Today's Edition
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
The UAE is among the fastest-moving countries in the Middle East’s energy transition, according to DNV’s Global Energy Transition Outlook (ETO) 2025.
In an interview with Aletihad on the sidelines of ADIPEC 2025, Jan Zschommler, Market Area Manager for Middle East and Africa at DNV, said the region is seeing “dramatic” acceleration in the deployment of renewables – trailing only China in global growth rates.
The combination of visionary leadership, available capital, and abundant solar resources positions the UAE to rapidly catch up with global front-runners, according to Zschommler.
“The challenge with developing renewables is the upfront capital required at the start. You also need a lot of space and a lot of sunlight. And these are all non-issues here in the UAE,” he said.
DNV’s ETO 2025 report shows that fossil fuels currently account for 96% of the Middle East and North Africa’s energy mix, but this share is projected to fall to 58% by 2060.
Over the same period, primary energy supply is forecast to rise by 40%, driven largely by natural gas growth.
Meanwhile, final energy demand is expected to increase 60%, reflecting population growth and rising GDP per capita, while electricity’s share of energy demand doubles from 17% today to 34% in 2060.
In power generation, fossil fuels’ contribution is expected to drop from 87% today to just 8% by 2060, as renewables come to dominate the region’s electricity supply.
Leveraging AI
Artificial intelligence is emerging as a key enabler of the UAE’s wider energy transition – from enhancing efficiency in hydrocarbons to optimising renewable power systems.
In his keynote at ADIPEC 2025, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, highlighted the UAE’s pragmatic approach in leveraging technology to enhance energy efficiency and competitiveness.
ADNOC has embedded more than 200 AI applications across its operations through its home-grown company AIQ, helping cut unplanned shutdowns by half and improve performance across the value chain.
“Our flagship programme, Energy to the Power of AI, will make production forecasts 90% more accurate. We are laser-focused on becoming the most AI native energy company, driving a new era of intelligence-powered optimisation and efficiency,” Dr Al Jaber said.
The UAE is also integrating AI in its clean energy ecosystem.
Earlier this year, Masdar announced plans to develop the world’s first 24/7 solar-powered data centre, which combines 5.2 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity with 19 gigawatt-hours of battery storage to deliver a constant one-gigawatt baseload supply.
Using AI-driven forecasting and digital twin systems, the plant optimises performance and power dispatch in real time, providing reliable clean electricity even at night.
While AI will add new electricity demand, DNV estimates it will account for only 3% of global electricity use by 2040.
Zschommler maintains that the efficiencies AI brings in optimising grids and industrial energy use will far outweigh the added consumption.
Lower-Carbon Energy
Zschommler said the UAE is emerging as a future exporter of lower-carbon energy, including blue hydrogen and decarbonised oil and gas.
The country’s Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap (2021) targets a 25% share of global low-carbon hydrogen and derivatives markets by 2030.
“In the near term, we see major contributions from blue hydrogen using natural gas coupled with carbon capture and storage,” Zschommler said. The UAE’s low-cost storage potential and gas resources enable it to be highly competitive in this space.
He added that coupling carbon capture and storage (CCS) with oil and gas production can help lower the carbon footprint of each barrel exported – aligning with the UAE’s goal to remain a major energy exporter in a decarbonising world.
