UCEM Tutor shares research advocating greater adoption of renewable energy in Egypt
Posted on: 29 September, 2022
A UCEM Tutor engaged with a captive audience of university, industry and government stakeholders on a trip to Egypt, sharing his research on renewable energy usage in the country.
Dr Muhammad Rana speaking at The British University in Egypt (BUE) and a view of the attentive audience
Dr Muhammad Rana visited The British University in Egypt (BUE), based in Cairo, earlier this month to share insights from his British Council-funded research titled ‘Investigating the barriers in the uptake of renewable energy in Egypt’. Both the UK and Egypt were represented in the 25-strong party of key stakeholders who attended the research event.
The 12-month research project focuses on identifying challenges relevant to technical, research and education aspects affecting renewable energy projects’ sustainability and identifying academic-based solutions for overcoming these barriers through collaboration with industry and government stakeholders. Muhammad’s research demonstrated that, though Egypt currently has abundant fossil fuel energy sources, renewable energy sources are essential to global energy transition and climate change mitigation, so a large cultural shift is needed to bring about change in the country.
During the trip, Muhammad met important stakeholders in the country, including policymakers, and visited sustainable city farms, in addition to presenting his research.
He reflected: “Findings from this project will foster the private sector to expand in renewable energy projects in Egypt, encourage young researchers to work on technical-related barriers to the uptake of renewable energy, present ideas for extending the life of implemented projects and embrace sustainable solutions for future projects.
“Opportunities identified from localising renewable energy will deliver climate-safe solutions while simultaneously supporting a wide range of socioeconomic advantages such as net job creation, improved health, and increased social inclusion.
“Meeting stakeholders helped us in developing a more comprehensive understanding of the local issues and opportunities. The site visits to the sustainable farms helped us understand the efforts they are making in the area of solar energy, hydrogen production and storage and sustainable fishing – just a few examples of the gains being made.
“The participants were able to network with many local experts from academia and industry and these links will be strengthened further using joint publications and research bids.”
To learn more about the project, head to the research website.
