Masdar Units

The Masdar Institute is an independent, research-driven graduate institute developed with the ongoing support and cooperation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Focused on the science and engineering of advanced alternative energy, environmental technologies and sustainability, the Masdar Institute will be at the heart of the home-grown research and development community at Masdar City and will eventually host 600-800 Master’s and PhD students and 200 faculty.

The graduate programmes integrate education, research and scholarly activities to prepare graduate students to be innovators, creative scientists, researchers and critical thinkers in the areas of technology development, systems integration and policy. Masdar Institute partners with industry and government to foster a diversified knowledge-based economy in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

As a crucial source of research and development, the institute is fundamental to Masdar’s core objectives of developing Abu Dhabi’s knowledge economy and finding solutions to humanity’s toughest challenges. The university aims to become one of the world’s leading academic institutions in its field. The high quality of its students and faculty, as well as its unique location within Masdar City, will enable it to achieve these goals.

For more information about Masdar Institute see www.Masdar.ac.ae

Masdar Capital seeks to build a portfolio of the world’s most promising renewable energy and clean technology companies. It helps its portfolio companies grow and scale-up by providing capital and management expertise. Masdar Capital targets investments that have the greatest potential globally and to the UAE and is particularly focused on the following sectors:

• Clean energy: including power generation and storage technologies, transportation technologies, cleantech/clean energy innovation, and sustainable biofuels.

• Environmental resources: including water and waste management, and sustainable agriculture technologies.

• Energy and material efficiency: including developments in advanced materials, building and power-grid efficiency, and the enabling technologies.

• Environmental services: including environmental protection and business services.

• Investment in these markets is made via two funds: the Masdar Clean Technology Fund (MCTF), launched in 2006, and the DB Masdar Clean Tech Fund (DBMCTF), launched in 2009. MCTF, a fully deployed $250 million fund invested $45 million in three cleantech funds and the remaining $205 million in 12 direct investments in companies, as lead or co-lead investor. It was launched in conjunction with partners Consensus Business Group, Credit Suisse and Siemens AG. DBMCTF, is jointly managed with Deutche Bank and raised US$265 million in its first close, has an initial investor group led by Siemens and includes the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan Oil Development Co. Ltd., Nippon Oil Corporation, Development Bank of Japan and GE.

Investment in these markets is made via two funds: the Masdar Clean Technology Fund (MCTF), launched in 2006, and the DB Masdar Clean Tech Fund (DBMCTF), launched in 2009. MCTF, a fully deployed $250 million fund invested $45 million in three cleantech funds and the remaining $205 million in 12 direct investments in companies, as lead or co-lead investor. It was launched in conjunction with partners Consensus Business Group, Credit Suisse and Siemens AG. DBMCTF, is jointly managed with Deutche Bank and raised US$265 million in its first close, has an initial investor group led by Siemens and includes the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan Oil Development Co. Ltd., Nippon Oil Corporation, Development Bank of Japan and GE.

Both funds follow an active management investment strategy. The targeted investment amount is between US$15-35 million and seeks to realise strong risk-adjusted returns. Through these funds, Masdar Capital also seeks to demonstrate, commercialise and promote renewable technologies in the UAE, and to identify synergies between its investments and other Masdar activities, as well as the long-term energy and development programme of the UAE.
 

Masdar Power is a developer and operator of renewable power generation projects. In building a portfolio of strategic utility-scale projects, Masdar Power makes direct investments in individual projects in all areas of renewable energy, with a focus on Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), photovoltaic solar energy and on- and offshore wind energy. In a joint venture with Abengoa Solar and Total, Masdar Power is developing the 100MW Shams 1 CSP plant in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, set to be the largest CSP plant in the world.

It also is developing a 30MW wind farm and a PV array on Sir Bani Yas Island. Through these and future projects, the unit will contribute to Abu Dhabi’s goal of generating 7% of its energy needs from renewable sources. International projects include the 1,000 MW London Array offshore wind farm and a wind farm in the Thames Estuary, a joint venture with DONG Energy an E.ON, that when completed will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world. It also is building a wind farm in the Seychelles that will provide 25% of the island’s energy needs.

Masdar Power also strategically invests in technology relevant to utility-scale renewable energy. Companies in which it holds significant ownership stakes include Torresol, a joint venture with SENER Grupo de Ingeniería of Spain to build and operate Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants globally and Masdar PV, a thin-film solar panel manufacturer in Germany.

Masdar Carbon manages projects that bring reductions in carbon emissions through energy efficiency and waste heat/CO2 recovery, as well as through carbon capture and storage (CCS). The unit provides value to industrial asset owners by monetising carbon emission reductions under the current United Nations-based Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or other applicable future international climate trading schemes, and by providing an end-to-end solution to achieve this, including carbon finance, project identification and management, technology sourcing project analysis and registration at the United Nations. Masdar Carbon’s geographic focus under the CDM is the Middle East, Africa and Asia, while its sector focus is on oil, gas and power. Masdar’s CDM project portfolio includes a diversified range of projects focusing on gas flaring reduction, gas leakage reduction, combined heat and power, industrial CO2 recovery and solar power.
Masdar Carbon also has entered into a joint venture with E.ON Carbon Sourcing to invest in carbon abatement projects in Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Southeast Asia. The company will develop, finance and implement projects in the Middle East, Africa and Asia with a particular focus on power generation and oil and gas. The emission reductions will be monetised in the form of carbon credits and traded under the CDM or other applicable future schemes.

As part of its mandate to invest in technologies for the production of clean fossil fuels, Masdar Carbon is developing one of the world’s most ambitious large-scale CCS projects in partnership with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), its group of companies, and others in the power and industrial sectors in the Emirate. The project will capture carbon dioxide emitted from power plants and heavy industry and transport it, via a national pipeline network, for injection into Abu Dhabi’s oil & gas reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery. The first phase of the project is currently in the front-end engineering and design stage and upon completion, will capture five million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Masdar Carbon will contribute to Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 by helping to lower the Emirate’s carbon footprint.

Aspiring to be one of the most sustainable cities in the world, approximately 6km² Masdar City is an emerging global clean-technology cluster that places its resident companies in the heart of the global renewable energy and cleantech industry. Situated 17km from downtown Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is a high-density, pedestrian-friendly development where current and future renewable energy and clean technologies are showcased, marketed, researched, developed, tested and implemented.

The city, which at full build out will house 40,000 residents and hundreds of businesses, will integrate the full range of renewable energy and sustainability technologies, across a living and working community. As with most dynamic technology clusters, the city has a top-notch research university that is a source for innovation, technologies, R&D and highly skilled graduates.

The Masdar Institute, developed in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is already operating in Masdar City, and its students are the city’s first residents. Other major partners include Siemens, which will establish its Middle East headquarters and Centre of Excellence in Building Technologies R&D centre; GE, which will build its first ecomagination Centre; Schneider, which will operate an R&D centre; BASF; the Swiss Village Association; the Korea Technopark Association, and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

For further information about Masdar City see www.MasdarCity.ae