[ad_1]
Mohamed Al Hammadi, Managing Director and CEO of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), discusses the UAE’s journey in nuclear energy with Dr Chris Keefer, host of the Decouple podcast, and highlights the importance of nuclear energy to achieve net energy – zero by 2050 .
Al Hammadi offers key lessons on how to deliver a nuclear program after the UAE became not only the first country in 27 years to deliver a new nuclear program, but delivered it on budget and within one of the most efficient timelines in industry history lesson, because according to the Emirates News Agency.
He explained how the UAE began researching the future of the energy sector in 2006 to identify clean resources to support the country’s growth and development.
The UAE government has chosen to “follow the science” – investing in intermittent renewable energy projects and baseload nuclear power, paving the way to start planning for the first nuclear power plant of its kind in the Arab world, the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
Al Hammadi analyzes why nuclear energy is seen as the right choice for the UAE. “Nuclear energy has a high level of energy density, it is clean, safe, reliable, and produces ample clean electricity 24/7. This is very important for energy security. ) the importance of electricity to the grid because the stability it provides is critical to powering homes and cities. Nuclear power provides all of this while being commercially and economically viable. Today, our investments in nuclear power are bringing returns as we have three commercial operations in Barakah and the fourth is nearing completion,” Al Hammadi said.
Al Hammadi added: “Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 will not be possible without nuclear energy. More and more countries are realizing this and COP28 in the UAE in November will be a good Science, facts and figures show the success of nuclear energy. Clean electricity from Barakah enables us to innovate in areas such as clean hydrogen. I see an opportunity to provide higher temperature steam to the chemical industry. Going forward, we will continue to build on our knowledge and talents to help other countries decarbonize the energy sector and jointly address the challenges of climate change and energy security.”
Dr Keefer hailed the success of Al Hammadi’s UAE peaceful nuclear energy programme, which has delivered one of the world’s leading new nuclear energy projects on time and on budget, especially against the backdrop of the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Barakah already powers more than 80% of Abu Dhabi’s clean electricity, ENEC is now focusing on innovation and R&D for new technology development to accelerate the clean energy transition.
The research focuses on SMRs and next-generation reactors, and the production of clean molecules — steam, hydrogen and ammonia, as well as heat — that are needed to generate energy and decarbonize hard-to-abate industries such as shipping and aviation.
[ad_2]
Source link