“Around 35 per cent of the planned built-up area will be completed over the next five years – up from 5 per cent today – and nearly 30 per cent has been committed to, including private homes, schools, hotels and more office space,” said Anthony Mallows, Executive Director of Masdar City, adding that all available space within its existing buildings, and those under construction, is fully leased.

“Masdar City’s expansion is gathering pace because today we are recognised as an innovation ecosystem – a hub for R&D, technology, human capital building, business opportunity and investment.”

Plans for a purpose-built community serving the Middle East’s first dedicated R&D cluster integrated with a world-class research institute will be unveiled at Cityscape Abu Dhabi, the property exhibition and conference taking place from April 12-14.

Besides 2,000 residential apartments, the concept involves developing restaurants, cafés, a premium school and green open spaces within walking distance of a number of Masdar City’s flagship R&D and pilot facilities, which include ground-breaking projects in solar energy, energy storage, green building and urban sustainability.

The City’s growth will yield more opportunities for collaboration with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, the world’s first graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies and the nucleus of Masdar City, as well as opening the door to further research and training cooperation with the wider business and clean tech community.

“Effective research and development of viable technologies requires a culture of collaboration and an environment where scientific theory and practical insight can flourish,” said Dr Noura Al-Kaabi, Director of Research and Development Office at the Masdar Institute.

“The pilot research projects located at Masdar City, many of them led by or closely involving Masdar Institute scientists and students, are accelerating the acquisition of scientific knowledge in the clean tech industry and paving the way towards the development of real-world commercial applications. As the surrounding community at Masdar City grows, so the R&D cluster will also expand.”

Masdar City’s participation in this year’s Cityscape Abu Dhabi will highlight the many R&D and pilot facilities within the development, including the Eco-Villa Prototype.

The project incorporates innovative water- and energy-saving technologies and design features that significantly reduce its environmental impact compared to existing villas – and it can even export excess electricity to the national grid when fitted with photovoltaic panels.

With a gross floor area of 405 square metres (sqm), the four-bedroom Eco-Villa is designed to consume 97 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per sqm per year (sqm/yr) without solar panels. That is 72 per cent less energy than older villas in Abu Dhabi typically consume, and 46 per cent less than newer properties.

The Eco-Villa Prototype is also designed to displace up to 63 metric tons of carbon emissions each year and use 35 per cent less water than regular villas.

The ‘Net Zero Energy’ version of the prototype equipped with 80 rooftop PV panels can supply up to 40,000 kWh per year to the national grid, easily offsetting its own electricity requirements.

The Smart Home Energy Management System (SHEMS) research project led by the Masdar Institute is currently testing ‘intelligent’ IT systems to manage energy consumption within the Eco-Villa Prototype, and potentially other buildings at Masdar City, more efficiently.

Masdar and Masdar Institute specialists are also studying energy-efficient indoor climate control technologies, known as Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems, for the Eco-Villa project and other residential and commercial real estate.

Elsewhere in the R&D cluster, the Electric Energy Storage Solutions Hub is exploring the potential of electrochemical technologies (Redox Flow Batteries) to enhance the capacity of renewable energy systems to store power, enabling their wider adoption in the energy mix.

Another trailblazing project is evaluating geothermal energy as a possible power source for district cooling. With geothermal wells already sunk to a depth of 2,500 metres within the grounds of Masdar City, the research initiative is the first of its type in the Middle East and may be converted into a full-fledged demonstration project.