Media missives from WFES 2026

The World Future Energy Summit 2026 - held as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and hosted by Masdar - drew to a close on January 15, as the Oilholic rounded off an engaging week out in Abu Dhabi.

Yours truly hosted pivotal industry panel sessions and fireside chats at the event on subjects ranging from hydrogen to green bonds. 

This blogger also wrote plenty of missives via the keyboard for Forbes, and of course this blog. 

All blog entries for WFES 2026 are below: 

• WFES 2026 sessions to be hosted by yours truly
• WFES Day I: Kick-off after ADSW opening ceremony
• WFES Day II: Nexus of Next at ADSW
• WFES Day III: Talking green bonds & more on final day

And here are selected Forbes copies in chronological order based on soundbites and insights from the event:

• ‘Artificial’ Intelligence Craves ‘Actual’ Energy, Says Masdar Chairman, January 13, 2025
• Middle East Set For High Renewable Energy Capacity Growth By 2040, January 14, 2025
• UAE’s Masdar Raising Green Finance On An ‘Industrial Scale’, Says CFO, January 19, 2025.

That's a wrap for this year's WFES. More musing to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Photo: Gaurav Sharma at WFES 2026 in Abu Dhabi, UAE on January 15, 2026 © Gaurav Sharma, 2026. 

WFES Day III: Talking green bonds & more on final day

On the final day of the World Future Energy Summit another 61 sessions deep-dived into various aspects of the energy transition, aspects of renewable energy and green finance. 

On the latter point, yours truly kicked off the event's green finance discussion in the day's first fireside chat with Mazin Khan, Chief Financial Officer of Masdar. 

In his opening remarks ahead of the fireside chat, Khan set the stall for the efficacy of green bonds as a financial instrument to enable the transition and bring about change in hard-to-abate sectors. 

The Masdar CFO also shared the experience of his company on its issuances of green bonds and how they continue to play a key role in making it the UAE's renewables champion. 

Following the opening remarks, yours truly and the Masdar executive had a wide-ranging fireside chat touching on how green bonds improve transparency, drive resource efficiency, enhance governance, and, of course, signal a commitment to the cause of lowering carbon emissions. 

We also discussed how green bonds were now mainstream and issuances of 100-years maturities - indicative of an ultra long-term commitment - are no longer the novelty headline grabbers like they used to be, but rather routine. 

Additionally, Khan also touched on the incentives for issuing green bonds ranging from attracting a wider investor base to enhancing corporate reputation. They also form part of the wider agenda that encourages the development of regulatory frameworks supportive of the green finance industry. 

As of mid-2025, Masdar has raised $2.75 billion via its own green bond issuance programme, and Khan's concluding verdict was that the future of the green bonds remains bright with the global market only expected to get bigger. 

Away from the fireside chat, the Oilholic also joined the thousands who attended the event for a visit to its exhibition floor on its final day, as the conclusion of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week approached. 

The event saw over 41,000 visitors from 114 countries and 455 exhibiting companies from 60 countries. It was also a great place to network and gain the latest energy industry insights. And on that note, its time to bid goodbye. 

As always, it has been a memorable and insightful time out here in Abu Dhabi for ADSW and WFES. More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma, January 2026. Photo I: Energy Analyst Gaurav Sharma at WFES 2026. Photo II: Energy Analyst Gaurav Sharma hosts fireside with Mazin Khan, Chief Financial Officer of Masdar. Photo III: Exhibition floor of WFES 2026 panel on January 15, 2026. Photos I & III © Gaurav Sharma, January 2026. Photo II © Zeena Zalamea / Portalproductions.me January 2026.

WFES Day II: Nexus of Next at ADSW

As the second day of the World Future Energy Summit 2026 and its programme came into its element, the Oilholic took some time out to have a walk about the event's sprawling Innovation Intelligence Hub spread over 3,600 sqm at the venue.

It's here that the forces shaping the transformation of the global energy system appear to be on full display covering all facets from technology to infrastructure, ideas for capital investment to future concepts. 

Bringing all of these facets to the foreground at the hub were over 70 startups translating breakthrough ideas into commercially viable solutions they appear to be pitching to the world. Of particular significance was an AI pavilion with over 30 companies embedding intelligence across generation, grids and demand. 

For the energy sector, AI is no longer an enabling tool - it is quite simply becoming a core infrastructure play.

Today, AI-driven optimisation can improve asset performance by up to 30%, while advanced forecasting and control systems are redefining how grids operate, balance risk and absorb variability. 

At the same time, it was observed at WFES 2026 that global investment in clean and intelligent energy start-ups now exceeds $50 billion annually, with capital flowing fastest into AI-enabled systems, hydrogen, storage and digital resilience. The good folks at the summit and the wider Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week family, as well as the hosts Masdar call it the “Nexus of Next: All Systems Go.”

This in their words is "a theme to life by reflecting a clear strategic reality: the next phase of energy systems transformation will be driven not by standalone technologies, but by integrated, intelligent, and secure systems designed to perform together, investable at scale, and ready for deployment."

As the second day progressed, 59 sessions across various WFES and ADSW content streams discussed the very forces shaping tomorrow, alongside discussions on energy transition economics and technologies. 

The discussion slants ranged from challenges and opportunities to capital investment and policy frameworks. 

The Oilholic got his summit speaking engagements underway by moderating two panels on the clean energy track. The first of these was on the subject of PV-battery storage. 

The panellists (see above) included Syed Ali Gilani, Planning and Energy Markets Director, Department of Energy Abu Dhabi, Jad Abdel Masri, Senior Director, Group Supply Chain and Procurement, Masdar, Dr. Thi Minh Phuong Nguyen, Battery Storage Systems Expert, MAI Group, Mike Sronce, Managing Director and Vice President, Sargent & Lundy and Mohammad Al Natour, Managing Director, SMA Solar Technology. 

We explored the economic drivers of grid-connected battery storage, deployment hurdles, and policy enablers positioning large-scale storage as the backbone of a clean energy future. 

The second panel touched on financing hydrogen and the innovative mechanisms that could be deployed to unlock capital in the segment. 

The panellists for this session included (see below) Dr Dimitrios Dimitriou, Group Vice President of ESG and Sustainability, EMSTEEL Group, Cornelius Matthes, CEO, Dii Desert Energy, Siddharth Malik, Managing Partner, Green Investors, Dan Feldman, Global Head of Energy, King & Spalding and Santosh Raikar, Managing Partner, Silverpeak.

Apart from discussing innovative financing structures, we also touched on risk mitigation strategies to instil investor confidence and secure guarantees necessary to scale hydrogen infrastructure. 

Elsewhere at WFES, attendees got to hear about the natural path of progression of renewable energy in the Middle East which is being led by the UAE. It appears the nation's renewable energy capacity is on track for a tenfold increase by 2040. 

And it is quite simply serving as a beacon for its peers with a pragmatic blend of traditional with renewable energy. Here's yours truly's feature on Forbes on the subject. 

Well that's all for now folks. More musings to follow as the event and the week enter their home stretch tomorrow. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma, January 2026. Photo I: Innovation Intelligence Hub at WFES 2026. Photo II: Masdar's innovation globe. Photo III: Energy Analyst Gaurav Sharma moderates PV-battery storage panel at WFES 2026 on January 14, 2026. Photo IV: Energy Analyst Gaurav Sharma speaks at WFES 2026 on January 14, 2026. Photo V: Energy Analyst Gaurav Sharma moderates WFES 2026 panel on hydrogen on January 14, 2026. Photos I & II © Gaurav Sharma, January 2026. Photos III, IV & V © Zeena Zalamea / Portalproductions.me January 2026.

WFES Day I: Kick-off after ADSW opening ceremony

The World Future Energy Summit 2026 - being held as part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week - got underway with aplomb on Tuesday. 

Before formal proceedings began, the attendees including were treated to an opening ceremony marked by cultural performances. 

The performances were followed by a keynote address from Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of the country’s international renewable energy company Masdar, and CEO of ADNOC.

In his remarks, Al Jaber called for pragmatic thinking on the energy mix, innovation, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and continued investments in renewable energy and cleantech. Here is your truly's latest Forbes missive touching on it. 

The morning's proceedings also included the Zayed Sustainability Prize awarding ceremony. The prizes were handed out in various categories. These included the energy category prize, which went to Switzerland's BASE. It is a specialized partner of the United Nations Environment Programme, that offers "Cooling as a Service" or CaaS in emerging markets.

BASE's innovative business model enables a diverse range of end users of cooling systems to base their decisions on life-cycle costs rather than on the purchase price of cooling equipment. (If interested, read more about them here.)

The conclusion of the awards ceremony marked the mid-morning start of the summit with a packed agenda. 

Two of the world's most pressing topics - AI and climate change  - took centerstage at the Envision Global Technology Day, with a discussion in how technology is reshaping the future of global energy systems.

Science Based Targets Initiative's pathways for low carbon cities were also widely discussed throughout the first morning. 

Among other things, the attendees got treated to a special screening of Ocean - the powerful new documentary by Sir David Attenborough. 

The documentary was a compelling call to action that explores the beauty, fragility, and future of our oceans. 

A full day's programme - including two panels hosted yours truly - gets underway on Day II. But that's all for now folks. More musings to follow throughout the week. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma, January 2026. Photo I: Signage of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Photo II: Glimpses of the ADSW opening ceremony. Photo III: Energy Analyst Gaurav Sharma at the World Future Energy Summit 2026 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. © Gaurav Sharma, January 2026.  

WFES 2026 sessions to be hosted by yours truly

As Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week week approaches, the Oilholic is looking forward to moderating panels and fireside chats at the World Future Energy Summit (January 13 to 15), an event being hosted by Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) as part of the week-long ADSW proceedings covering vital topics across the energy spectrum.

The event will bring together global visionaries, leaders and technical experts. Yours truly can't wait to get started. Here are the details of the sessions: 

Wednesday, January 14, ADNEC Hall 4, Stage 3 @ 11:40 GST

The PV-battery storage tipping point

This panel will explore the economic drivers of grid-connected battery storage, deployment hurdles, and policy enablers positioning large-scale storage as the backbone of a clean energy future. Fellow panellists include: 

• Syed Ali Gilani, Planning & Energy Markets Director, Department of Energy Abu Dhabi
• Jad Abdel Masri, Senior Director, Group Supply Chain & Procurement, #Masdar
• Dr. Thi Minh Phuong Nguyen, Battery Storage Systems Expert, MAI Group
• Mike Sronce, Managing Director & Vice President, Sargent & Lundy
• Mohammad Al Natour, Managing Director, SMA Solar Technology

Wednesday, January 14, ADNEC Hall 4, Stage 3 @ 15:55 GST

Financing hydrogen: Innovative mechanisms to unlock capital

This panel will explore innovative financing structures and risk mitigation strategies to instil investor confidence and secure guarantees necessary to scale hydrogen infrastructure. Fellow panellists include: 

• Dr Dimitrious Dimitriou, Group Vice President of ESG & Sustainability, EMSTEEL Group
• Cornelius Matthes, CEO, Dii Desert Energy
• Siddharth Malik, Managing Partner, Green Investors AG
• Dan Feldman, Global Head of Energy, King & Spalding
• Santosh Raikar, Managing Partner, Silverpeak

Thursday, January 15, ADNEC Hall 7, Stage 4 @ 10:15 GST

Green bonds and beyond: Innovative financing instruments to accelerate the energy transformation

• A fireside chat with Mazin Khan, CFO of Masdar 

Explore the event's exciting agenda here, and be sure to register here.

Join the Oilholic in Abu Dhabi next week if you can! More to follow. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Digital event banner courtesy of WFES 2026 & Masdar.

Speaking at World Future Energy Summit during ADSW

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be speaking and moderating at the World Future Energy Summit 2026 due to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE from Jan 13 to 15, on a number of panels and executive dialogues. The summit will be held as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, that the Oilholic will also be participating in. 

Explore the event's exciting agenda here, and be sure to register here. It's complimentary. 

Excited to be part of the global conversation driving clean energy innovation and sustainability. 

More details on the Oilholic's panels to follow soon. Join me in Abu Dhabi this January. Looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones!  

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Digital event banner courtesy of WFES & Masdar.

Talking AI driven materials discovery with Team Altrove

Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous with Thibaud Martin, CEO & Cofounder of Altrove (center), and Joonatan Laulainen (right), CTO & Cofounder, at the company's laboratory in Paris, France. 

Coming up with new materials in the laboratory isn't new. The material science community has been at it for nearly a century and found new materials with their use cases oftentimes by accident or sometimes by design. But in an age in which the West's concerns over secure access to rare earths is rising, the "design" aspect of material science has taken on a whole new meaning thanks to AI. 

The fine craft of AI driven materials discovery - a growing field either side of the Atlantic - is in near step with growing geopolitical uncertainties and anxieties over critical materials access that much of the digital world has come to rely. 

In recent years, the Oilholic has counted nearly two dozen startups attempting it, primarily in Europe and North America - the two continents where the need is likely to be the greatest as China lords it over its rare earth resources. Many are upscaling following recent seed funding rounds. Among them is Paris, France-based Altrove whose lab this blogger visited recently to catch up with its CEO and Cofounder Thibaud Martin.

"We believe our startup is on an exciting journey because we exist in a market that's growing out of commercial, geopolitical and environmental necessities - three very powerful motivators. Security of resource materials supply is critical to business and industry," Martin told this blogger while taking him around the startup's lab in a Parisian suburb. 

And Joonatan Laulainen, CTO and Cofouncer of Altrove, who joined Martin and The Oilholic on the lab floor, noted: "We believe ours is a race to have scalable technology in place that ensures that our AI-designed materials consume the resources we want them to consume, without dependence on other nations' resources. We are quietly and confidently proving to investors that we're on our way there. 

“Ultimately, our AI acts as a digital scientist, one that designs and executes experiments without human intervention. So, we can develop new materials faster, cheaper and at the scale industry requires.”  

Martin, Laulainen and their team of over a dozen international colleagues, believe the difference would be reducing a typical time frame of 20 years for conjuring up a new material (and taking it to production) to under two years. 

There's plenty of market chatter about similar levels of ambition across the AI driven materials discovery space. Martin discussed the segment's business and market potential in an interview with yours truly for Forbes earlier this month, which you can have a read here should you wish. 

For its efforts, Altrove has commendably secured "over a dozen partnerships" with companies across several industries to deploy AI-designed materials at scale. Some of its first-of-a-kind technical milestones include - rare-earth-free, cobalt-free magnetic materials for high-performance motors and non-toxic, lead-free compounds for sensors and actuators.

Martin declined to reveal the names of the companies Altrove is partnering with at this stage. But in the spirit of demonstrating its credentials and proving that its AI works, both the CEO and CTO offered this blogger an off record tour of their lab, its inner workings and insight on how upscaling their tech would fall into place. 

As things stand, Team Altrove appears to be well prepared for the hard slog in this competitive sphere, as interest from seed investors continues to grow across this segment. The company has $14 million to work with for now, $10 million of which was raised in a recent seed funding round led by Alven, an independent venture capital firm that's backed over 130 startups over the last two decades. 

The Oilholic wishes Team Altrove all the very best in their efforts. And overall, it looks to be an exciting industry in its nascent stages, with companies and technologies well worth keeping an eye out for. That's all for the moment folks. More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, with Thibaud Martin, CEO & Cofounder (center), and Joonatan Laulainen (right), CTO & Cofounder, of Altrove at the company's laboratory in Paris, France. 

Speaking and moderating at ADIPEC 2025

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be moderating and speaking at ADIPEC 2025 - the world's largest energy conference and exhibition - in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from November 3 to 6, on a number of panels and executive dialogues. Explore the event's agenda touching on critical energy issues, latest technological developments, and energy transition through innovation, visionary leadership and action here.

And more on the Oilholic's panels and sessions here.

Looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders, fellow industry professionals and colleagues. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in Abu Dhabi.

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Digital event banner courtesy of dmgevents.

Speaking and moderating at Gastech 2025

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be speaking and moderating at Gastech 2025 in Milan, Italy, from September 9 to 12, one of the world's largest natural gas industry event. 

Explore this global event's critical conference agenda that is driving the energy transition through groundbreaking innovation, visionary leadership and action here.

Further details on the Oilholic's panels and sessions to follow here over the coming weeks.

Entering its 53rd year this September, Gastech will champion the role of natural gas in delivering affordable, reliable, low carbon energy to meet rising global energy demands. 

Over four days, Gastech will convene 50,000 attendees from over 150 countries, 1,000 exhibitors and 21,000 expert speakers, present company included, uniting the world’s leading energy professionals to power the sustainable energy ecosystem of tomorrow. 

Looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in Milan. 

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Digital event banner courtesy of dmgevents, August 2025.

Striving for smart, sustainable cities & urban excellence

On Wednesday, the second and final day of the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit, over 4,000 attendees visited the exhibition and conference. 

They included royalty as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan joined the crowds. He met exhibitors, officials and visitors alike during his visit. 

The Crown Prince also stressed on the vital importance of leveraging advanced technologies in urban planning to ensure the long-term sustainability of infrastructure that meets the aspirations of current and future generations and enhances societal wellbeing, by investing in integrated, future-ready infrastructure, including facilities powered by artificial intelligence and other smart solutions. 

Of course, the pursuit of urban excellence is a moving target with diverse global contexts. Abu Dhabi’s ambition to redefine urban living through world-class infrastructure and quality of life enhancements finds resonance in the transformative strategies of pioneering global cities.

That was the subject matter of the second panel at the summit moderated by The Oilholic at ADIS. The panelists included Daniel Liu, Executive Director of MORROW Intelligence, Emre Arolat, Founding Partner and Principal at Emre Arolat Architecture, Greg Bargull, Executive Director of Development at Modon and Asma Aljassmi, Executive Director of Projects Control and Operations at Aldar Projects. 

We discussed how successful urban centers worldwide are redefining city planning through context-specific innovations that balance economic growth with human-centric design. 

From Singapore’s holistic balance of economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social inclusivity to Chongqing’s technology and sustainability integration, Copenhagen’s Nordhavn district’s 5-Minute City model, and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City balancing sustainability, heritage and innovation - the world’s most innovative cities promote a strong sense of place and identity for their residents and community said the panelists.

They also offered pragmatic insights on the challenges and opportunities along the route toward urban excellence, and learning as much from the mistakes of others as their successes, whilst keeping sustainability and energy efficiency almost always in sharp focus. 

And on that note, it's a wrap from the inaugural ADIS folks! More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (right) visits the exhibition at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit © Abu Dhabi Media Office, June 2025. Photo II: Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma (left) moderates a panel at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit. © ADIS, June 2025.

Discussing collaboration on infrastructural resilience

Formal proceedings got underway at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit on Tuesday. The inaugural edition of the event combined a conference programme and exhibition featuring keynotes, panels and roundtables spread over two days.

Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid, Director General of Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC) - the mandated agency that manages government capital projects in the Emirate, alongside overseeing infrastructure project implementation and delivery - kicked things off with a keynote emphasising the need for strategic investment in infrastructure, and flagging the drive Abu Dhabi itself has embarked upon with the Emirate’s AED 200 billion (£41 billion, $54 billion) infrastructure pipeline, and 600-plus projects. 

What that level of investment and ambition has done is put Abu Dhabi prominently on the map for global infrastructure collaboration. It also reflects a strategic alignment of regional priorities and international best practices. 

As the Emirate accelerates the adoption of its Economic Vision 2030, cross-sector partnerships will be critical for fostering inclusive growth and address complex urban challenges including sustainable housing and smart mobility. 

Much of this came into sharp focus as the day progressed with plenty of chatter on how the world's major urban centres were approaching the challenge of infrastructural resilience, including via deploying public private partnerships (PPPs) to mixed degrees of success. 

Here's the Oilholic's report for Forbes from the event on the subject. 

For its part, Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure strategy centers on securing supply chains, enhancing climate resilience, establishing conformity standards and quality control, and fortifying digital connectivity, which it appears to be doing perhaps way better than most. 

Yours truly also partook in the first day's proceedings and moderated a session on global collaboration to bring about transformative infrastructural development. 

The panelists included Carlos Wakim, CEO of Bloom Holding, Mounir Haidar, Managing Partner of LEAD Development, Fuat Kasimcan, Secretary General of Turkish Contractors Association, and Abdulaziz Alobaidli, Chief Operating Officer of Masdar. Over the course of an insightful discussion, we discussed how Abu Dhabi was offering several case studies for the world's major cities to take their cue from, and the role, advantages and pitfalls of PPPs in the region, and beyond. 

We also discussed what role technology, especially AI, can play in solutions for smart cities, alongside the criticality of foreign direct investment in infrastructure in multiple geographies to foster collaboration, as well as the need for grid resilience to ensure the power demands of burgeoning urban centres are serviced without outages. All-in-all, a great discussion. 

Once the first day's proceedings had concluded, invited delegates headed over the event's Gala Dinner in the evening, attended by distinguished guests from around the world who were welcomed to the summit, the dinner and indeed to Abu Dhabi once again by ADPIC Director General Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid.

The ADPIC DG also commended the strength of the dialogues at the event and the global mix of the attendees on the first day before the evening's entertainment and festivities commenced. 

Well that's all for the moment folks ahead of a content packed second day at ADIS! More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit signage © Gaurav Sharma, June 2025. Photo II & III: Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma moderates a panel at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit. © ADIS, June 2025. Photo IV: Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid, Director General of Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre address ADIS gala dinner attendees © Gaurav Sharma, June 2025.

Getting going at Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit

The Oilholic is in Abu Dhabi, UAE for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit. It is being hosted by Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC), which manages government capital projects in the Emirate, alongside overseeing infrastructure project implementation and delivery. 

The summit - being held from June 17 to 18 at the city's Energy Centre - is expected to draw in over 2,000 attendees from nearly 100 countries, 25 major exhibitors and over 70 global speakers (present company included). The theme for this year's event is "Future cities: Rethinking infrastructure for better lifestyles." 

In line with that theme, over the next two days yours truly will take part in the programme that includes leading voices from the world of renewable energy, real estate development and design, aviation, architecture and urban planning, alongside proponents of AI and emerging technologies. 

The whole idea is to bring together government entities, semi-government bodies, developers, investors, contractors, technology providers, academia, and global associations, in order to facilitate what the organisers describe as meaningful collaboration across the entire infrastructure ecosystem.

Looking forward to an exciting and insightful few days in Abu Dhabi. More musings to follow soon folks. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Gaurav Sharma at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit © Gaurav Sharma, June 2025. 

Speaking at Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be speaking and moderating panels at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit. The theme for the event - due to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE from June 17 to 18, 2025 - is "Future cities: Rethinking infrastructure for better lifestyles." Explore the event's wide-ranging agenda here. 

ADIS' inaugural edition combines a conference and exhibition featuring keynotes, panels, and round tables with global senior leaders from the infrastructure and construction sector.

Topics will emphasise advancing construction and infrastructure innovations, driving technological excellence, facilitating partnerships, and redefining urban landscapes to shape the cities of the future sustainably. For more information on yours truly's panels click here, and to register to attend click here. 

The Oilholic is really looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in Abu Dhabi. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Speaker profile of Gaurav Sharma for Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit © ADIS, June 2025. 

Checking out Vaeridion's electric 'microliner' concept

(Left to right: Ivor van Dartel, Founder and CEO of Vaeridion, Markus Kochs-Kämper, CTO of Vaeridion, and Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, at the startup's laboratory and engineering site in the Bosch Innovation Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany)

Late last month, the Oilholic headed out to the Bosch Innovation Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany, some 25 miles south of Munich, for a visit to green aviation startup Vaeridion's laboratory and engineering test site of its 'microliner' electric plane concept. 

The company is aiming to make to carbon-neutral electric powered flights the norm for short-haul travel; a niche but lucrative regional market currently serviced in many parts of the world by an ageing conventional fleet of aircraft.

Vaeridion's bold idea is a nine-seater electric plane with a range of 400km, deemed more than sufficient for short hops in a number of regional markets in Europe and beyond. Although the startup's founder and CEO Ivor van Dartel told yours truly his initial focus would be on Northern Europe (BeNeLux, the Nordics and Germany).

And what is it that van Dartel and the good folks at Vaeridion are attempting to put in the air dear readers? The Oilholic would say its brilliant, yet simple and here's how it goes. The electric power train would be supported by rechargeable high voltage batteries integrated in the plane's wing. 

The plane itself will run on a single propeller, but with multi-engine support of two mechanically and electrically segregated motors. 

The microliner will have a dual flight deck and can be operated by a single pilot. And unlike some in the sphere, Vaeridion's solution would be 100% electric. (See right, click to enlarge concept illustration.)

The idea has solid wings - no pun intended. Here's the Oilholic's recent feature on the startup for Forbes, wherein van Dartel has discussed his business plans for taking Vaeridion's microliner to market.

In a nutshell, test flights of the prototype are scheduled for 2027, and first delivery of the aircraft by 2030, with an ambition to produce and move up to 250 planes per year by / before the middle of the next decade.

To support this ambition, Vaeridion's has raised €14 million (£11.75 million, $15.20 million) in a recent funding round involving multiple prominent venture capital funds. They include World Fund and Vsquared Ventures, whose founding partner the Oilholic had the pleasure of meeting in Munich, and was revealed to be the startup's very first backer. 

The investors appear to be in it for the whole journey and Vaeridion is in talks to secure further capital. Especially, as van Dartel and his team are working on a green air mobility solution that will likely be among us by the end of the decade to fulfil a very specific potentially money making niche.

And when the Vaeridion microliner finally takes off, it would be the culmination of a long-held professional ambition of van Dartel's, who is a former Airbus engineer. "Electric air mobility has been on my mind since 2007, when sustainability wasn't even mainstream as it is today. The concept remained close to my heart and the spark stayed with me throughout my professional journey at Airbus."

In over a decade of service at the global aircraft manufacturer, van Dartel worked on Airbus' A380, A350 models, operations, manufacturing, special projects and ultimately became a generalist in 2017, before moving on to its defence and aerospace division in 2019.

Ultimately, he left Airbus in 2021 with the flame rekindled, armed with over 10 years of experience in complex projects, to launch Vaeridion. Today his 50-strong, and rapidly growing, team boasts of fellow dreamers from nearly 20 nationalities, some of whom joined his startup when it had no money or secured funding. 

Vaeridion appears to be on the cusp of making a difference, and attempting something that won't be easy by any means in an evolving, tough landscape of carbon-neutral air travel solutions. It remains to be seen how it will go for this aviation startup, but the Oilholic wishes Team Vaeridion well. 

With those final thoughts, its time to take your leave. More musings to follow soon - next stop Houston, for CERAWeek. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: (Left to right) Ivor van Dartel, Founder and CEO of Vaeridion, Markus Kochs-Kämper, CTO of Vaeridion, and Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, at the startup's laboratory and engineering site in the Bosch Innovation Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany. © Gaurav Sharma, February 2025. Photo II: Vaeridion's microliner electric aircraft concept. © Vaeridion, December 2024. 

GMIS 2024 and industrial safety manifesto launch

The Oilholic recently had the privilege of speaking and moderating at the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) in Abu Dhabi, UAE on December 5, hosted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Business Week, with a key theme of building resilience across the global industrial, manufacturing and petrochemical complexes. 

The summit deliberated at length the challenge of ensuring safety and security for key infrastructure in the digital age. In line with this thinking, a first-of-its-kind Manifesto for Global Industrial Safety was launched at the event to widespread recognition and support from leaders and experts across the global industrial ecosystem. 

Developed by the Global Initiative for Industrial Safety (GIFIS) in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS), and the Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy (CIIP), the manifesto sets a new global benchmark for safety and sustainability in industrial practices.

Each year, approximately three million deaths worldwide are linked to insufficient safety measures and dangerous working conditions, resulting in an economic loss of 3.9% of global GDP, according to the International Labour Organisation. Cognisant of this, the manifesto offers a strategic blueprint for stakeholders to harness technology and effectively address safety risks for workers around the world. 

In doing so, it outlines guiding principles and vital contributions required from industry, government, academia, regulators, and international organisations to accelerate the safe adoption of technology in new industrial processes and to integrate technology-enabled safety solutions in traditional industries. 

Delivering a keynote address at the event, post-launch, Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government, said the manifesto underscores the importance of continuing to prioritise safety, security, and collaboration. 

"Partnerships, communication, and information-sharing are vital to maintaining this progress and achieving a resilient and secure future." More so, as the global cybersecurity market booms in the digital age, as recorded by yours truly in a Forbes missive from the event. 

An exciting event agenda also saw several topics of interest deliberated throughout the day-long event. Proceedings included a fireside chat hosted by yours truly on pioneering industrial resilience by leveraging technology and the pivotal role of leadership in industrial safety, with Barbara Frei, Executive Vice President Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric and Courtney Gregoire, Vice President and Chief Digital Safety Officer, Microsoft. 

Both Barbara and Courtney touched on best practices from an OT and IT perspective as industries and whole sectors embrace IIoT, AI and robotics. 

Later in the day, and to bring the event proceedings to a close, the Oilholic also moderated a panel session titled 'Built to Endure: Resilience in High-Stakes Industries.'

Panellists included Amer J Siddiqi, Executive Director, Mubadala, Hazeem Al Suwaidi, CEO, Borouge and Hesham Awda, COO, NMDC Energy Offshore. They offered their respective takes on why building resilience in high-risk industries requires a multi-faceted approach that combines technology, strong leadership, and a culture of safety. 

This now incrementally involves the deployment of advanced technologies, such as predictive analytics and machine learning, to anticipate potential disruptions before they occur.

As global supply chains become increasingly interconnected, industries’ ability to endure and adapt to challenges will be a defining factor in their long-term success, happened to be the verdict of the panel, and the wider GMIS discourse. 

Offering a parting food for thought - for governments and businesses alike, resilience has become a strategic asset that not only safeguards operations but also drives sustainable growth. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo I: GMIS 2024. Photo II: Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government speaks at GMIS. Photo III: Gaurav Sharma hosts a fireside chat with Barbara Frei, Executive Vice President Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric and Courtney Gregoire, Vice President and Chief Digital Safety Officer, Microsoft. © GMIS 2024.