As part of Qatar’s sustainability strategy, innovative technologies geared towards facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy are close to commercial use, officials have disclosed.
Speaking to the media yesterday during a roundtable on Sustainability and Carbon Neutrality: Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy; Journey to Net Zero, officials of Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD) and Global Carbon Council (GCC) discussed how technology and research are driving sustainability and a greener future in the country.
Dr. Yousef Al Horr, Founder and Chairman of GORD, disclosed Synergia, a novel fresh air handling system designed to cool and ventilate open and enclosed spaces with minimal carbon footprint, has concluded laboratory testing and piloting and hopes it would be ready in two months.
“Synergia can save between 30 to 50% in energy consumption. We already piloted over the last three years, and the results were amazing. Now we are in the process of manufacturing a commercial prototype so that we can give it to the investors to decide whether to take it on the commercial scale. Hopefully, it will be ready within two months because we have already signed the agreement for manufacturing. We hope that if it gets ready, we can take it to the public space,” Dr. Al Horr said.
He said GORD has also developed a capture and utilisation technology process for producing CO2-based building materials. Dr. Al Horr revealed that the method captures CO2 emissions and the brine from desalination plants. After being processed, it produces white cement, which can be used for gypsum board production. The components for the pilot plant to utilise this process have been designed and manufactured, with plans to commission soon.
“The beauty of this project is that it cleans the air because we capture CO2 emissions. Secondly, we are also reducing the rejected brine with high salt concentration by using this product instead of being drained back into the sea and causing harm to marine biodiversity. Thirdly, we are avoiding mining to get this material from the ground. Conventionally this plasterboard gypsum is mined, and the process negatively impacts the on land.”
Dr. Al Horr told the media that GORD has also launched intellectual software to support the transition to low-carbon economies. One of the software, Arcadia Suite, is used to assess the energy performance of district cooling plants.
Launched globally only a few days ago in the US, the software has been tested on 2000 projects in Qatar, and its database contains climate data for more than 9000 cities worldwide.
Another software, Energia Suite, will also be launched in the coming weeks. The software is used to assess the energy performance of buildings different from district cooling plants like residential, commercial offices, hospitals and other structures.
Meanwhile, QSTP Executive Director Yosouf Al Salehi, while highlighting QSTP’s role in hosting leading global tech companies, providing mentorship and supporting a network of startups and rising tech ventures, said the organisation is committed to empowering products that help reduce carbon footprint.
“Any idea or product that we believe will reduce carbon and the footprint and this product has reached the point of being commercialised soon are always adding value for us. Especially if it is developed within Qatar and the ecosystem we already created,” Al Salehi said. He added that QSTP is on the right track because knowledge is now being localised. “Even if you have some failure with that product in the future, in the end, you have some knowledge that you can build new things and come up with a solution – this is a great opportunity.” The roundtable was also attended by QSTP Relationship Manager Essa Al Jamali, Head of Technology and Innovation, GORD Institute (research and development arm of GORD) Dr. Ammar Elhourweires, and COO at GCC Kishor Rajhansa.
