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Dubai Harbour welcomes 100% renewables-powered Swiss vessel
Dubai Harbour, an extraordinary seafront district, welcomed the Swiss experimental vessel powered solely by renewables, Porrima, to its marinas on March 17, 2022, as part of its worldwide journey across five continents called the Blue Odyssey.
Choosing Dubai Harbour for its second world destination, the first-of-its-kind solar, wind and hydrogen-powered ship has travelled more than 11,000km without stopping since departing Osaka, Japan, on December 18, 2021.
Dubai Harbour – recently voted as the winner of the World’s Best New Cruise Development at the 1st Annual World Cruise Awards 2021 – is home to the region’s largest marina and features Bay Marina, Dubai’s first dedicated superyacht marina which can accommodate yachts up to 160m in length. Dubai Harbour is also home to Palm View Marina and Harbour Marina offering 556 berths for yachts up to 40 meters and a curated mix of restaurants, cafes, and retail offerings.
Upon arrival at Dubai Harbour, the Porrima berthed at Harbour Marina in front of the Yacht Club building before unveiling a suite of renewable technologies that have been proven on board. It will invite the youth to join the ‘Blue Campus’ to learn the skills and build the talent around the showcased next-generation solutions to sustainable ocean industries and resource preservation.
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Abdulla Binhabtoor, chief portfolio management officer, Shamal Holding, the company which owns Dubai Harbour, said, “We are excited to welcome the Porrima to Dubai Harbour for its third odyssey around the globe. It is exciting to see how the intersection of technology and sustainability come together to help tackle the environmental challenges that we face today. The Porrima brings sustainable mobility to the forefront, and we are committed to accelerating action to preserve a healthy planet for generations to come.”
The journey, which aims to arrive at its destination after a refit with 12 novel technologies in time for the opening of the Expo 2025 Osaka, will see the vessel dock at ports around the world to demonstrate how to tackle problems such as pollution and climate change through the use of commercially viable renewable technologies.
The project comes in response to a call to action from the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, which invites initiatives geared towards realising ‘an ideal future society.’ Porrima – named after the Roman goddess of the future – was the first in the world to circumnavigate the globe using only solar energy under its previous name, ‘Planet Solar’. Now, using solar, wind and hydrogen, the 36-metre 100-tonne vessel also utilises artificial intelligence and technologies inspired by nature. Just as lungs remove the CO2 from our blood, the same technique is used to clean seawater, isolate and destroy microplastics, making Porrima the only vessel in the word certified to produce and consume hydrogen on board.
The creator of the enterprise is the serial entrepreneur, economist, and author Gunter Pauli, who sets out to inspire the next generation with competitive and commercially viable renewable technologies and techniques. He said, “We need to wake up the entrepreneurs of the future, and I believe Dubai is the right place for this. The innovation and adoption of the kind of technologies that we are showcasing on the Porrima will have a fundamental role to play in the realisation of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – and provide a blueprint for creating an ideal future society.”
Emirates Engineering has launched a new programme giving UAE university students the chance to transform retired aircraft materials into innovative products while gaining hands-on experience with the airline’s engineering teams.
Called Material Futures Studio, the six-week initiative is led by Emirates Engineering’s Upcycling department. It aims to inspire the next generation of aviation engineers by challenging students to find creative new uses for materials recovered from retired aircraft.
The first edition brings together 23 students from Khalifa University, Emirates Aviation University and the University of Sharjah.
Students began the programme with an orientation session and a behind-the-scenes tour of Emirates Engineering’s facilities in Dubai, where they met senior leaders, explored aircraft maintenance operations and visited the airline’s upcycling workshop to see how retired aircraft materials are already being turned into new products.
How the programme works
Over six weeks, participants will develop concepts and prototypes using materials recovered from retired aircraft, with guidance from Emirates Engineering specialists throughout the design and development process.
The programme will conclude with a showcase where students present their final ideas and prototypes.
According to Emirates, the initiative is designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry by giving students practical engineering experience while enabling the airline to tap into fresh ideas and emerging talent.
Part of Emirates’ sustainability efforts
Material Futures Studio builds on Emirates’ wider sustainability strategy and its multi-billion-dollar aircraft retrofit programme.
The airline is currently refurbishing 219 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft, one of the largest retrofit projects in the aviation industry. Rather than discarding materials removed during the upgrades, Emirates Engineering has been repurposing them into new products through its in-house upcycling projects.
These include the Aircrafted by Emirates collection of limited-edition luggage, bags and accessories made from reclaimed aircraft materials, as well as Aircrafted KIDS, which transforms retired aircraft fabrics into backpacks for children. Emirates says more than 4,000 backpacks have already been donated to children in 11 countries.
Emirates recruits UAE students to turn retired aircraft into new products
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