Reportedly, Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), has highlighted the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant’s contributions to large-scale decarbonisation with an exciting vision for the continued clean energy transition in the UAE.
This came during his talk on the Titans of Nuclear podcast that features interviews with experts throughout the nuclear energy field, covering advanced technology, economics, policy, industry and more.
Al Hammadi highlighted how ENEC has now passed the halfway mark for full commercial operations of the Barakah Plant and is the catalyst for further innovation in the clean energy transition.
Al Hammadi stated he has no doubts that the biggest infrastructure project in the UAE, the Barakah Plant, will continue to be a success in providing secure, safe clean electricity for the Nation.
He described how the overall development of the Plant has been in line with the overall delivery plan and expected the two remaining Units, 3 and 4, to be delivered on time, thanks to the support and guidance of the UAE leadership.
“The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant is a great investment that is paying dividends today and will continue to do so in the coming decades. Both Units 1 and 2 are commercially operating. By developing four identical Units, we have given ourselves a learning curve across each Unit with the development of Units 3 and 4 allowing for 50 per cent less manpower compared to Units 1 and 2. We are very proud of the young Emiratis working at the Plant that are driving research and development with STEM knowledge and expertise,” Al Hammadi said.
Al Hammadi stressed the importance of building the human pipeline to ensure a resilient, reliable UAE energy grid. The highly qualified, Emirati-led team is ensuring the first two commercial Units of Barakah are just the beginning.
Reflecting on the recent progress, Al Hammadi stated that companies are eagerly buying clean energy certificates to demonstrate proof of the clean electricity they use, which has been produced at the Barakah Plant and Abu Dhabi’s solar facilities.
Looking forward to future technologies, he stated ENEC is looking at investments in new small modular reactors (SMRs), as well as clean hydrogen, to continue driving the UAE’s path to Net-Zero.
