Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy initiative, and Siemens have signed an agreement establishing a long term strategic partnership, which will also see Siemens setting up its Middle East headquarters in Masdar City.

Siemens will implement an innovative power grid combined with advanced building technologies in the first phase of Masdar City. This will serve as both an energy efficient power solution and a living R&D platform.

The partnership also covers collaboration in the field of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) which will involve research and development with the Masdar Institute.

Siemens will also set up a Centre of Excellence in Building Technologies, among other initiatives including a Leadership Development Centre. The Centre of Excellence will begin R&D activities on the ground at Masdar City in 2010.

“Masdar is a global pioneer in clean tech initiatives. We are proud to be the strategic partner for this groundbreaking project,” said Peter Löscher, president and chief executive officer of Siemens AG.

As part of the agreement, Siemens will provide integrated building automation technologies and jointly develop smart grid applications for the initial phase of Masdar City that will optimise energy consumption in the city. This living R&D facility will collect user data and consumer reaction to shape product design and automation while supporting Masdar City to achieve their energy efficiency targets.

“Partnering with technology leaders such as Siemens to create a clean-tech and R&D hub at Masdar City is what Masdar is about. We are pushing the frontiers of science, technology and engineering to not only redefine sustainable urban development but also to create a thriving R&D centre that will help turn Abu Dhabi into a technology developer and exporter,” added Dr Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive officer of Masdar.

The research and development aspect of the partnership with the Masdar Institute is Siemens’ largest global investment of its kind with a science and technology organisation.

The Siemens Middle East Headquarters facilities in Masdar City will showcase the latest energy efficient technologies developed by the company and when complete, will accommodate a staff of almost 2,000 specialists.

The company plans to occupy 18,000sqm that could be extended to a total of 25,000sqm in the longer term. In the first phase, Siemens will lease 12,000sqm of space which is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2013.

Siemens is a major investor in the Masdar Clean Tech Funds I and II.-TradeArabia News Service