Yosouf Al Salehi, Executive Director, QSTP and Santiago Bañales, Managing Director of Iberdrola Innovation Middle East, during the signing of the agreement.
Doha: Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) has further expanded its partnership with Iberdrola Innovation Middle East through an agreement to increase the volume and range of Iberdrola’s research, development and innovation-based activities, as well as the size of its footprint at the Park.
Iberdrola, a QSTP member since 2016, aims to define ‘the digital utility’, by developing innovative digital solutions for renewable energy integration, smart grids, and energy efficiency and conservation. The company runs strong cooperation programmes within Qatar’s innovation ecosystem and has signed co-development agreements with a number of innovation and energy industry players.
The partnership was signed by Yosouf Al Salehi, Executive Director, QSTP and Santiago Bañales, Managing Director of Iberdrola Innovation Middle East, at a ceremony at QSTP, in the presence of Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al Thani, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar’s Investment Promotion Agency (IPAQ), and Ambassador of Spain to Qatar, H E Javier Carbajosa Sanchez.
Earlier this year, Iberdrola and IPAQ partnered to promote the energy company’s leading innovation center, with the aim of advancing the digitalization of the global electricity sector. The agreement, made in Madrid during the visit of Ami H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will enable Iberdrola - a Spanish company - to expand its activities at the center, aimed at advancing digital utility in Qatar. The hub, currently located in QSTP, tackles the technology challenges related to innovation and digitalization of the electrical grid by developing solutions in smart grids, renewable energy integration and energy efficiency.
The expansion of Iberdrola’s activities at QSTP will enable the company to further strengthen its commitment in aligning its initiatives with the needs of the local market, and in cooperating with companies and training centers to boost local talent. To do this, it will focus on promoting skills development and run dedicated training programs, as well as sharing intellectual property rights with local educational and industrial institutions. Al Salehi said: “QSTP’s partnerships with established multinational companies that operate in our Park and Free Zone, such as Iberdrola, mean that these organizations can become active stakeholders in Qatar’s economic transformation, boost the national economy and provide solutions for specific economic challenges. With energy as one of QSTP’s overarching themes, our developing partnership with Iberdrola is a key contributor to how we are creating a collaborative and dynamic environment within Qatar to realize the national drive towards economic diversification and sustainability.”
Bañales agreed, saying: “Since our incorporation at QSTP in 2016, Iberdrola Innovation ME has left its mark in the deployment of smart grids across the Middle East and has made significant contributions to the global development of the Digital Utility; in this new phase of growth and expansion of our footprint at QSTP, we intend to widen our global impact while increasing our already successful cooperation with Qatar’s innovation ecosystem.”
