€62bn-turnover chemical company is preferred supplier of systems solutions to world's first carbon-neutral city project

Masdar, the UAE project aiming to be the world’s first carbon neutral city, has appointed Germany’s BASF as its preferred supplier of construction materials and systems solutions. BASF, a €62bn-turnover chemical company, will provide its full range of solutions for sustainable and energy-efficient construction to Masdar.

These include:

  • Products made from polystyrene and polyurethane which will be used to make insulating foams for thermal insulation of buildings
  • Phase-change materials that are integrated into plaster or gypsum wall boards can be used as an alternative to air conditioning, saving electricity and maintenance costs
  • Roof coatings featuring black pigments which absorb very little infrared solar radiation prevent dark surfaces from heating up
  • Special concrete admixtures that lower carbon emissions by up to 60%.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of Masdar said: “We’ve made a bold commitment to advance the use of sustainable materials in urban developments and tapping into BASF’s expertise in this field takes closer to that goal.”

BASF will also open an office in Masdar City once it is completed. Masdar City, currently in its first phase of construction, is approximately 30 kilometers from downtown Abu Dhabi.

In June Masdar partnered with another German firm, research organisation Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, to develop the Sustainable Cities Research Centre in Masdar City. The research centre will focus on critical technologies for sustainable cities of the future including solar energy, energy efficient buildings, water and desalination technologies, cooling technologies, intelligent electricity supply concepts, electro-mobility and carbon footprint measurement and evaluation. The agreement also includes close collaboration with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and regional institutions to undertake joint research programs and achieve the transfer of knowledge between the Gulf and Europe.

Al Jaber said: “The collaboration with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will ensure Masdar plays a key role in the development of Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy sector; driving continual innovation and commercialisation of clean and sustainable energy technologies. We believe global collaboration is essential to achieving this mission and our partnerships with MIT, DLR, Imperial College and the Tokyo Institute of Technology are proof of this.”

Masdar City aims to be the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city completely powered by renewable energy, and a test bed for clean technologies.

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