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Aspentech’s Dr. Tariq Aslam On Renewable Energy Becoming The Region’s Driving Force | |
| Staff Writer |
Reduced energy costs, greater price stability, and lessening of the effects of climate change are all possible benefits of using renewable energy sources. This is of the utmost importance now, as the rising cost of fossil fuels brought on by the geo-political crisis in Europe impacts developing nations that rely on imports for their energy needs. Organisations representing both the business and scientific communities have been urging government officials to implement laws to boost renewable energy for decades now, as part of the crucial worldwide effort to combat climate change. Large-scale renewable power projects not only help the environment by cutting down on carbon emissions, but they also offer clear financial benefits for investors, governments, and, most importantly, consumers who are in need of consistent, affordable power.
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Thankfully, there has been a rise in support for investing in expansive, cutting-edge infrastructure projects in this sector. Over US$300 billion was invested in renewable energy in 2020 alone, but yearly expenditures in clean energy need to more than triple by 2030 if we're going to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In order to entice much-needed private funding, developing nations must roll out a series of massive renewable infrastructure projects that guarantee a return on investment while keeping prices low enough that even the poorest can afford them.
In an exclusive interview with Thirty To Net Zero Magazine, AspenTech’s VP & Head of MEA, Dr. Tariq Aslam, said, “There has never been a time when organisations such as AspenTech have been more relevant as we provide asset-intensive industries with solutions to help them address the dual challenge of meeting the increasing demand for resources from a rapidly-growing population, with increasing standards of living, in a sustainable manner. Our solutions are already advancing progress on critical sustainability pathways, such as improving resource efficiencies, the energy transition, and achieving decarbonisation initiatives.”
Seventy percent of workers surveyed expressed a desire for additional training in sustainability-related topics. In light of this and the generational shifts already occurring in the workforce, training and education in this field are of paramount importance. AspenTech has developed the first-of-its-kind "Sustainability Training Programme" to fill this knowledge gap and prepare for future difficulties. As a result, both customers and partners will be better able to acquire and employ digital solutions that have been shown to improve environmental sustainability. Asset-intensive companies, which are typically scrutinised for their environmental impact, would benefit from the programme because of the new skills they will get to apply digital solutions and speed up progress toward sustainability goals.
“While adding to your skill set is important, applying these skills to real-world problems is the most obvious next step. At AspenTech, we have more than 100 sustainability models that are easy-to-use, industry-scale sustainability application examples. They can be easily adapted to our customer’s initiatives and then scaled up across an entire site or enterprise. These models are accompanied by supporting documentation for quick set-up and implementation, and they are a perfect complement to AspenTech’s Sustainability Training Programme,” added Dr. Aslam.
Middle East Stepping At The Right Time
Authorities in the Middle East have established sustainability targets and developed a strategy to lessen the region's environmental effects. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved 22 policies to hasten the shift to a circular economy. These policies will primarily impact the manufacturing, food, infrastructure, and transportation industries. Efforts to lessen the consumption of raw materials, recycle more extensively, and restore depleted ecosystems are prioritised. The goal is to safeguard the UAE's environment and guarantee its long-term economic and social development by 2050, all while achieving its Net Zero aim adding to AspenTech's efforts. In 2023, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will also play host to the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28). This momentous occasion presents a tremendous chance for the UAE to advance regional political and economic interests by identifying and implementing workable, commonsense approaches to speeding up the world's energy transition.
Sustainability targets have also been established by other regional governments. By 2030, Saudi Arabia plans to have completely transitioned to renewable energy, and by 2060, it will have reached Net Zero. By 2050, Oman plans to have Zero emissions as well.
With goals in place, quite a few regional players are joining hands with international players to support disruptive acceleration towards these goals. Dr Aslam said, “Since AspenTech's sample models in green hydrogen showed promising results, ACME Group decided to hire the company. AspenTech is the appropriate partner for ACME Group as it strives for operational excellence to stay ahead of market trends, according to the company's 40 years of experience working with asset-intensive process industries. To optimise the process configuration for large-scale green ammonia plants, AspenTech's Performance Engineering solution will be used to design the hydrolysis process at this useful plant. As a result of this collaboration, ACME Group will be able to improve performance, quality, and time-to-market with the best-in-class simulation software; furthermore, circular economy initiatives will be able to respond to global economic challenges, dynamic market conditions, and competitive pressures.”
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Challenges Impeding Progress
Industries with high capital requirements must take a broad view and be flexible to succeed. Companies in the energy sector must hasten their digitally led shift if they are to live up to the public's high expectations. The future of any significant industry can be predicted with the use of digital technologies. These sectors are entering a new era characterised by AI-driven efficiency and sustainability initiatives employing mind-bogglingly diverse applications. “Adopting digital tools such as digital twins, digital simulation, and AI-powered predictive maintenance to optimise assets is one example of a more efficient and sustainable approach to delivering this energy to its users. By highlighting inefficiencies in a company's processes, these digital technologies are essential to sdecarbonisation initiatives” opined Dr. Aslam.
Innovative Sustainable Solutions Are The Right Card
The need for constant innovation has spread to all industries. There is no way for any sector to make significant progress without either technological innovation or an update to existing methods. The sustainable energy sector requires cutting-edge technological answers to enable the expansion of its own nexus.
Elaborating on AspenTech’s partnership with Saudi Aramco Dr Aslam said, “In December of 2022, we announced our partnership with Aramco to optimise Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) options considering sustainability and profitability objectives. Another solution that has been popular among our GCC customers recently is a carbon emission decision support solution. This high-value solution employs multiple existing AspenTech products implemented together for customers looking for actionable insight into their carbon emissions landscape. The solution empowers the company to get an actionable birds-eye view of its carbon emissions by mobilising underlying data and models, helping customers make better-operating decisions to reduce carbon emissions on a day-to-day basis.”