In the Middle East, there is a fresh and promising prospect. The region’s petroleum-rich countries are funnelling millions into renewable energy startups and allied technologies as never before, with roughly US$100 billion in upcoming projects, paving the way for loads of new energy businesses.
How Middle East’s Renewable Energy Startups are Setting Stage for a Transformation
From assisting businesses and state-owned utilities in transitioning to smart grids and meters to constructing commercial solar farms that could power a small city, young entrepreneurs are transforming the region’s power sources by using internet of things (IoT) systems to track customer demand and maximize productivity.
Despite significant advancements in the field of perovskite solar cells – an innovative technology for photovoltaic systems that uses semiconducting material to convert light energy into electrical energy – tier one technologies continue to be the primary driver of growth and control the majority of the solar industry’s capitalization.
In fact, new technological innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are utilized to improve renewable energy sources’ efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility. Blockchain companies are testing applications that include peer-to-peer (P2P) power trading platforms to assist small-scale power providers in selling surplus electricity to customers.
Even as the region’s economies seek to expand the number of renewables in their energy mix, the Middle East is well on its way to becoming one of the world’s most influential Renewable Energy centres. So here’s the rundown of upcoming energy startups in the Middle East to watch out for:
1. Yellow Door Energy
Yellow Door Energy was established in 2015 in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan with the purpose of offering industrial and commercial organisations renewable sources of energy. In the Middle East and South Asia, the business already has approximately 110 megawatts of solar projects. Leading companies such as Nestlé, Unilever, Carrefour/Majid Al Futtaim, and Landmark Group are among its clients.
2. Tarshid
The Public Investment Fund established The Saudi Arabian National Energy Services Company or Tarshid to assist the Kingdom in becoming more energy efficient. Tarshid is the outcome of a cooperative endeavour by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Finance.
Tarshid aspires to be a leader in the field of renewable energy and to contribute to a more stable world. Tarshid’s mandate is to create, finance, and execute substantial energy sustainability initiatives in the government and commercial sectors that save the Kingdom money.
3. Arabian Combustion Technologies (ACT)
Arabian Combustion Technologies (ACT) is one of KAUST’s branches dedicated to improving the environmental effect of combustion in Saudi Arabia and throughout the world by using world-class research. Established in the year 2016, ACT works in collaboration with innovative technology suppliers to generate industrial capabilities and high-value jobs for the Kingdom’s indigenous talent pool.
4. National Water Company
National Water Company is making a significant contribution to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Program by involving the private sector in mutually beneficial commercial ventures in order to boost regional economic growth. NWC is looking forward to forming solid, long-term relationships with firms that can provide greater services to NWC’s clients. Established in 2008, the company’s options range from expanding the capacity of sewage treatment facilities to completely off-loading particular projects with full administration and operation, which the investor can show to NWC with each bid.
NWC is tasked with providing water to residents and businesses in various economic sectors, as well as knowing the basic demands for water and wastewater management and following subsidiaries such as operation and maintenance.
5. ENERGIA
The ENERGIA was founded in 2011 by bringing together the brightest brains in the business with the shared purpose of providing clients with the best in class quality and perfection for their temporary power, cooling, welding, air compressor, and tower light needs. Team ENERGIA has carved a position for itself as the premier provider of temporary power, cooling, compressors, tower lights, and welding solutions in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region, led by a huge team of highly certified engineers. ENERGIA is based in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and has a significant presence throughout the GCC and the MENA area. It has a 150-person team that works tirelessly across the company’s presence to ensure client satisfaction and quality deliverables throughout the area.
6. Desert Technology
Desert Technologies (dt) is a seamless integration PV solar energy platform with a track record as a PV developer, EPC and O&M contractor, and PV solar panel and product manufacturer with a 110MW capacity facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (KSA). DT has positioned itself as a regional IPP player, having completed five utility-scale projects with its partners. The firm is headquartered in Saudi Arabia and operates internationally.
DT offers commercial, industrial, non-profit, and government clients PV solar energy products and solutions. To address the whole spectrum of the solar market, DT’s PV solar products include on and off-grid systems, battery storage systems, hybrid solutions, solar streetlights, solar residential systems & kits, and EV infrastructure systems.
7. Iyris
An International team of technological and farming specialists created Iyris in the year 2020.
Their goal is to develop surroundings that allow the over 1 billion people who live in arid areas to eat healthy, local, and fresh food.
Iyris specializes in making traditional greenhouse and horticulture designed for colder, wetter climates in the north. These are, however, unsuitable for use in arid areas. Iyris aims to make the MENA region self-sufficient in terms of food security with a special focus on the African continent.
8. Pawame
Pawame was founded in 2016 and provides pay-as-you-go solar home systems to people in rural parts of Africa who do not have any access to grid electricity. The company is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya and offers these devices on a microfinance basis, making them accessible to low-income families.
Pawame’s objective is to improve the quality of life of off-grid people in Sub-Saharan Africa by providing electricity access.
9. Wahaj Solar
Wahaj Investment L.L.C., also known as Wahaj Solar, was founded in September 2017 with the goal of producing low-cost solar energy for a variety of uses. However, this Dubai-based firm is attempting to innovate in the field of solar energy by utilising Ayman Solar Concentrator, a patented innovation of co-founder and Managing Director Ayman Adnan Al-Maaitah (ASC).
10. BioFire
BioFire Biofire was founded in 2015 and is based in Tébourba, Tunisia and is a member of the World Alliance. It promises to provide people with more inexpensive energy options while also preserving forests that are dwindling owing to inefficient wood fuel use. The company gathers and converts agro-forestry waste into solid biofuels such as wood briquettes, ecofriendly coal, and biochar, which are both efficient and healthful for cooking and heating.
11. Hydro Wind Energy
Hydro Wind Energy has a strong presence in the United Arab Emirates and combines the huge and constant power of offshore altitude winds with the power of subsea oceanic pressure to generate dependable, low-cost, clean electrical energy, energy storage, and fresh water. This company too is a member of the World Alliance and was founded in 2018.
12. Shamsina
Shamsina creates unique and economical solar water heaters for energy-deprived regions. It operates out of a workshop in Cairo’s AlDarb AlAhmar, an unplanned neighbourhood. It is a community organisation as it uses a local design, sources raw materials from local, small-scale enterprises, trains and employs community people, promotes local and worldwide environmental awareness, and, finally, offers energy services to the community. It inspires communities to generate their own energy using a similar concept. This company too is a member of the World Alliance and was founded in the year 2014.
