Solar Bankers’ project with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority
In April of this year, Solar Bankers was awarded a contract with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) for a pilot project to test its core technology. It is one of only three companies selected by DEWA from the 2017 cycle of the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) for a partnership that seeks to “provide innovation to transform the utility company’s business model.” Solar Bankers had previously gained admission to this year’s cycle of the DFA — the world’s largest government-backed accelerator program for developers of emergent technologies — and spent 9 weeks in February and March working closely with technology startups from all around the world.
Launched in 2016 under a personal directive from the Sheikh of Dubai and his son the Crown Prince, the DFA states that its intensive 9-week programs seek to bring together “the world’s most exciting technology companies with leading government organisations to create transformational solutions.” As part of this initiative, the government of Dubai has decided to support Solar Bankers in further developing its core technology — a highly efficient solar module based on the company’s patented nano-structured, light-managing foil. The pilot project with DEWA will last around six months and will involve a series of performance tests in the area’s high-temperature environment following the installation of Solar Bankers’ modules. Solar Bankers’ technology is of special interest to solar energy production in high-temperature environments because its nano-structured foil prevents efficiency-reducing panel overheating by deflecting shorter wavelengths of light away from the active converter.
The partnership between DEWA and Solar Bankers was inaugurated in April with an official signing attended by the Crown Prince of Dubai, Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. Solar Banker’s CTO, Dr. Carlo Maragliano, signed the contract with DEWA on behalf of the company. As a former PhD student at Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi, he has extensive experience in the Middle Eastern solar energy market, helping a range of innovations make their way from the lab to the factory floor and authoring or co-authoring over 10 research papers in the field of optics.
Carlo’s participation in the DFA and the signing with DEWA have garnered the praise of his former colleagues and mentors at Masdar. Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost of Masdar, was quoted by the institute’s news service as stating that Masdar is “very proud of Dr. Maragliano for his role in the selection of Solar Bankers for the 2017 cycle of the DFA. Dr. Maragliano embodies MI’s human capital development goal through his efforts to build on the solar technology expertise he developed during his doctorate studies at MI to become a technology innovator who is working to bring innovation to the UAE.”
Masdar Institute’s news service also reported about the signing. Read the full article here: https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/masdar-institute-alumnus-leads-project-with-dubai-water-and-electricity-authority-through-dubai-future-clb5cav2
