DOHA: (QNRF) hosted a high-level sustainable energy workshop, in partnership with the European Commission and the British Embassy Doha.
The event discussed two key technologies — ‘Carbon Dioxide Capture, Sequestration and Reuse’; and ‘Concentrated Solar Power to Produce Electricity or Hydrogen’.
Participants presented research programmes and technological roadmaps to enhance the combined efforts of both regions.
It was also an opportunity to showcase solar energy facilities in Education City, a reflection of a national focus on sustainable energy.
The workshop expanded upon the progress, commitments and recommendations of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21), representing an opportunity to identify common fields of research between the European and GCC scientific communities.
The workshop included discussion on advanced technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by converting CO2 into chemical products or storing it in depleted oil and gas reservoirs or saline aquifers.
The development of such advanced technologies requires long-term investment in global research and development and ongoing international collaboration.
Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director, QNRF, said: “The workshop is aligned with QNRF’s strategy to promote international collaboration, while addressing Qatar’s grand challenges, which include energy security.
“We need to continue to build synergy between research initiatives in the GCC and EU, and it is reassuring to know that this has been prioritised in Qatar National Research Strategy and the EU Horizon 2020 research programme.”
The GCC region has the capacity to become a global leader in carbon capture and storage and concentrated solar power and the workshop served as an opportunity for the bloc to find partners in Europe who are dedicated to cooperation and knowledge sharing, such as co-hosting of student researchers who will help inform the next generation of research and development.
The Peninsula
