Labworx

The UAE’s Petrolyn Chemie has announced it has signed a deal with three South Korean companies to build a green ammonia and hydrogen plant worth $1 billion. Built in two phases, the plant will eventually achieve a capacity of 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and ammonia per annum, significantly boosting the country’s environmental credentials.

As a source of power that is generated without p...

The UAE has penned a deal with Levidian Nanotechnologies to deploy its LOOP10 technology at a site in Abu Dhabi. The decarbonisation system captures waste gas at the point of emission and converts it into usable commodities, thus significantly enhancing the eco-friendly credentials of the site in question and the country as a whole.

The project is set to encompass 500 such LOOP10 systems and...

With their hot climates, rapid industrialisation and heavy reliance on fossil fuels for their energy and economic stability, Gulf nations are often associated with less-than-ideal air quality. But is that really a fair assessment of the situation? Where do Arab nations fare on the Air Quality Index (AQI), for example?

Although no Arab cities feature among the most polluted cities on the plan...

As we enter the summer months, the frequency and intensity of sandstorms in the UAE and the wider Gulf region is only expected to become more severe. A common phenomenon in the Arab world, sandstorms can negatively impact the Air Quality Index (AQI) and reduce visibility to just a few metres on roads and walkways.

But what exactly causes such sandstorms to happen? How commonly do they occur?...

The publication of the Energy Strategy 2050 in 2017 outlined the Emirati government’s goal of making sure that 44% of the energy consumed in the country came from renewable sources by 2050. While solar power farms can provide a significant percentage of that total, hydrogen is also viewed as the future of clean energy in the UAE.

Despite the enthusiasm for hydrogen in the country, however, t...

State-owned and private businesses from the UAE and Egypt have announced their intention to work together to develop green hydrogen projects on a sizable scale. Masdar, which is the renewable energy arm of the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, has signed agreements with several firms backed by the Egyptian government and Hassan Allam Utilities to develop this new energy source.

The accords will f...

Water is the most precious resource on Earth, upon which all life depends for its very survival. We’re regularly told by our doctors and physicians that we’re not consuming enough of the stuff, with plenty of apps now available which monitor your intake and issue reminders when you’re not drinking enough.

But in a country like the UAE, where the arid climate and dearth of precipitation make ...

The Emirati government has announced that water consumption has been drastically reduced in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi. Thanks to innovative irrigation methods and improved use of groundwater resources, the region was able to save some 12.4 billion gallons of H2O last year.

In a country where rainfall is an infrequent occurrence and water scarcity is a real issue as a result, such mea...

The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) is a collaborative initiative spearheaded by the UAE and the USA to tackle the twin challenges of food security and climate change. Working alongside over 140 governmental and non-governmental partners, the scheme is aiming to raise significant amounts of money for climate-smart agriculture and innovative food systems investment.

Given its year-round sweltering climate and dearth of rainfall, the UAE has had an issue with freshwater supplies since its inception half a century ago. While the government has traditionally relied on importing clean drinking water to overcome the problem, it now employs a number of desalination plants, which convert salty seawater into potable drinking water.

But while desalination plays ...