Nuclear: clean and secure energy for the UAE

H.E. Mohamed Al Hammadi, managing director and CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), talks to The Energy Year about the role nuclear energy will play in the UAE’s near-term future and how the company is embracing new technologies. ENEC is responsible for developing the UAE’s nuclear energy sector.

What role will nuclear energy play in the UAE’s near-term future?
The UAE is ahead of the curve on sustainability with nuclear energy contributing to a cleaner and more diverse energy mix. The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, the cornerstone of the UAE’s Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme, is the most strategically significant project for the country’s energy transition and is delivering significant volumes of abundant, zero-carbon-emissions baseload electricity.
The Barakah plant, located in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, currently has three commercially operating units that are generating round-the-clock clean electricity for the UAE, making it the largest source of clean electricity in the region. So far, its three operational units have produced more than 35,000 GWh of zero-carbon electricity and prevented almost 18,000 kilotonnes of CO2 emissions by displacing the use of natural gas. A fourth unit is expected to come on line next year.
Barakah is enhancing the energy security of the nation today and will continue to do so for at least the next six decades. The plant is advancing the nation’s clean energy transition by rapidly decarbonising the power sector. Nuclear energy is central to the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to increase the contribution of clean energy from 25% to 50% by mid-century, as well as the country’s ambitions to achieve net zero by the same time.
Clean electricity consumption from Barakah has gone from zero to 13% across the country within three years, while diverting the equivalent of billions of dollars in precious natural gas for higher-value uses.
Nuclear energy in the UAE supports a stable and reliable grid, making electricity affordable during global energy challenges and providing the foundation for the expanded use of renewable energy. The UAE has launched several significant renewable energy projects in the last decade and now has a diversified energy portfolio and also the largest renewables portfolio in the region, with nuclear energy providing the ‘always on’ foundation for the Emirate’s solar plants whilst preventing millions of tons of carbon emissions annually.

What technical and operational success does the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant represent?
At the start of the construction of the Arab world’s first nuclear energy plant, ENEC adopted an effective project management strategy to stagger the development of each unit by 12 months to integrate learnings from each unit into the next in adherence to the highest national regulations and international standards. When construction of Unit 4 began in 2015, the plant became the world’s largest nuclear energy construction site with four identical reactors being safely constructed simultaneously on one site.
The Emirati-led teams applied learnings from the first reactor unit to progressively improve the delivery time with Unit 3 delivered four months faster than Unit 2 and five months faster than Unit 1. Unit 3 was delivered efficiently and in one of the shortest timeframes compared to other third-generation reactors built worldwide, demonstrating a new era for nuclear newbuilds.
Unit 4, the final unit at the Barakah plant, has begun its operational readiness preparations. The operations team at Barakah recently began the operational testing required to demonstrate that Unit 4 is ready to receive the operating licence from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR). Lessons learned from the previous three units have been applied to Unit 4, which will help with a more efficient and safe transition to operational readiness. Once Unit 4 becomes fully operational, the Barakah plant’s total clean electricity capacity will reach 5.6 GW, or 40 TWh annually, equivalent to 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs.
The Barakah plant has already established the UAE as a recognised global nuclear energy success story and an international benchmark for a newbuild nuclear plant in terms of project management and cost effectiveness. Every year since 2020, the efficient project management at Barakah has ensured the safe and swift delivery of a unit generating 10 TWh of 24/7, emissions-free power to the grid.

In what ways has ENEC supported the development of a sustainable and localised nuclear supply chain in the UAE?
More than 2,000 companies have contributed to the development of the Arab world’s first nuclear energy plant. The contracts are worth USD 6.7 billion and have supported the development of a world-class local nuclear energy supply chain, built on the highest national and global standards of safety and quality.
The contracts with local companies have been awarded through collaboration between ENEC and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). Some of the companies include Emirates Steel, National Cement, Dubai Cable Company (Ducab), the National Marine Dredging Company, Western Bainoona Group and Hilalco.

How is ENEC embracing new technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs)?
Despite being a landmark project, the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant represents just 20% of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy programme. Innovation in areas like clean molecule generation and SMRs is a major part of ENEC’s focus now as we look to deliver the next phase of the wider programme and drive world class nuclear energy research and development projects.
We recently signed a framework agreement with Romania’s Nuclearelectrica for potential collaboration on the development and expansion of nuclear energy programmes in the UAE and Romania, as well as within Central and Eastern Europe. As part of this agreement, we will be sharing knowledge on advanced technologies such as SMRs and other advanced nuclear technologies to develop the sector and ensure reliable and sustainable operations. We will leverage ENEC’s significant expertise in constructing and operating light water reactors and support key procurement, engineering, and project management.
We are also exploring opportunities for collaboration to introduce SMRs in the UAE and in other countries. This is a reflection of ENEC’s growing expertise that we are able to export globally, after successfully delivering the first of its kind nuclear project in 27 years. With Barakah, we’ve set a global benchmark for nuclear newbuilds using innovative financial structures and a unique approach to project management.

Given the outlook for clean hydrogen in the UAE, how is ENEC exploring new options for hydrogen generation? How does it plan to leverage high-temperature reactors, electricity, heat and steam generated from nuclear energy to produce cheaper hydrogen?
To stay ahead of the curve, we are expanding beyond nuclear power generation and into other clean energy areas such as hydrogen as a clean fuel of the future. Nuclear energy offers an excellent solution for generating the electricity, heat and steam required for clean hydrogen production. Barakah’s 4 units have the potential to generate around 1 million tonnes of hydrogen per year.
As more and more nations recognise the crucial role nuclear energy plays as a proven solution to boost domestic energy security and in parallel decarbonise the power sector and heavy industry through the generation of heat, steam and clean hydrogen, we expect that international partnerships will become even more critical to accelerating the development of nuclear programmes.
To this end, we signed an agreement with Électricité de France (EDF) to invest in research and development in the nuclear industry and to explore the production of green hydrogen powered by carbon-free nuclear energy. Earlier this year, we signed a letter of intent with Idaho National Laboratory in the USA to enable ENEC and EDF to explore systems that can be deployed at the Barakah plant to generate commercial-scale clean molecule production, including hydrogen, ammonia, oxygen, water and steam.
These agreements align with ENEC’s long-term goal of exporting clean hydrogen and ammonia to meet the growing global demand. Clean hydrogen is a key component of the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategy. In addition, ENEC’s hydrogen-related ventures support the UAE’s plan to gain a 25% global market share of low-carbon hydrogen by 2030 under the national “hydrogen leadership roadmap.”

What goals and objectives does ENEC have for the coming 12-18 months?
Currently, ENEC is actively exploring opportunities and initiatives that go beyond just nuclear energy generation and support the development of various sectors in the UAE, such as agriculture, space exploration and medicine.
ENEC is also working to export its nuclear energy expertise and knowledge to other nations seeking to tackle issues of national energy security and climate change at the same time. Across the world, nations are facing this dual challenge, and this is where nuclear energy, innovations such as SMRs and other clean molecules and fuels including green hydrogen will have a crucial role to play in ensuring the world’s energy needs are met sustainably. Accordingly, we are preparing for opportunities to export the Barakah model and regional super-grid opportunities.
The Barakah plant is the cornerstone of the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategy, helping deliver the much-needed energy transition on the ground today. With the largest portfolio of renewables and the first operating nuclear plant in the Arab world, the UAE is leading globally in decarbonisation and is setting examples for the world to collectively achieve Net Zero by 2050. At ENEC, we are closely aligned with this ambition and working towards supporting the UAE’s global leadership position in fighting climate change with clean energy solutions.

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