme, and Techstars Hub71 in Abu Dhabi.

💰 Investor lowdown: The company has raised more than US$55 million from investors, such as Techstars, Hub71, Global Emerging Markets, Seedrs, as well as unnamed investors.

🌬️ Not such a breeze

99% of wind turbines are on land or in shallow waters, but 80% of the world's wind energy is in deep offshore waters.

• This is beyond the reach of conventional turbines limited to about 60 meters depth. 

While effective, these turbines face challenges: 

1. They can't store energy and their electricity supply is inconsistent, fluctuating with wind speeds. 

2. They operate efficiently within a 4 to 25 meters per second wind speed range but must shut down in stronger winds, leading to energy loss and grid instability. 

This variability contrasts with the on-demand energy generation of traditional fossil fuels and hydroelectric systems.

🌀 A wind-win solution 

Hydro Wind Energy thinks they have they have the answer:

OceanHydro Omni, a hybrid energy system that harnesses offshore wind in deep waters using vertical axis wind rotors combined with a gravity-based system.

🔩 Nuts and bolts 

It works by converting wind energy into mechanical energy, which charges a "mechanical battery" by lifting a heavy block. 

When the block is released, it generates electrical energy with a fixed power output, providing on-demand energy to the grid. 

This system overcomes the limitations of conventional turbines and can harness wind from 4 to 40 meters per second wind speeds, operating in a wide variety of conditions, including extreme weather.

⚡ The impact

The system can potentially triple the amount of energy produced at one-fifth of the installation cost. 

Arrays of these systems can provide uniform power to the grid to meet shifting demand, maintaining a guaranteed minimum power capacity offshore. 

These arrays require no ramp-up time and can generate significant amounts of clean electricity for millions of homes. 

The bottom line? Clean, reliable, and low-cost electrical energy with inbuilt energy storage.

☀️ Introducing KESK, an Iraq based greentech company making smart solar energy solutions trustable, accessible, and profitable for businesses in Iraq.

Who knew that the sun could also help us keep cool?

• Founded in 2017 by Basima Abdulrahman, KESK raised a six-figure seed funding round in 2021. 

💰 Investor lowdown: The seed round was led by Euphrates Venture Capital Fund.

The company has earned several honours, including the Cartier Women's Initiative Award with a $100,000 prize, selection as an Expo Live Global Innovator, and their CEO's inclusion in the BBC 100 Women List 2023.

🆒 Chill bro:

The situation in Iraq, where stable electricity access is limited for most residents, leads to a high dependence on environmentally damaging private generators.

Additionally, a significant 60% of household energy consumption is dedicated to air conditioning units due to the scorching summers, where temperatures frequently exceed 50°C.

The bottom line? There’s a substantial demand for cooling solutions and a need to fill the knowledge gap in the workforce concerning solar energy solutions.

💡 Bright ideas

Iraq’s first greentech company offers two primary solutions;

1. Smart solar-powered air conditioning systems: Tailored for Iraq’s intense heat, their off-the-shelf units offer effective cooling while being eco-friendly and cost-effective.

   Their innovative, battery-less design meets the high demand for air conditioning in the summer, reducing dependence on the traditional power grid, which is essential due to the limited electricity supply in Iraq.

   They further support the system with a monitoring software that allows clients real-time data monitoring and control to optimise and offset energy costs.

• KESK claims that its proposed solution has successfully managed to offset 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year through implementation of its photovoltaic powered air conditioners

2. Green energy consulting services: Besides this, the company also provides engineering services in which it designs, supplies, and instals solar energy systems as per clients’ requirements and provides software services to help it monitor and control its solar energy assets.

• They’ve trained 1,800 professionals, contributing to the growth of the green technology sector in Iraq.

🔮 Flashforward:

KESK wants to make the green way, the easy way.

👋 Message from the team

Thanks for reading! Let us know if you enjoyed the latest instalment in our climatetech series?

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