Innovating tomorrow also means including the next generations in creating the energy systems of the future. The natural curiosity of young people is an accelerator for creativity and innovation. Therefore, we are locating the Siemens Energy Innovation Center at the Khalifa University campus in Abu Dhabi, where we can share the right tools, skills, and broad experience to unleash the talent of young engineers. The Innovation Center will strengthen specialized skillsets and create up to 75 high-skilled jobs in Abu Dhabi by 2025. Siemens Energy will also offer at least six internships annually to students from Abu Dhabi universities, of which 50 percent of the interns will be Emiratis. The focus is on co-creating decarbonization technologies in the areas of Power-to-X, Decarbonized Heat and Industrial Processes, Condition-based Service Interventions, Energy Storage & Fuel Cells, and Blockchain for Energy applications, among others.

Disruptive innovation requires collaboration between the public, private sectors, and academia. Successful ideas flourish in exchange between capable and diverse sets of experts. Often this means taking bold steps and working with partners willing to take risks. Pilot projects are key to finding new ways of using technology on our way to net-zero. One great example is our partnership with ADNOC to co-develop blockchain-based CO2 intensity certificates for crude oil, oil products, and chemicals. By using smart sensor data gathered from across ADNOC’s operational chain – from the oil well right to the customer – the pilot will show how much CO2 is used to make products such as Murban crude, ammonia, and aviation fuels. Such transparency will allow independent regulators to certify the carbon intensity of products. It will also give customers greater confidence and clarity over the carbon footprint of their purchases. It facilitates value chain transparency, opens new types of energy trading markets, and supports market demand. Collaborations like this can set the baseline for scaling up these kinds of technologies for industries and help other companies to showcase their decarbonization progress in a transparent way.

Achieving zero emissions targets is of the utmost priority for humankind. We can meet our goals if we bring visionary thinking, technology experience, and determined partners together. We can be the force of change.