MASDAR
Established in 2006, Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, is a global leader in renewable energy and sustainable urban development. Masdar means `source` in Arabic. Our mandate is to help maintain the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the global energy sector, while supporting the diversification of both its economy and energy sources for the benefit of future generations. At Masdar, we develop commercially viable renewable energy projects in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and international markets. We advance innovation in clean technologies. We are building the world?s most sustainable city. We also deliver knowledge and industry platforms to stimulate further growth in the wider renewable energy and clean-tech industry, creating new revenue streams for the UAE over the long term.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Government agency
- Industry Type:
- Renewable Energy
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
- Year Founded:
- 2006
This company also provides solutions for other industrial applications.
Please, visit the following links for more info:
About Us
A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Government-owned Mubadala Development Company, a catalyst for the economic diversification of the emirate, Masdar is guided by Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, a program driving new sources of income for the emirate and strengthening Abu Dhabi’s knowledge-based economic sectors.
Masdar comprises three business units--including Masdar Capital, Masdar Clean Energy and Masdar City--and is complemented by Masdar Institute, an independent, research-driven graduate university. This holistic approach keeps Masdar at the forefront of the global clean energy industry, while ensuring it remains grounded in the pursuit of pioneering and commercially-viable technologies and systems. With each unit focused on a key component of the value chain, Masdar operates with the broad scope needed to meet the most pressing sustainability challenges of tomorrow.
Our Philosophy
Vision
To make Abu Dhabi the preeminent source of renewable energy knowledge, development, implementation and the world’s benchmark for sustainable development.
Mission
To advance renewable energy and sustainable technologies through education, research and development, investment, commercialization and adaptation.
Our Values
Agile
We believe that success in today’s energy marketplace requires the ability to move swiftly and in sync with changes in technology – that we can make decisions quickly and decisively and with an agility that keeps us at the forefront of the industry.
Commercial
We believe that the best way to increase use of clean technologies is to demonstrate that they are commercially viable – to prove that their adoption will not only benefit the health and sustainability of our planet, but will also return profits to shareholders.
Sustainable
We believe that sustainability is a key criteria that we must use in making decisions. We think about the degree to which the actions we take can be repeated in the future without any significant loss in quality, resources or efficacy.
Grounded
We believe that because our business is so forward thinking – pioneering new concepts and technologies – it’s vital that our decision-making process be firmly rooted in reality. Everything we do is grounded in what is feasible, given financial and technical constraints. This will result in better technology, healthier returns and greater uses.
Background
Established in 2006, Masdar is a commercially driven enterprise that operates to reach the broad boundaries of the renewable energy and sustainable technologies industry – there by giving it the necessary scope to meet these challenges.
Masdar operates through five integrated units, including an independent, research-driven graduate university, and seeks to become a leader in making renewable energy a real, viable business and Abu Dhabi a global centre of excellence in the renewable energy and clean technology category. The result is an organisation greater than the sum of its parts and one where the synergies of shared knowledge and technological advancement provide this commercial and results-driven company with a competitive advantage that includes an ability to move with agility and intelligence within an industry that is evolving at great speed.
This holistic approach keeps Masdar at the forefront of this important global industry, while ensuring it remains grounded in the pursuit of pioneering technologies and systems that also are feasible. As a result, it delivers innovation to the market while deriving profits for its shareholders.
Masdar is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Government-owned Mubadala Development Company, a catalyst for the economic diversification of the Emirate.
Why Future Energy?
Abu Dhabi is home to 8% of proven global crude oil reserves, while the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is one of the 10 largest oil companies in the world; what’s more, the Emirate has enough hydrocarbon reserves at current production levels to last 100 years. So why has the leadership of this Emirate, which is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, committed billions of dollars to developing Masdar and establishing Abu Dhabi as a global centre of excellence in renewable energy and clean technologies?
For the Planet: With a heritage tied to life in th...
For the Planet: With a heritage tied to life in the harsh and unforgiving desert, Abu Dhabi’s leadership well understands the lessons of traditional desert living, where sustainable practices and resource conservation are not just slogans, but are essential to survival in such surroundings. That’s why the emirate’s leadership understands the tremendous challenges posed by climate change, environmental degradation and the need to find sustainable energy sources.
For Abu Dhabi’s Future: Abu Dhabi has tradit...
For Abu Dhabi’s Future: Abu Dhabi has traditionally played a leading role in global energy markets as a significant hydrocarbon producer. Through Masdar, it seeks to leverage its substantial resources and experience in this sector to maintain its leadership position in an evolving world energy market that is increasingly looking to renewable energy. Through Masdar, Abu Dhabi aspires to be an international hub for renewable energy, new energy and sustainable technologies, thereby balancing its already strong hydrocarbon position.
This leadership is expressed in other ways as well. While Abu Dhabi has always been known as a global energy player, through Masdar, it is demonstrating what a responsible oil producer can do to help create a balance between hydrocarbons and renewable energy in addressing both climate change and energy security.
For Abu Dhabi’s People: Abu Dhabi has embark...
For Abu Dhabi’s People: Abu Dhabi has embarked on a two-decade programme to transform its economy from one based on natural resources to one based on knowledge, innovation and the export of cutting-edge technologies. Guiding this transformation is a document called the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, which provides a comprehensive plan, including the steps to be taken to transform the emirate’s economy over the next two decades.
Key goals include increasing the non-oil share of the economy from approximately 40% to more than 60% and significantly diversifying the scope of economic activity to include priority sectors such as education, banking & finance, tourism, pharmaceuticals, media, aviation & aerospace, transportation & logistics, and manufacturing in areas such as aluminum and petrochemicals. It also puts a strong emphasis on value-added knowledge-based industries, such as renewable energy and sustainable technologies.
Masdar will contribute significantly to this diver...
Masdar will contribute significantly to this diversification in a number of ways. Across its five integrated units, the company will help:
- Expand the export base.
- Encourage private-sector entrepreneurship.
- Invest in education and research that stimulates innovation.
- Train, attract and retain skilled workers in knowledge-based sectors.
- Encourage investment in areas that generate intellectual property gains.
- Grow the non-oil sector’s share of the emirate’s economy and decouple economic growth from fluctuating oil prices.
Sustainability
Masdar City combines passive and intelligent design to demonstrate how an urban environment can accommodate denser populations more efficiently. The water and energy demand of the city’s buildings is 40 per cent lower than that of the average building in Abu Dhabi, and each building must meet a minimum 3-Pearl rating according to the Estidama Pearl Building Rating System. Administered by the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT), a 3-Pearl Estidama rating is comparable to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold international green building certification.
The City is a hub connecting education with research & development and business with investment. It serves as a test bed for renewable energy and technology companies in the UAE and around the world.
Master Plan
Masdar City aims to be a commercially viable city offering the highest quality of life within the lowest environmental footprint. The city is a mixed-use, sustainable community, including employment-generating land uses, residential areas, parks, plazas and neighbourhood amenities.
Masdar City is a free zone and an investment zone, enabling foreign ownership of property and companies, and attracting clean tech companies of all sizes and types to test, commercialise and deploy clean energy technologies.
The city’s walkable environment offers multiple clean tech transit options including the Personal Rapid Transit, an internal electronic driverless mode of movement, the NAVYA Autonom Shuttle, an autonomous vehicle that transports up to 12 people at one time, and Circ e-scooters, among others. Externally, two major Abu Dhabi networks, the Metro and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) are planned to pass through Masdar City.
Masdar City is strongly focused on sustainable development, through the reduction of demand for energy and water, and recycling and reuse of waste material particularly during the construction activities.
Masdar City has made ambitious commitments under the Estidama building rating system, targeting a minimum rating of 3-Pearls for all buildings. The city is also targeting a minimum rating of 4-Pearls for its public areas, including parks, plazas and streets, in line with the Estidama Pearl Community Rating System.
Ongoing growth will eventually see 50,000 people living at Masdar City, whilst 40,000 jobs and student placements will be offered.
Masdar City’s master plan is fundamental to the city’s sustainability goals. To view Masdar City’s master plan, please click here.
Sustainable Buildings & Projects
Each building in Masdar City is constructed with low-carbon cement, utilises 90 per cent recycled aluminium, and is designed to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 40 per cent compared with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards. These criteria are set in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and the UAE’s Estidama Pearl Rating System, which is administered by Abu Dhabi’s DMT. Estidama means ‘sustainability’ in Arabic.