|
Abu Dhabi will host the Middle East’s first ever competitive solar car competition next week, welcoming students from across the world for the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge (ADSC).
The first event of its kind to be sanctioned in the region by the International Solarcar Federation (ISF), the ADSC will take place between 15-19 January, with the qualifying stage at Yas Marina Circuit on the 15 January. The teams will travel approximately 1,200km across Abu Dhabi emirate, between 16 and 19 January, before finishing in the UAE capital.
The event will showcase to the world many of the things that make the UAE the country that it is today, including its position as a pioneer at the cutting edge of energy efficiency technology as well as its investment in youth, science, engineering, education and innovation.
The ADSC is sponsored by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and hosted by Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, Masdar, as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW). As the largest gathering on sustainability in the Middle East, ADSW will see thought-leaders and clean technology innovators come together with 32,000 delegates from over 170 countries.
Dr. Nawal Al Hosany, director of sustainability, Masdar, said: “Masdar is proud to host the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge. It’s an event the entire UAE community can get behind, especially in supporting the UAE entry. In highlighting what can be achieved when human ingenuity meets cutting edge clean technology, it also promises to help inspire future generations of engineers and scientists.”
Abu Dhabi will welcome teams from Australia, Europe, America and Asia, including a number of familiar faces on the solar challenge circuit. Teams include The University of Michigan from the USA, Tokai University from Japan, and Queensland University of Technology from Australia. The Petroleum Institute (PI) team will be representing the UAE. The team has worked tirelessly for months to become one of the solar world’s elite, flying the UAE flag in front of a global audience.
Designed and built by university students, the competing solar cars are complex machines that bring together the latest technologies from the renewable energy, aerospace and automotive industries. The students taking part will contribute to the next generation of engineers and scientists, in the UAE and globally.
A spokesperson for ADNOC said: “The UAE has been a pioneer in the region through its various renewable energy investments, both domestically and internationally, and it aspires to be an international hub for renewable energy and low-carbon technologies. Events such as the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge highlight that the UAE knows that to be a responsible oil producing nation, there needs to be a balance between hydrocarbons and renewable energy in the economy. We are proud to be sponsors of the first Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge and look forward to welcoming all the teams to the UAE.”
Masdar’s global reputation as a renewable-energy pioneer helped attract and, ultimately, bring the solar challenge to Abu Dhabi. The company’s mission to advance clean energy, along with Abu Dhabi’s role as an international energy hub, makes the emirate an ideal location for the solar-car competition.
|
New
Review
Abu Dhabi International Airport - 41°F
