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At opening of ADSW 2025, HE Dr. Al Jaber unveils world’s first renewable and battery storage facility to provide uninterrupted power, at scale, around the clock in Abu Dhabi. Unwavering support of UAE leadership enables breakthrough to “moonshot challenge” of intermittency.
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Masdar and EWEC partner on largest of its kind megaproject combining 5.2GW of Solar PV with 19GW hours of battery storage to produce 1GW of continuous baseload renewable energy.
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Calls for all stakeholders, industries and governments to unite around a single path to unlock growth, drive sustainable economic progress and unleash unprecedented economic opportunity.
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Global megatrends of AI and growth of emerging markets driving power demand from 9,000GW to over 15,000GW by 2035 and could reach 35,000GW by 2050.
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Dr. Al Jaber declares world is at “nexus of next”- a watershed moment that holds the opportunity to supercharge socioeconomic progress driven by megatrends
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Despite gains in renewable energy adoption, surge in global energy demand requires a diversity of energy options.
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Policies and regulations that prematurely reduce energy options are self-defeating. Energy and sustainability are not opposing forces, they are essential partners, Dr. Al Jaber says.
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Abu Dhabi’s XRG will help respond to emerging energy needs across the entire value chain, including gas, chemicals, low carbon fuels and energy infrastructure.
At the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2025 and the awards ceremony of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, HE Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Masdar Chairman, called for a new approach to unlock growth, drive sustainable economic progress and unleash unprecedented economic opportunity. At the first major international event of 2025, he noted that the world stands at a pivotal moment for progress driven by the global megatrends of emerging market growth, exponential rise of Artificial Intelligence and transformation of energy systems. Together these trends will require a diversity of energy sources to supercharge sustainable progress.
H.E. Dr. Al Jaber was speaking in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. Addressing an assembled audience which included 13 heads of state and over 140 ministers and government officials, he highlighted the UAE’s energy leadership - with world firsts and landmark achievements in solar, wind, nuclear, and AI, thanks to the far-sighted guidance of His Highness, the President of the UAE, and the legacy of the UAE’s founding father Shiekh Zayed Al Nahyan.
World stands at a pivotal moment
“As we enter the second quarter of the 21st century, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment. We are standing at the edge of two worlds, the world as we know it, and the world as it could be. This is a moment that I like to call ‘the nexus of next,’” HE Dr. Al Jaber said.
He emphasized that the world was poised at an inflection point driven by three powerful forces: the growth of emerging markets, the fundamental transformation of our energy systems, and the exponential growth of AI; with the potential to not just accelerate progress, but to “put progress into overdrive”.
UAE advancing leadership in energy, space and international diplomacy
HE Dr. Al Jaber said the UAE embodies “the nexus of next” as a nation uniquely positioned at the intersection of tradition and transformation, made possible under the legacy of the founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed. Turning to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, Dr Al Jaber continued,
“This legacy of leadership continues to this day. Your Highness, you are constantly inspiring us to break new ground. Under your guidance, we have set records in solar. From the biggest single site power plant to a world-leading desalination plant. We have set the pace in wind, creating wind farms that can operate in rough seas and at low speeds. We have set the bar in nuclear, with all four units of the Barakah plant fully operational. We have set benchmarks in Artificial Intelligence, from the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the first ever home-grown university entirely dedicated to AI, to strategic investment vehicles like MGX. We have set foot in space, sent a probe to Mars and we are not stopping there. We will soon send a mission to the asteroid belt with the MBR Explorer, and we will map our planet with our own satellite, MBZ-SAT.
“And it was your call for unity that nurtured multilateralism, allowed determination to conquer doubt and brought the world together to deliver the historic UAE consensus at COP28,” HE Dr. Al Jaber added.
Overcoming the barrier of renewable energy intermittency
HE Dr. Sultan noted that intermittency has been for decades one of the biggest barrier facing renewable energy, the ability to source constant power 24 hours a day, but thanks to a record-breaking UAE project, that barrier had been overcome.
“For decades, the biggest barrier facing renewable energy has been intermittency. It has been the moonshot challenge of our time. How can we power a world that never sleeps with energy sources that do? How can we transform renewable resources into reliable power? Today, we have an answer. Excellencies, colleagues and friends, I am pleased to announce the launch of the world’s first renewable energy facility capable of providing renewable energy, at scale, around the clock.
“In partnership with the Emirates Water and Electricity Company, Masdar is combining 5.2GW of solar capacity with 19GW hours of storage to produce 1 GW of uninterrupted clean power. This will, for the first time ever, transform renewable energy into baseload energy,” HE Dr. Sultan added.
Calls for a diversity of energy options to meet the world’s future energy demands
He highlighted the power surge being created by the three global megatrends, and particularly the growth in AI, creating unprecedented demands on power production.
“Before AI took off, power demand was already on track to grow from 9,000 to over 15,000GW by 2035. But with apps like ChatGPT growing by half a billion visits every month and using ten times as much energy as a google search, demand by 2050 could reach as high as 35,000 GW. We are talking about a 250 percent increase.
I am sure you would all agree that no single source of energy can meet this demand.”
HE Dr. Al Jaber outlined the need for a diversity of energy options to ensure energy security and energy access for billions. In this regard he noted the newest addition to Abu Dhabi’s diversified energy portfolio, XRG. XRG is an energy investment company that will help respond to emerging energy needs across the entire value chain, including gas, chemicals, low carbon fuels and diverse energy infrastructure to ensure all energy- electrons and molecules- can get to the end user.
“In a world where a billion people still lack access to energy, we need to have a diversity of energy options. And allow me to be clear, policies and regulations that prematurely reduce those options are just self-defeating. Simply put, we need an and-and approach.
Highlighting the Zayed Sustainability Prize that puts people at the heart of progress
HE Dr. Al Jaber emphasized the importance of placing people at the heart of progress for the benefit of lives and livelihoods as embodied by the Zayed Sustainability Prize.
“The nexus of next means putting people at the heart of progress. It means uniting to address global challenges.
And it means recognizing that no discovery is worth making unless it helps humanity and improves lives. That is what the Zayed Sustainability Prize is all about. Thanks to the Prize, every day, somewhere in the world, a village drinks clean water for the first time. A child is able to study under solar-powered light. A farmer harvests crops from land that was once barren. This continues the legacy of Sheikh Zayed, who believed that the future we are creating is not just about generating power — it's about empowering people.”
Setting a new path which unlocks growth, driving prosperity and unprecedented economic opportunity
In closing, Dr Sultan appealed for unity in charting a new path and new narrative that unites energy access and sustainability, calling for a new approach and new ways of thinking.
“For too long we have been trapped in a false choice between energy access and sustainability. This 'either-or' thinking is paralyzing progress. It is time to change the narrative. The truth is, energy and sustainability are not opposing forces. They are essential partners. The choice is not between two paths - it's about creating a new path, together. A path that unlocks growth, drives prosperity and unleashes unprecedented economic opportunity. A path that delivers the nexus of next.”
