DUBAI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A renowned professor suggested here on Sunday fostering local talents and boosting researches are key to realize the energy innovation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Donald Sadoway, professor of materials at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States, said at the ongoing EmTech Middle East and North Africa conference that to build a power system based on sustainable and clean energy, the UAE shall establish a homegrown pool of experts to develop energy storage solutions which fulfill the Gulf state's needs.
He said the UAE shall pledge for a "research paradigm shift based on cost-informed discovery," which means finding solutions customized for specific needs in a country by its own people, rather than importing research and development from abroad.
Sadoway urged universities and research laboratories to not only look after the best talents and experts, but also "give the newcomers a chance."
"In my faculty, I hire young people with fresh minds and a high degree of motivation," he said.
The UAE, a major oil supplier with 99 percent of domestic energy needs based on oil and gas, aims to increase the share of clean energy from near zero three years ago to 50 percent by 2050.
And 44 percent shall be based on renewable energy, while six percent will be nuclear energy, according to the UAE Ministry of Energy in Abu Dhabi.
Several Western and Asian firms have set up research projects to support local talents and research efforts in the UAE, including Germany's Siemens, U.S. Boeing and China's Huawei.
