Sal Jafar, CEO of ESG MENA, sat down with Professor Phil Hart of the Research and Engineering Science Research Centre (RSERC), at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in the capital Abu Dhabi, to discuss how artificial intelligence, advanced materials and engineering innovation are helping address the UAE’s sustainability challenges, from improving solar panel performance and desalination efficiency to strengthening agricultural productivity and reducing energy consumption.
As the UAE advances its sustainability and resource-security ambitions, translating scientific research into practical solutions has become increasingly important. At the Technology Innovation Institute’s Research and Engineering Science Research Centre (RSERC), innovation is focused on addressing the interconnected challenges of energy, water, food security and sustainability.
Rather than concentrating solely on scientific breakthroughs, the centre adopts an applied-research approach, with an emphasis on technologies that can deliver measurable economic and environmental benefits. Professor Phil Hart explains how this approach is shaping a portfolio of innovations tailored to the UAE’s environmental conditions and resource priorities.
- Research centres often generate promising scientific discoveries, but translating them into practical applications remains a challenge. How does RSERC approach this gap between research and implementation?
Our remit covers energy, water, sustainability and agritech. These areas are closely interconnected, particularly in the UAE, where agriculture and green spaces require significant amounts of water, and much of the water we use is desalinated, making it energy-intensive.
Ultimately, our work is about strengthening the country’s energy, food and water security. We do not approach these challenges in isolation; instead, we explore how innovation in one area can deliver benefits across the wider resource ecosystem.
Importantly, our objective is not simply to develop interesting scientific discoveries. From the beginning of every project, we consider how the resulting technology could eventually be implemented and commercialised. We continuously assess its potential applications as the research progresses, rather than waiting until the science is complete to consider how it might be used.
- Let’s start with solar energy. The UAE has considerable solar potential, but extreme UV exposure can affect photovoltaic panel performance. What is RSERC developing to address this?
The UAE has an excellent solar climate, and solar energy will play an increasingly important role in the region. However, one challenge is the exceptionally high level of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which can accelerate the degradation of modern solar panels.
Our studies indicate that modern panels can lose nearly 20% of their rated power during their first two years of operation. This represents a significant economic loss and can mean more frequent replacements, creating additional costs and environmental challenges associated with waste disposal.
Rather than simply blocking UV radiation, we asked whether it could be converted into additional usable energy. We have developed a molecule that can be incorporated directly into a solar panel. It absorbs high-energy UV photons and subsequently releases visible-light photons, which the panel is designed to convert into electricity.
This offers two potential benefits: protecting the panel against UV-related degradation while allowing it to capture additional usable light. The technology was developed entirely at RSERC, and we are working towards its commercialisation next year.
- Artificial intelligence played an important role in this development. How has it changed the research process?
AI was fundamental. Traditionally, developing a molecule of this complexity would involve identifying chemical combinations, synthesising them in a laboratory, testing their properties and repeatedly refining the results. This could take many years.
We used AI to examine approximately 40,000 possible combinations of chemical constituents, narrowing them down to around 200 promising candidates. Advanced molecular modelling and AI-assisted predictions then helped us assess their behaviour, reducing the selection to ten.
Three have demonstrated promising results, while seven remain under testing. The entire process has taken approximately one year.
We are now evaluating the final candidates to identify the best-performing molecule, which we intend to license to solar panel manufacturers for integration into their products.
The breakthrough is therefore not only the material itself but also the methodology. AI enables us to investigate thousands of possibilities in the time it would previously have taken to examine only a handful.
- Water security is another major regional priority. What is RSERC doing to improve the efficiency and sustainability of desalination?
Desalination will play an increasingly important role in securing freshwater supplies for industrial applications and drinking water. However, producing more desalinated water can mean significantly greater energy consumption.
Our research focuses on developing alternatives to conventional reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. These specialised polymer membranes separate freshwater from dissolved salts under pressure, but typically require replacement every three to four years.
Given that large desalination facilities contain tens of thousands of membranes, replacement creates considerable operational costs and environmental waste.
We are developing an alternative using ceramic-based materials. Ceramics offer considerable potential because of their robustness and ability to withstand aggressive cleaning processes, helping address membrane fouling and extend operational lifespans.
Our target is to develop membranes that could last approximately 20 years, compared with the three or four years typical of conventional alternatives. We also expect them to produce more water under the same operating pressure, potentially reducing energy consumption.
We are working towards having a ceramic-based product ready for launch next year.
- What could this mean for the operational efficiency of large desalination facilities?
The potential impact is considerable. Extending membrane life from three or four years to approximately 20 years would significantly reduce replacement frequency, maintenance requirements and associated waste.
There is also an opportunity to improve the productivity of existing infrastructure. For example, if a plant producing one million cubic metres of water daily could increase its output under the same pressure and energy conditions, it would deliver more freshwater without a proportional increase in energy consumption.
This is particularly important for the UAE, where desalination is central to national water security.
- Turning to food security, how is RSERC using innovation to improve agricultural productivity in a country facing water scarcity and limited arable land?
Our objective is to grow more food locally without proportionately increasing water and fertiliser consumption. The UAE has limited agricultural land, and much of the available soil is not naturally suited to intensive farming.
We have developed an innovative soil-enhancing material made from plant waste. The process involves breaking down plant material into its constituent components and reconstructing it into a material with specific water-retention and nutrient-release properties.
It absorbs irrigation water rapidly and releases it gradually. This is particularly useful in sandy soils, where water normally drains away quickly, requiring more frequent irrigation.
When incorporated into the soil, the material retains water for longer, allowing plant roots to access it as needed. As it gradually decomposes over several months, it also releases nutrients that act as fertiliser.
The result is the potential to grow more crops using less water and conventional fertiliser. Importantly, the raw materials are sourced locally, and the entire supply chain is being developed within the UAE.
- Has this agricultural innovation progressed beyond laboratory research?
We have demonstrated its potential in greenhouse conditions and are now moving into field trials across three farms, covering both greenhouse and open-field environments.
These trials are important because we need to understand how the material performs under actual outdoor conditions, particularly in the UAE’s intense heat and sunlight.
Early observations have been encouraging. In one trial, corn planted with the material showed noticeably stronger initial growth than crops planted without it. However, we need to assess its performance systematically over time to establish how consistently it works under different agricultural conditions.
- Beyond food production, RSERC is also exploring ways to reduce energy consumption in buildings. What is your approach to air conditioning?
Air conditioning accounts for a substantial share of electricity consumption in the UAE, particularly during summer. Reducing the energy required for cooling could therefore make a meaningful contribution to national energy efficiency.
Rather than simply improving conventional air-conditioning systems, we have explored a completely different operating principle.
The technology is designed to work alongside an existing air-conditioning unit. It connects to the system’s pipes and helps take on part of the cooling load, reducing the work required from the conventional unit.
Our early-stage research suggests that this approach could reduce energy consumption by more than half. However, the technology is still at an early-to-mid stage of development, and we are planning to demonstrate a pilot-scale unit early next year.
The objective is to offer a solution that complements existing infrastructure rather than requiring consumers and building operators to replace their entire air-conditioning systems.
- Across these different research areas, what ultimately determines whether a project is successful at RSERC?
For me and my team, there is one fundamental performance indicator: how much impact have we actually made in the real world?
We can undertake as many scientific projects as we want, but if they do not make a meaningful difference, then we have not achieved what we set out to do.
That is why we consider the potential application and commercial exploitation of our research from the beginning. As we learn more about a technology, we refine our understanding of where it can deliver the greatest value and how it can be implemented.
Universities have an essential role in advancing fundamental science. Our focus, however, is on taking promising developments further and ensuring they translate into practical solutions.
Ultimately, sustainability is not simply about developing new technologies. It is about ensuring that they work, can be implemented at scale and deliver measurable economic, environmental and societal value.