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DUBAI / WAM
The Sustainability and Innovation Centre of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) honoured the winners of the fourth cycle of the CleanTech Hackathon, which brought together companies, innovators, university students and sustainability experts from around the world to develop solutions that address climate change, global water scarcity and other environmental challenges.
The centre also honoured graduates of the sixth cycle of the CleanTech Youth Programme, designed to deepen young Emirati energy leaders’ knowledge of clean and renewable energy, build their entrepreneurial expertise and encourage them to help accelerate climate action.
The CleanTech Hackathon and the CleanTech Youth Programme are part of the centre’s efforts to advance the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050, which aim to achieve 100% clean energy production capacity by 2050.
Participants in the fourth CleanTech Hackathon showcased their innovations across three main tracks: Decarbonisation and Sustainability, Clean Energy Integration and Storage, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digitisation. The hackathon recognised MaKina AI from the UAE in the AI and Digital Transformation track, Tridonic from the UAE in the Decarbonisation and Sustainability track, and Sun Ice Energy from Singapore in the Clean Energy Integration and Storage track.
The fourth CleanTech Hackathon attracted 205 participants from 18 countries, compared with 193 participants from seven countries in the third. The second cycle received more than 160 applications from 25 nationalities across 20 universities worldwide, while the first welcomed more than 100 participants from a range of academic and professional backgrounds.
Meanwhile, the sixth CleanTech Youth Programme saw 28 highly skilled young Emiratis aged 20 to 24 graduate.
Participants praised the programme for enriching their knowledge and enhancing their expertise across areas including solar energy, energy storage, green hydrogen, pumped-storage hydroelectric power, wind energy, electric mobility, the circular economy, renewable energy financing, innovation and sustainability. It also featured workshops, educational sessions and field visits involving experts, scientists and clean technology pioneers. Since its launch, the programme has graduated 151 young Emiratis.