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The UAE Ministry of Energy and Industry, MoEI, has opened the Emirates Nuclear Technology Center, ENTC, at Khalifa University, KU, Campus in Abu Dhabi, which will support the long-term sustainability of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program by creating a dedicated innovation hub for peaceful nuclear technologies. (more)

A Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, was exchanged by Suhail Bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry, and Mr. Lee Taeho, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, during the opening ceremony attended by Engineer Mohamed Al Hammadi, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, ENEC, Christer Viktorsson Director General of the Federal Authority of Nuclear Regulation, FANR, Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice President of KU, and senior officials from all five entities.

The MoU has been signed between the UAE MoEI and the Ministry of Science, and Information and Communications Technology of Republic of Korea, under the UAE and Korea Consultation Committee on Nuclear Technology. The MoU outlines the framework of cooperation on research projects between the center’s relevant parties.

The Emirates Nuclear Technology Center will engage in research projects designed and approved by ENEC and FANR, and will be conducted by students, academics and researchers from Khalifa University. The Center’s initial research projects will focus on three areas: nuclear safety and systems, nuclear materials science and chemistry, and radiation safety in the environment.

Through the MoU, the center will benefit from sharing knowledge and expertise from the Korean Nuclear energy industry, which has been operating for over 40 years, along with experience in developing nuclear research reactors.

"It is my pleasure to launch the Emirates Nuclear Technology Centre in Abu Dhabi, which is an outcome of our collaborative approach with our South Korean government counterparts and all UAE nuclear stakeholders, who are working to further Nuclear Science & Technology Research and Development. Investing in research and innovation are prerequisites for the long-term success of the UAE’s peaceful nuclear energy industry. It will further position the UAE as an international role model for the development of a peaceful nuclear energy program by building UAE National capabilities and conducting industry-leading research on radiation safety and nuclear energy technologies," said Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry.

"Within the frame of the High-Level Consultation on Nuclear Cooperation, we and our UAE partner are expanding areas of cooperation in the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant construction and operations, new nuclear energy project in third countries, nuclear R&D, and safety regulations. I believe that the MoU on nuclear energy and R&D cooperation will serve as a catalyst that will further accelerate our bilateral nuclear energy cooperation", said Mr. Lee Taeho, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea.

Engineer Mohamed Al Hammadi, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, ENEC, said: "We are delighted to be part of this initiative to establish the Emirates Nuclear Technology Center. As the UAE’s emerging peaceful nuclear energy industry continues to grow and develop, collaboration and cooperation between academia and industry will allow us to ensure the long-term sustainability of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program, as well as enhancing our global competitiveness and high standards of safety. Through its projects and research the Center will provide talented UAE Nationals with the opportunity to work alongside international experts in conducting cutting-edge research, thereby developing their skills and capabilities within the field of peaceful nuclear energy."

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice President of KU, said: "We are delighted to join the official launch of the ENTC, hosted on our campus, in collaboration with our stakeholders including our partners ENEC and FANR. The ENTC reflects another strong commitment from Khalifa University to contribute to enhancing the UAE’s nuclear technology research capability and support our key stakeholder’s goals for the delivery of safe, clean and efficient nuclear technology to meet the UAE 2030 vision. The center will significantly optimize the multidisciplinary capabilities through Khalifa University’s diverse community of faculty and researchers to meet the national objectives."

"We are delighted to join our national and international stakeholders in launching the Emirates Nuclear Technology Centre. Investing in research and innovation in nuclear technologies is indispensable to ensure the sustainability of the nuclear program. We will work closely with our partners to identify priority areas, focus on strategic nuclear sector research, ensure continuity of projects and provide support to national and international initiatives in line with FANR’s R & D Policy, which was launched in 2017. FANR will support the mandate of the new center by utilizing its Research and Development Program. FANR’s Research and Development Program aims to develop and attract UAE Nationals by providing opportunities for postgraduate education and research in the nuclear field. It also aims to ensure sound technical basis for all regulatory activities, mitigate risks related to safety, security and safeguards in the UAE nuclear energy sector," said Christer Viktorsson Director General of the Federal Authority of Nuclear Regulation, FANR.

The establishment of the Emirates Nuclear Technology Center will cement the UAE’s position as an international role model for the development of a new peaceful nuclear energy projects around the globe. Innovation and continuous development are essential to the sustainability and long-term success of the UAE’s peaceful nuclear energy industry, as well as the UAE’s ongoing transition to a knowledge-based economy and society.

The MoU comes at a pivotal time for ENEC, with the 4 Units of Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant more than 93 percent complete. Unit 4 is over 82 percent complete, Unit 3 is more than 91 percent and Unit 2 is more than 95 percent. Unit 1 construction has been completed and is currently undergoing operational readiness preparations pending regulatory approval and receipt of the Operating License for Unit 1 from FANR, anticipated in early 2020.

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Saudi Arabia’s population has grown from 4 million in 1960 to over 31 million in 2016. It is the main electricity consumer and producer in the Gulf region, with 345 trillion watts of gross production in 2016, of which 41 percent was produced from oil and 59 percent from gas. The electricity consumption in the country continues to grow substantially — by 8 to 10 percent annually, compared with less than 1 percent in Europe.

Faced with surging energy demand for economic growth, Saudi Arabia is turning to nuclear power to diversify its electricity-generating mix and therefore reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. The Kingdom plans to build two large nuclear power reactors as part of a program of delivering as many as 16 nuclear power plants over the next 20 to 25 years at a cost of more than $80 billion. It has projected 17 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2032 to provide 15 percent of the power then, along with more than 40 GW of solar capacity. Plans for small reactors for desalination are also well advanced.

Hamid Al-Saqqaf, director of independent production projects at Saudi Electricity Company, points out: “Introducing nuclear power into the national energy mix is a sovereign decision in every country, according to its needs. In Saudi Arabia, this decision was already made in advance. The Kingdom has a continuously elevating demand on electricity.

“In 2015, we had about 62,000 megawatts in demand, and even though there currently seems to be a decrease in the amount of load, yet the growing demand for energy requires the introduction of nuclear energy as a means to achieve the base-load. As you might know, the operating costs for nuclear power is much less than the one produced from fossil fuel. The console of nuclear fuel produces more energy and at a lower price.”

The move toward nuclear power falls in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, in which diversification of economy and energy from hydrocarbons is implied.

In 2010, a Saudi royal decree said that the development of atomic energy was essential to meet the Kingdom’s growing requirements for energy. Saudi Arabia is currently in the process of selecting a company for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the country. There are five finalists from five countries — the US, China, Russia, France and South Korea — that the Kingdom invited last year to bid on a project to build the two units. A preferred bidder in the competitive dialogue is expected to be chosen in 2019.

Rosatom plans to outfit the Saudi nuclear power plant (NPP) project with the world’s first operational Generation 3+ reactor technology, known as the VVER-1200. The reactor is known for the most advanced safety systems, which fully complies with international security standards and post-Fukusima safety requirements.

As a part of its integrated offer, Rosatom is ready to supply the Saudi nuclear power project with nuclear fuel throughout its operational lifetime and ensure decent level of Saudi industry involvement and complex human resource development, in addition to growing public acceptance of nuclear power. Nuclear power plant deployment is always very beneficial and, obviously, it will be so for Kingdom.

Nuclear power gives a boost for local economy enhancement by highly-qualified personnel development and gains new competences to local industry, previously focused mainly on the fossil fuel sector.

Russia is the pioneer in peaceful use of nuclear energy: the first commercial NPP went into operation in 1954. Strong with more than 70 years long expertise in this sphere, nowadays Russia is the world innovation leader in nuclear technologies and holds the first place for the largest portfolio of foreign construction projects (36 NPP Units in 12 countries as diverse as Finland and China, India and Hungary, Egypt and Bangladesh).

“In October 2017, Rosatom and King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy signed the Program for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. Due to investments into nuclear and based on the international expertise and decades-long innovation experience, Saudi Arabia will profit from the stable, clean and environmentally secure energy source at affordable tariffs,” commented Saeed Al-Shahrani, a Saudi expert in renewable energy. (source)

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King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) announced the appointment of Dr. Donal Bradley as its new vice president for research.

Dr. Bradley will join KAUST in April, coming from the University of Oxford where he serves as the Dean for Science and Engineering.

“Dr. Bradley comes to us with extensive experience in research administration at a number of world-class institutions. I am confident that he will provide strong guidance and mentorship to our research community, and be a staunch advocate for R&D efforts campus wide,” said Dr. Tony Chan, president of KAUST.

Dr. Bradley is a distinguished scientist with a stellar research record. Among his many honors and awards, he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in 2004, fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2005 and fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in 2013. He is also a Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher for cross-field publications, placing him among the most cited interdisciplinary authors globally over the past decade. He has a Google Scholar h-index of 125 having published over 630 publications with more than 80,000 citations. (sumber)

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"We pursue the moonshots,” said Abdulrahman Tarabzouni, but he was not taking about the space industry.

Tarabzouni is the youthful chief executive and managing director of Saudi Arabia’s newest technology investment fund, STV. It began operations just over a year ago, independently managed but backed by the Kingdom’s communications giant Saudi Telecom, aiming to exploit opportunities in the technology sector, which has been identified as core to the Vision 2030 economic development strategy.

STV is looking for world-changing investment opportunities. “As venture capitalists, we are seeking ideas that improve things by a factor of 100, not by a factor of 10. I think that’s the same spirit that we see nowadays in Saudi Arabia from the top down,” he explained.

Tarabzouni typifies the new generation of Saudi business leaders who are leading the top-down transformation of the country and its economy, and the journey away from oil dependency. (more)