His Excellency Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, President of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation "KAHRAMAA", and Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) participated in the opening day of the International Conference on Sustainable Energy Water and Environment Nexus in Desert Climates 2019 (ICSEWEN’19). ICSEWEN’19 is the flagship conference of Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, part of HBKU. The conference is held at the Qatar National Convention Centre until December 5, 2019.

Other dignitaries who participated in the ceremony included Dr. Ahmad M. Hasnah, President, HBKU; Alistair Routledge, President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar; Luca Sutera, Chief Financial Officer, Nebras Power; Dr Richard O’Kennedy, Vice President for Research, Development and Innovation at Qatar Foundation, and Vice President for Research at HBKU; Dr. Mariam Al Maadeed, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies at Qatar University; and Dr. Marc Vermeersch, Executive Director, QEERI. 

The first day of the conference also saw the attendance of researchers, scientists and students who are working in the EWE Nexus.

Commenting on the conference, His Excellency Eng. Al Kuwari said: “The energy–water-environment nexus is associated with human, economic, and environmental sustainability. This connection is becoming more pronounced with climate change. The understanding of the difficulties of these complex relationships is necessary to balance the needs of diverse stakeholders, policy decisions, and to protect valuable resources.

“This conference provides a platform for collaboration between our guests from around the world to share ideas and to intensify our combined efforts in developing tangible solutions that positively impact our communities.”

Dr. Vermeersch said: “The conference is an important milestone towards QEERI’s objectives of being recognized as a key player in the local, regional, and international arenas. QEERI’s efforts to align with Qatar’s National Research Strategy and become a reference center in the fields of energy, environment and water research and technology development are important for the country’s industries. ICSEWEN’19 is a knowledge platform that seeks to bridge the gap between research and public and private sectors, and we look forward to seeing it unfold over the next two days.”

Mr. Routledge delivered keynote address on ‘Technology for Sustainable Energy’, while Mr. Sutera spoke on the topic of ‘Global Energy Transition’, and Dr. Al Maadeed on ‘Industry 4.0 and the Energy-Water-Environment nexus’. Eng. Meshaal Al Shamari, Vice Chair of MENA Regional Network, World Green Building Council Director of Qatar Green Building Council explored the ‘Social Impact of Social Development’ with Dr. Vermeersch highlighting  the work being carried out at QEERI. 

Dr. O’Kennedy moderated a panel discussion on ‘Opportunities and Challenges within EWE the nexus in Qatar’Mr. Fahad Bin Hamad Al-Mohannadi, Managing Director and General Manager, Qatar Electricity & Water Co. (QEWC); Dr. Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director, Qatar National Research Fund; Mr. Amit Singh, Managing Director, Schlumberger; and Dr. Huda Al Sulaiti, QEERI.

While opening the technical sessions of the conference, Dr. Veronica Bermudez, senior research director of QEERI’s Energy Center and the chair of IC-SEWEN19, said: “Through this conference, we aim to exchange ideas, share knowledge, and provide updates on our technology development status, and learn from leading experts around the globe. The challenges that Qatar and other hot arid regions face are unique, and we hope to explore potential solutions for relevant issues in the implementation of research in the area of energy, water and environment.”

The strategic partner for QEERI IC-SEWEN 2019 is Kahramaa.  ExxonMobil and Nebras Power are platinum sponsors of the event, while Vortex IoT is on board as the gold sponsor. The conference is further supported by Total, Clarivate Analytics, Qatar National Research Fund, Education City Golf Club, University of Swansea, and Destination Management Partners are 365 Adventures.