The first fruits of Dubai International Chamber's mission to Central Asia

Agreement between two renewable energy companies from the UAE and Uzbekistan

Dubai World Chamber, one of the three chambers operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers, successfully brought together UAE-based Imperial Ruby Energy and Innovation and Uzbekistan's Solar Nature.

Imperial Ruby Energy & Innovations participated in the Dubai International Chamber trade mission as part of the 'New Horizons for Overseas Expansion' initiative to Central Asia in March 2023.

The mission aimed to support the expansion of Dubai companies to selected markets in Central Asia, and to promote Dubai as a thriving global investment hub among companies in that region, particularly in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Under the MoU, the two companies will collaborate on designing and providing medium to large-scale solar solutions to generate clean electricity, and utilize solar energy for water recycling and desalination.

The two parties are committed to making the necessary investments and focusing their efforts to increase the volume of their cooperation to more than $100 million over five years.

Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, Director General of Dubai Chambers, said: "I am delighted to see the practical results of our trade mission's visit to Central Asia, adding: "This MoU is very important as it supports the UAE's efforts in preparing for COP28, and enhances its ambitions in the field of renewable energy and sustainability, and this cooperation is a reflection of our commitment and strategic approach in supporting private sector projects that focus on enabling the energy sector transition in support of the objectives of the country's climate neutrality strategy."

He explained that this includes increasing the share of clean energy sources, ensuring greater efficiency to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power generation, investing in innovative technologies for desalination, in addition to innovation in these vital areas through research and development.

"Dubai International Chamber is committed to supporting its members to expand into strategic markets around the world, attract foreign investment and international companies, including Central Asian companies, to Dubai and establish the emirate as a global hub for trade and business," Lootah added.

Manoj Devakran, Managing Director and CEO of Imperial Ruby Energy & Innovations, said: "Uzbekistan is fast moving forward with its energy transformation plans, and in support of this approach, there is a lot of room for cooperation with the UAE in the renewable energy sector, and this was further emphasized during the recent trade mission in which we participated with the support and organization of Dubai International Chamber."

"We are excited to partner with Solar Nature, Uzbekistan's leading solar engineering, procurement and construction company, and support this country in its transition towards clean energy," added Devakran.

"Through this partnership, we look forward to sharing our expertise and experience developed in the UAE in the field of solar PV projects on a commercial scale, and in the use of solar photovoltaic architecture within iconic buildings, and to use this expertise to make a significant impact in the fast-growing solar markets in Central Asia."

Faruk Asalkhodjaev, CEO of Solar Nature, said: "This partnership will strengthen friendly relations between the two countries, enable the application of Imperial Energy best practices in Uzbekistan, and stimulate cooperation in the field of green technologies in parallel with the transformation of Uzbekistan's energy sector and the country's move towards a sustainable green economy."

The collaboration between the two companies aims to provide unique designs and technology solutions for the renewable energy market, and to develop plans to overcome the challenges facing the energy transition in the respective markets, by investing in commercial and industrial solar projects, water recycling solutions, and solar architecture. This partnership and other joint ventures are expected to become major contributors to the renewable energy and energy transition sectors in Central Asia.

Imperial Ruby Energy & Innovations is a design and engineering firm focused on R&D, intellectual property, design, engineering, procurement, construction and operations management of solar PV systems, integrated photovoltaic solutions with buildings, the use of Fresnel planar solar thermal lenses (concentrated solar power) in power production, process heat, steam augmentation and solar desalination.

Solar Nature specializes in the design, engineering, procurement, construction and operations management of solar PV systems.