DESERTEC

21/05/2025

🌍 DESERTEC Connecting Stakeholders to Advance Global Energy Transition

Recently, Michael Schröder, part of our board of directors in the DESERTEC Foundation, embarked on a journey to the United Arab Emirates, a country rapidly transforming into a global hub for renewable energy.

As part of the DESERTEC Foundation’s mission to foster global collaboration around sustainable energy. Michael aimed to advance the global energy transition in a region where sun meets ambition. It is through such initiatives that Desertec continues to connect key players from government, business, and civil society to push forward a just and inclusive energy transition.

From Berlin to the Gulf, DESERTEC is building bridges—ensuring knowledge exchange, amplifying innovative voices, and creating real-world pathways for harnessing desert energy sustainably.

The visit to UAE is a powerful reminder: the energy transition isn’t just about technology, it is about people, partnerships, and shared purpose.

Let’s keep building that network. Let’s keep moving.

28/02/2025

🌞 Industry Spotlight: Al Maktoum IV Solar Park 🌍

Breaking records! 🚀 The Al Maktoum IV Solar Park in Dubai stands as the cheapest unsubsidized solar power plant in the world, setting new benchmarks for renewable energy. This is a major leap forward for the desert energy sector. It is especially important for the development of solar thermal plants (CSP-Plants), as it shows that CSP can now start competing with gas power plants!

Key Highlights:
⚡ Innovative Technology: This phase uniquely combines three technologies: 600 MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100 MW from the world's tallest solar power tower at 262.44 meters, and 250 MW from photovoltaic solar panels.

⚡Record Breaking Costs: With 7,30 US-Cents/kWh for the CSP-Park, it is the cheapest CSP-Plant in the world, able to start competing with gaspower-plants. It also showed that thermal storage is cheaper than PV+Battery on utility scale plants with 24 h production.

⚡Massive Storage: Boasting the world's largest thermal storage capacity of 15 hours, it ensures energy availability around the clock.

As innovation continues to drive down costs, could we see deserts becoming the powerhouses of global energy? The DESERTEC Foundation has long pursued the vision of turning deserts into global energy hubs, and projects like this bring us closer to that reality.

Let’s discuss! What are your thoughts on the future of solar energy in arid regions? ⚡🌎



Learn more here : https://www.mbrsic.ae/en/about/mohammed-bin-rashid-al-maktoum-solar-park/

12/02/2025

Making History: DESERTEC at the Italian Senate!

After years of dedicated efforts and discussions, the moment we had worked so hard for has finally arrived: The DESERTEC Foundation took center stage at the Energy Symposium in Rome, hosted within the Italian Senate. A gathering of senators, scientists, and industry leaders—all driven by one goal: to unite forces for a cross-continental green energy revolution!

🌍 The Stakes Were High:

- Tunisia was ready to power Europe with green electricity— the representatives seeking the green light to finally export and boost their economy.
- Italy saw an opportunity to diversify its energy sources, securing a more sustainable future.
- But tough questions loomed: What about jobs in Italy’s coal sector? How do we ensure a just transition? These questions worried policymakers for years.

These interests and desires had to be taken into account in countless meetings and negotiations, carefully balancing the needs of everyone involved.

💡 The DESERTEC Foundation highlighted the bigger picture:
✅ Stable energy prices → Economic security
✅ Cross-border energy-cooperation → Shared prosperity
✅ Clean energy → A climate-resilient future

🔥 The room was electric. Passionate speeches. Intense debates. But in the end actions are more important than warm words.

THE RESULT? The ELMED Connection—a landmark project linking Tunisia and Italy—was approved, with EU financial backing secured. A true game-changer for green energy!

This is just the beginning. The energy transition is happening. Stay tuned to learn about the plentiful opportunities opened up by this energy corridor!

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08/01/2025

Breaking Barriers: How DESERTEC is Driving Cross-Continental Energy Solutions 🌍

How did DESERTEC emerge as a leading advocate for these transformative energy solutions? How far have we come since the inception of the DESERTEC Concept?

📌What was the situation of cross-continental electricity connections before the founding of DESERTEC?

Although North Africa and Europe have been connected by major gas pipelines for decades—supplying around 15% of Europe’s fossil gas demand—the large-scale infrastructure required for renewable energy remains absent. Before the founding of DESERTEC, the only intercontinental electricity connection between Europe and Africa was the Spain-Morocco interconnector (REMO-Project), built in 1997 and extended in 2006.

Getting additional cables approved was very complicated, due to political and bureaucratic hurdles. Hence the need for lobbying.

📌What role did Desertec play in lobbying for a transnational electricity connection?

The DESERTEC Foundation advocates for cross-continental electricity-connections, since its inception. To push forward our concepts, the Foundation led an up-to-date analysis of electricity cables and the tangibility of their implementation in 2020. We partnered with Consentec GmbH and the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany) to conduct a feasibility study.

This study served as a vital preparation for future lobbying efforts, which we will highlight in upcoming posts 💡

📌What arguments did the DESERTEC study put forward?

⚡ Long-distance transmission is feasible: 3,000+ km connections have been realised around the world and can integrate seamlessly into the European grid.
⚡ Cost-efficient energy transport: Transmission costs as low as 0.5-2.0 cents/kWh (Point-to-Point-Connection), depending on capacity utilization.
⚡ State-of-the-art technology: Modern large-scale AC-DC converters ensure stable and efficient energy transfer across vast distances (pure and stable frequency, optimized phase-shift).

Based on these findings, the DESERTEC Foundation managed to take its lobbyism to the next level: Securing approval and financing for a cross-continental electricity cable—an aspiration at the core of our mission since the beginning!

Stay tuned to follow our journey and see how far we have come! 🌱

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Learn more here :https://desertec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Desertec-Kabel-Analyse.pdf

07/01/2025

Did you know that the DESERTEC Foundation has finally achieved one of its main goals? The long-anticipated cable connecting Africa and Europe is finally becoming a reality!

The ELMED Project being the first in many years to link the European and North African grids, it paves the way for a new era of cross-continental green energy collaboration. This groundbreaking project sets the stage for many more interconnections to come, solidifying a bold vision for global energy transition.

Overcoming immense political and regulatory hurdles, the DESERTEC Foundation remained committed in championing international cooperation for sustainable energy. As highlighted by the European External Action Service, the pivotal political breakthrough in 2022 - strategically driven by DESERTEC and key EU actors - has secured the approval and funding for the ELMED interconnection between Italy and Tunisia.

Curious to learn more? Click here : https://www.eeas.europa.eu/ELMED-Tunisia_en?s=126

Stay tuned for upcoming posts, where we will dive into the story behind this monumental success. From key ideas to many challenges and triumphant milestones, discover how this decade-long vision became a transformative reality!

ELMED will improve energy security and economic stability in Northern Africa, marking a significant milestone in international collaboration on renewable energy initiatives while stimulating increased production capacity. Team Europe mobilises €472,6 million, including €334,6 million EU grants, ...

16/12/2024

Revolutionizing Energy: Why the Time for DESERTEC is Now!

Before we unveil the latest advancements of the DESERTEC Foundation, let us revisit the grounding scientific facts that drive our vision⚡

🌍 Did you know? The Sahara Desert alone has the potential to power Africa, Europe, and beyond—multiple times over! As the illustration below shows, the area marked in red represents all the space needed to meet global energy demand using solar panels. For over a decade, DESERTEC has been striving to turn this bold vision into action.

Next week we will highlight why now, more than ever, due to recent political and technological advancements, is the right time to harness the sun's energy in the desert and revolutionise our energy landscape together! We are committed to support developments that benefit both the local communities and the surrounding partners.

Together, let’s create a greener world—one that uplifts local communities and strengthens global partnerships.

Follow us for updates and join the journey to a sustainable tomorrow! ✨

16/12/2024

🌞 2024 from the eyes of DESERTEC : A Bright Future Awaits! 🌍

We are thrilled to announce our comeback of the DESERTEC Foundation on LinkedIn. The past years have been focused addressing key decision makers and developing the DESERTEC Concept to incorporate new technological and political changes.

Since its inception, DESERTEC has been at the forefront of innovation, driving projects that have transformed how we think about energy and its potential to impact lives and the planet.

✨ What’s Next?
Since the end of 2024 approaches, why not do a comprehensive recap of DESERTEC’s journey —highlighting our achievements, key milestones, and the ripple effects of our efforts—is on its way?

📌 What is DESERTEC Today?
The DESERTEC Foundation is a think tank that continues to stand as a global advocate for renewable energies:
Awareness: Promoting the potential of desert regions to supply clean, reliable power to the world
Think tank: Advocating for supportive policies, financing, and regulations
Projects: Driving impactful projects that benefit both local communities and global energy systems

Stay tuned for the full story of how DESERTEC has evolved—and how we are shaping the future. Together, let’s harness the sun to power a sustainable tomorrow!