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The Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, and the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani, today opened the ‘Iberdrola Innovation Middle East Center’, the new R&D&I hub developed by Iberdrola in Doha (Qatar). Dr. Hamad Al-Ibrahim, Executive VP of Qatar Foundation R&D, delivered the opening address of behalf of Qatar Foundation.

During his speech, Ignacio Galán said: “As part of Iberdrola’s commitment with Qatar, I’m pleased to inaugurate today the ‘Iberdrola Innovation Center Middle East’ which, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 objectives, is meant to become a technology benchmark for the energy industry through an open innovation program in partnership with our associates and universities. It will offer energy services to improve productivity and the efficiency of customers and consumers, and will offer technical training focused on smart grids.”

H.E. Sheikh Abdulla highlighted during his speech that “We value our partnership with Iberdrola; being ranked as number 1 in Europe and 5th Worldwide. With QIA being a major shareholder at Iberdrola we would like to welcome their Innovation Middle East- new technology hub here at Qatar and within Qatar science & Technology park premises and we are looking forward to more partnerships through the different companies that we are major investors in.”

The event was also attended by prominent leaders of Qatar’s business and institutional communities including: H.E. Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al-Thani, Governor Central Bank of Qatar; H.E. Ahmad Bin Mohamed Al-Sayed - Minister of State & Chairman of Free Zones Authority, HE Eng Essa bin Hilal al-Kuwari - President of Kahramaa and HE Ignacio Escobar - Spanish Ambassador in Qatar.

‘Iberdrola Innovation Middle East’, new technology hub

Focused on the challenges posed by the digitization of energy systems, the ‘Iberdrola Innovation Middle East’ is a new technology hub from which the company is developing innovation and consultancy services in three key areas: smart grids, system integration of renewable sources and energy efficiency.

Located at Qatar Science & Technology Park in Doha, the center aims at releasing new products and services for the digital utility, working at the intersection of energy and information and communication technologies.

Being fully aligned with the State of Qatar’s innovation strategy, Iberdrola and its technology partners are committed to making an outstanding contribution towards fulfilling Qatar National Vision 2030 objectives, which guide the economic, social, human and environmental development of the country.

In addition to its important role as a base for research, ‘Iberdrola Innovation Middle East’ is tasked with serving as the central point of the Iberdrola group’s activities in the Middle East.

On the occasion of the opening of ‘Iberdrola Innovation Middle East’ the Managing Director, Santiago Bañales, presented the innovation and technology consultancy projects being implemented in Qatar and the Middle East, together with a guided tour of the training facilities and smart grid lab.

The event included three technical workshops coordinated by the team of Iberdrola and the several universities, institutions and companies partnering in the different innovation projects.

Also, Iberdrola signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Science and Engineering (CSE) to create a partnership for research cooperation, educational development and the exchange of staff, scholars and students. As part of the agreement, the two parties will jointly work on securing reliable smart grids, strengthening pre-existing smart grid monitoring systems to improve efficiency, and the development of performance-enhancing hybrid technologies.

Commitment to innovation

The leading multinational group Iberdrola has become the utility of the future thanks to an innovation strategy spanning across all of its business units and activity areas.

As a result of its continued commitment, Iberdrola is currently the most innovative utility in Spain and is ranked third in Europe by the European Commission.

Throughout 2017, the company invested over €246 million in R&D&I, up 17% from the previous year. These resources have been mainly allocated to projects related to clean energy, smart grids, customer solutions and digital transformation.

Going forward, investing in research and innovation will top Iberdrola’s priorities in order to ensure sustainability, efficiency and competitiveness, while continuing to be at the forefront of a business model which is transforming the industry with new products and services.