WASHINGTON D.C., 21st September, 2023 (WAM) -- The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) was hosted by the US-UAE Business Council and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) at a business briefing roundtable in Washington D.C., this week.

Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ENEC, spoke about the recently launched Net Zero Nuclear platform ahead of COP28. He provided updates on the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme, the wider vision for ENEC and its future focus, and discussed opportunities for potential partnership with US businesses within the growing nuclear energy industry.

The briefing session also highlighted the critical role of nuclear energy in the US-UAE Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) and at COP28, which the UAE will host for two weeks from 30th November this year in Dubai. Al Hammadi emphasised ENEC's role as a leading clean energy company with a mission to harness the immense potential of nuclear energy for a cleaner, resilient and positive future. Alongside the abundant and reliable clean electricity generated at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, ENEC is working to facilitate innovation and development of nuclear-generated, clean energy technologies to accelerate global decarbonisation. Al Hammadi explained that the Barakah Plant represents just a fraction of ENEC's wider strategic interests with a major focus now on R&D in areas like SMRs, advanced reactors, hydrogen and other clean molecules.

During the roundtable, Mohamed Al Braiki, Strategy and Planning Director for ENEC, highlighted how ENEC is also offering consultancy services to capitalise on the significant experience ENEC has in bringing a new nuclear energy program into commercial service in an efficient timeframe, to the highest standards of nuclear safety and quality.

The US-UAE Business Council's President, Danny Seabright, is now an ambassador of Net Zero Nuclear, an initiative for action and advocacy for nuclear energy's role in achieving global clean energy security. The initiative was launched during the opening of the World Nuclear Symposium, which took place in London earlier this month, with a US briefing taking place on the sidelines of UN Climate Week in New York earlier this week. Net Zero Nuclear was launched by the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and ENEC with the support of the Atoms4NetZero initiative by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Net Zero Nuclear calls for unprecedented collaboration between government, industry leaders and civil society to triple global nuclear capacity to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.