In a project supported by an Emirati businessman, a former Britishvolt Executive has set his eyes on introducing the “next big thing” in clean technology to the Middle East.
Martin Reynolds, a former employee of the collapsed UK battery startup Britishvolt, says his objective in Abu Dhabi is to “build a camel instead of building a unicorn” by making long-term investments in eco-friendly companies.
His company, Zero Carbon Ventures, revealed on Thursday that it had secured $5 million in seed capital and named Sheikh Ahmed bin Mana, a member of the Dubai royal family, as chairman.
The company, which has offices in Masdar City, searches for cutting-edge sustainable technology it can fund and promote in the Middle East. One of its efforts focuses on stopping landfill methane from escaping into the environment. In addition, it is interested in exploring “interesting materials” like graphene, a method of strengthening steel and decarbonizing buildings, factories, and aluminum mines.
Speaking to The National, Mr. Reynolds expressed that the announcement that the UAE will host the Cop28 climate meeting, which begins on November 30, was the “spark” for founding the company.
According to him, from their perspective, the main lesson is that achieving net zero doesn’t have to be expensive. Mr Reynolds’ team of tech scouts, engineers, and financial specialists is meant to add some business nous to IT wizards who “don’t normally have the right sort of commercial expertise” to draw in big investors.
COP28’s Focus on Fast-Tracking the Energy Transition
Cop28, whose president-designate is Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, has declared “fast-tracking the energy transition” a core pillar of the summit. He expressed that it will see a greater emphasis on the need for clean tech than ever before.
A major UN assessment has issued a warning to world leaders, stating that the world is “not on track” to reduce emissions quickly enough to limit the global temperature from rising to 1.5°C, the Paris Agreement’s target to minimize environmental harm.
According to the research that will serve as the foundation for the first-ever global progress check, cleaner technologies “need to be rapidly deployed” in the process of “accelerated innovation and development,” especially in developing nations.
Takeaways
Zero Carbon Ventures, founded by former Britishvolt executive Martin Reynolds and supported by Emirati billionaire Sheikh Ahmed bin Mana, plans to make long-term investments in eco-friendly companies in order to drive green tech innovation in the Middle East. Reynolds expects that the summit will inspire an immense attitude shift toward green technology investments, using regional wealth to promote genuine change in the climate tech field, as COP28 underscores the importance of hastening the energy transition.
