Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Korea Energy Agency (KEA) for renewable energy collaboration and investment between the Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Dr. Nam Hoon Kang, President and CEO of KEA, signed the MoU, which coincided with the President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in’s four-day visit to the UAE and his first to the Middle East since his election last year.

Under the terms of the agreement, Masdar and KEA aim to establish a potential strategic partnership to encourage renewable energy investment in Korea and to develop a number of renewable energy projects using solar, wind, energy storage, floating solar power and waste-to-energy technologies, among others.  

“Masdar is proud to collaborate with industry leaders and like-minded companies that share the same values and goals as Masdar. Our partnership with the Korea Energy Agency will allow us to strengthen our relationship with Korea and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and new energy industry projects to improve energy security and spur innovation in smart urban development,” said Al Ramahi.

Both parties have also agreed to the possibility of expanding the scope of the collaboration in the future and will exchange expertise in the renewable energy and new energy industry fields covering energy auditing, smart grids, energy storage and other related areas.    

Dr. Kang said, “We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Masdar, which will lay the foundation for mutually beneficial cooperation. Utilising Masdar and KEA’s specialist knowledge and expertise will enable the Republic of Korea to advance its renewable energy goals.”

The signing of the agreement follows the Korea-UAE bilateral Economic Cooperation Council meeting in March, where Masdar and KEA initiated the development of the partnership.

The MoU builds upon Masdar’s current ties with the Republic of Korea following the signing of a strategic agreement during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2018 with global infrastructure and energy development company Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. to support the commercialisation of low-energy reverse osmosis seawater desalination plants in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.  

Masdar’s Clean Energy division is a leading developer and operator of utility-scale, grid-connected projects, as well as applications providing electricity access to communities away from the grid. The division also engages in research and development of sustainable technologies, from seawater desalination to solar photovoltaics, biofuel and energy storage to enhance current capabilities of renewable energy technologies and boost local, regional and global renewable energy power generation capacity.