World Future Energy Summit 2026 Partnerships Fuel Clean Energy Progress

The 18th World Future Energy Summit at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi is driving deals, new partnerships, and policy discussions as it runs until 15 January. Hosted by Masdar during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the summit is drawing leaders and specialists from more than 150 countries to focus on clean energy, food security, mobility, waste, and digital technologies for more efficient energy systems.

Across the exhibition halls and conference rooms, delegates are aligning climate goals with investment and regulation. Discussions are centred on how technology, finance, and policy can work together to accelerate energy transition, particularly in regions facing water stress, land constraints, and rising energy demand. This focus is visible in agrivoltaics debates, storage deals, electric vehicle charging partnerships, and new approaches to waste and building management.

A session organised by Greenpeace MENA examined agrivoltaics as a dual land-use option, combining solar generation and farming on the same plots. Speakers assessed how such systems can support food security, reduce competition for land, and build resilience in arid zones, where climate risks and demand for sustainable infrastructure are growing and where rural communities need diversified income streams.

Opening the discussion, Cláudia Pinto, Founder of Empowering Women Middle East, linked agrivoltaics with broader governance issues and long-term resilience planning. "The conversation today is not purely technical; it is about policy and investment," said HE Pinto. "The future will not be determined only by how much clean energy we produce, but by how wisely we govern systems that sustain lives."

Experts on the panel highlighted how shaded conditions under solar panels can reduce heat and water loss, potentially improving crop yields and animal welfare in dry environments. They noted that agrivoltaics can cut land-use conflicts by stacking food and power output, which is relevant for Middle East and North Africa states that need more renewable energy but also face pressure on arable land and rural jobs.

Dr Hamed Hanifi, Director of Technology and Innovation at AE Solar, said agrivoltaic systems are gaining traction as countries look for ways to ease resource pressure while meeting climate goals. "As land becomes more limited and both land and food prices rise, the dual use of land becomes increasingly important," said Dr Hanifi. "Agrivoltaics allow communities to produce food while generating renewable energy on the same surface area, shifting the focus from the efficiency of one system to the combined efficiency of both."

Commercial activity on the second day was strong, with a series of memorandums of understanding and collaboration announcements signed on-site. Agreements covered mobile electric vehicle charging in the UAE, large-scale battery storage in Egypt, and enhanced coordination on solar deployment in markets such as India and Egypt, reflecting the summit’s role as a convening point for developers, public bodies, and financiers.

Savvy Charging Technologies and Pioneer eMobility each signed an MOU to create a joint venture focused on on-demand, mobile EV charging across the UAE and the wider MENA region. The firms selected the World Future Energy Summit as the launch platform because it brings together manufacturers, charging operators, regulators, and investors who are shaping the next phase of electric mobility in the region.

Geo Murickan, President & CEO of Pioneer eMobility, said the agreement marks a milestone in the company’s growth. "We’re very excited about this MOU because it marks the first international expansion of the Evo product line," said Geo Murickan, President & CEO of Pioneer eMobility. "We chose the UAE because it’s ideally positioned geographically and commercially for the next wave of EV growth, and we see major potential in the sector over the next three to five years. Today, we’re the largest off-grid, mobile, sustainably powered EV charging company in the US, and our goal is to replicate that model with Savvy Charging in the UAE and across the MENA region."

Muhammad Jamal, CEO of Savvy Charging Technologies, underlined the local origin of the service and its link to wider EV strategies. "We are the region’s first on-demand mobile EV charging service provider. The technology was developed here in the UAE, and now we’re entering a partnership with an American company. This is significant for the UAE because on-demand EV charging is a green, sustainable energy solution that will accelerate EV adoption. It will also encourage people living in apartments or condos who don’t have access to a charging spot, because we can charge for them on demand."

Other organisations also used the World Future Energy Summit to formalise collaborations. The Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA) and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) signed an MoU to help scale solar projects and delivery in several markets, with a focus on India and Egypt. ISA will contribute its networks and infrastructure knowledge, while ITA will bring its capabilities and resources for industrial transition programmes.

Infinity Power reported a Letter of Award with Hithium for the Nefer Benban Battery Storage Project in Aswan, Egypt. The project, with a total planned capacity of 120 MWh, is part of Egypt’s push to increase renewable energy, improve grid stability, and add flexible capacity that can balance solar generation profiles while supporting Infinity Power’s objective of achieving 10 GW of operational projects by 2030.

World Future Energy Summit research, buildings and waste discussions

Beyond generation and mobility, the World Future Energy Summit also highlighted efficiency in the built environment. The Universities of Leicester and Sharjah announced a collaboration funded through the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology tactical fund. The joint project targets lower energy use in large, complex buildings under different climate conditions, using AI and physics-based models.

The research will test a physics-informed, self-learning AI solution in two contrasting climates to understand potential savings. Stakeholders will examine retrofit options and projected returns, and compare upgrades to Building Energy Management Systems with Digital Twin approaches. The tools will also support design choices for new projects that seek lower energy footprints from the planning stage.

The initial project phase lasts six months and is scheduled to finish in March. By that time, the partners aim to deliver Proof of Concepts to help secure a future funding pipeline. The objective is to move from pilots to demonstrator sites and then to deployable commercial solutions with existing and prospective partners that manage large building portfolios.

Waste and resource management formed another strand of discussion within the Sustainability Business Connect Lounge, where representatives from the public sectors of the UAE, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia met at a roundtable. Speakers examined how diversion and recycling can cut landfill use, reduce costs, and create new industries around reuse, including treatment of construction material for infrastructure projects.

Mahmood Albraheem, Deputy Mayor of Saudi’s Eastern Province, outlined how the Saudi Government is seeking private sector involvement to ease the fiscal load of waste services. He said authorities prefer to avoid direct user fees for household collection and would rather promote recycling and reuse, such as using processed construction waste in road building, while keeping service charges as a last option.

"Some countries have fees for waste collection – in Saudi, we don’t," said Albraheem. "Now, of course, we can do it. We can go and introduce the fees, generate the money, and maybe we'll cover more than 50 per cent of the costs, but the Saudi Government doesn't want this. It is their last solution."

During the same meeting, Eng Suha Shishani, Executive Director of Environmental Studies and Projects at the Greater Amman Municipality, described Amman’s strategy for treatment and recycling. The plan includes work with private firms through three existing contracts and a three-to-five-year roadmap that places city cleanliness and sustainable practices at the centre of municipal services while building a more structured recycling framework.

When the waste roundtable ended, delegates from Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait used an open question session to present their own ideas and experience. The exchanges reflected the World Future Energy Summit’s role as a networking hub, where public authorities, researchers, investors, and companies link new technologies and business models with policy directions set across the Middle East and North Africa.

With inputs from WAM