Technology leadership in Kuwait and beyond

Kuwait

Anas Meerza, Group CEO of National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC), talks to The Energy Year about facilitating the introduction of renewables technologies in Kuwait and the challenge of establishing adequate incentives for the private sector. NTEC is a state-owned Kuwaiti development entity that initiates and develops technology projects.

Can you explain the idea behind the foundation of NTEC and the journey the Group has undertaken so far?
NTEC is a state-owned entity that was established in 2002 and became operational in 2004 to play a vital role in servicing major stakeholders in Kuwait regarding their technology needs. The company holds a unique position, as it is fully owned by the Kuwaiti government through the Kuwait Investment Authority yet enjoys all private-sector privileges and operates as such.
It focuses on information and communications technologies, life sciences and healthcare technologies, energy, renewable energy and water and environmental technologies to develop distinctive operational and investment strategies that address its core mandate, technology and knowledge transfer.
Our six Group companies, namely Kuwait Life Sciences, Impulse, NASCO Advisory, Global Innovation, NEST and EnerTech, target project development and investments in healthcare and the life sciences, ICT, advisory, human capital, education, conventional and renewable energy, environmental technologies and water.
Between 2004 and 2010, we acted as a venture capital fund, sourcing and investing in technologies independently or with funds. We were well ahead of others in the region because, until recently, GCC investment companies were focused mainly on private equity and did not typically invest in venture capital.
That gave us an advantage because when you invest in the early stages, you have first access to new solutions and can develop projects based on technologies that will have a longer lifespan than those already on the shelf. This has translated into higher returns than what we could have gotten from private equity investments.
In the initial phase, our Group’s mandate was to invest in companies capable of transferring technology and knowledge. However, when you want to transfer technology, you cannot just acquire it, place it on the market and wait for people to buy it. Therefore, in the following phase, we began participating in projects with private companies and government entities in a way that allowed us to incorporate our technologies. That is what we have been doing since 2011-2012, and we have been very successful.

How much enthusiasm have you seen for the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies?
Kuwaiti households have one of the world’s highest water and electricity consumption rates, which creates serious supply challenges for the country. One of our best projects was to build a sustainable house in northeast Kuwait for the Public Authority for Housing Welfare. They provided us with a 400-square-metre plot, and we piloted a low-energy traditional Kuwaiti house that consumed 60% less energy and water and generated 33% fewer CO2 emissions and was built mostly with technology from local and international vendors. We demonstrated that sustainable houses can be built at a cost that is similar to that of conventional houses. We need to frame sustainability differently. Instead of urging people to reduce consumption, you need to show them how it can be done, and the benefits from doing it.
Since we realised that low-carbon and renewables technologies were not being promoted in Kuwait at the very basic, household level, one of our aims was to fill that gap. EnerTech was the first company in Kuwait to install solar panels on the rooftops of parking lots. We barely broke even, but making money was not our primary purpose. The idea was to show people that renewables work and that they are viable options with real benefits for our lifestyles and environment.
Towards this building enthusiasm and driving adoption, we also established the EnerTech Training Centre, which offers programmes to educate Kuwaitis about renewable energy.

Can you walk us through EnerTech’s landmark projects in Kuwait, both completed and under development?
EnerTech has completed several renewable energy projects, both locally and internationally. In Kuwait, we delivered a solar rooftop project on the headquarters building of the Public Authority for Industry. EnerTech’s role was project and construction management (turnkey), and the project has a total installed capacity of 262 kWp (from 655 panels) and an annual generation of 420 MW, which represents around 10% of the MEWRE’s installed capacity. The project was completed and inaugurated in 2020.
In another project, EnerTech installed solar PV panels in select co-op car parks (Adeliya and Zahra) that contribute energy to the electrical power grid in a “grid-assist” capacity. The project also included energy-saving strategies to reduce power consumption.
A recent energy as a solution service was provided by EnerTech for IHS Towers in Kuwait using our own in-house technology that will replace the diesel generators used as a standard at these sites. The project is an off-grid solar-powered solution for telecom towers and is the first renewable energy as a solution service in Kuwait.
As for underdevelopment projects, we currently are working on a soil remediation project. As you may know, the UN launched one of the world’s largest soil remediation programmes in Kuwait to tackle the consequences of the oil fires following the Iraq invasion in the 1990s. The technology used to wash the sand and separate the oil has been developed by a person who was hosted at EnerTech. The intellectual property for this technology is now owned by us, so it is not off the shelf. We have tested it and recently signed a concession to apply the technology.

What are some of your international projects?
In collaboration with Shell, EnerTech worked on the first of a multi-phase engagement to build and hold a portfolio of solar PV assets in the Sohar Free Zone in Oman. At USD 25 million, it was the largest private IPP at the time of commissioning. The first project, a 25-MW solar PV installation is fully commissioned and operational, and agreements have been secured for land to increase capacity up to 500 MW.
EnerTech has also entered into the Green Energy Oman consortium with Oman’s state-owned energy company OQ and Hong Kong green fuels developer Intercontinental Energy to develop a green hydrogen plant at the Sohar port.
It will be powered by 25GW of solar and wind energy and aims to produce 1.8 million tonnes per year of zero-carbon hydrogen, which can be used locally or exported, either directly or after conversion to green ammonia. The development has an estimated cost of around USD 30 billion and is well-positioned to offer a steady supply of green fuels at competitive prices.
Then, in the UAE, EnerTech has recently signed an exclusive agreement with ride-hailing and delivery company Careem for the roll-out of a series of solar-powered charging stations where drivers can swap out their spent batteries. It will be the country’s first micromobility solution for Careem’s delivery fleet and will have 300 charging stations in its first phase.

What are the main reasons why renewables struggle to take off in Kuwait?
The main reason is that conventional energy is still much cheaper and more easily available than renewables. For a long time, we along with the MEWRE have been trying to promote solar installations, as they can reduce the need for conventional power, but we understand that retrofitting remains a challenge because incorporating new features into existing conventional energy infrastructure is costly and takes time.
Recognising that it is not easy to launch some of the above-mentioned initiatives in Kuwait, our strategy is to develop them abroad to then bring them here. One of the reasons the MEWRE keeps holding back on the development of solar farms is that the best locations are in remote areas disconnected from the grid. There is great potential for solar energy, but we still need adequate legislation, institutional support, education and funding. There is almost no allocation in our national budget for solar projects.

How would you define your Group’s strategy and its modus operandi?
Our new strategy calls for NTEC Group to become the leading catalyst for technology projects, investments and developments in Kuwait, the region and internationally, as well as a respected international technology investor and project developer. With a mission of technology and knowledge transfer, we now carry out investments and develop projects through the NTEC Group and transfer knowledge through our subsidiary, NEST.
We started NTEC as a venture capital investor, and now we have become not only venture capital investors but also project developers in order to control our destiny and expedite technology transfer. All of our projects locally, regionally and internationally have accommodated our mission, and several of our technology investments have been incorporated into the projects we developed and continue to develop.

How would you describe your relationship with the domestic oil and gas sector and what is your assessment of its decarbonisation efforts?
The domestic oil and gas industry is now actively decarbonising, but that is due to the greater commitment of international companies to environmental best practices. Domestic operators still face several challenges, from budget constraints to retrofitting to the know-how. In Kuwait, there is still no pressing need for such difficult transitions, given the country’s large oil reserves and low production costs.
Now, if the oil and gas sector demand remote sensing technology, for example, we can source it. But we try not to work with oil and gas companies for a very good reason, and that is that the sector is highly regulated. It takes a long time to become qualified, and many of the requirements are simply not a good fit for us. We are not an oil and gas company, and we are not a pure IT company.
Impulse has carried out many projects with the oil and gas sector on the IT side, such as developing NFC [near field communication] systems and RFID [radio frequency identification] tags that monitor the fuel that tankers deliver to petrol stations and help reduce waste. Despite it being difficult for us to become qualified and gain access to oilfields, we support the sector by collaborating with service and technology providers.

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