Renewable Energy

Masdar-backed Emerge in talks for $300m renewables push

May 29, 2025, 3:19 PM

The general manager of Emerge, a Masdar-EDF joint venture, called solar and storage 'capital-heavy projects'

Emerge is EDF and Masdar JV
Expanding solar and storage
May approach SWFs

Emerge, a clean energy joint venture between the UAE’s Masdar and France’s EDF Group, is in talks with regional and international lenders to secure financing for a $300 million expansion of its solar and storage portfolio, with a focus on the Gulf.

“These are capital-heavy projects,” general manager Michel Abi Saab said on Wednesday in an interview on the sidelines of the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi. “Without funding, we cannot move on.”

He added that the company is talking to local and global banks to secure credit facilities, and may also approach sovereign wealth funds to raise additional capital.

Founded in 2021, Emerge focuses on developing solar and battery storage systems for commercial and industrial customers across the Gulf. While the company’s initial capital base from Masdar and EDF has funded early growth, Abi Saab signalled that scale will require more diversified financial backing.

“We are talking with local and international banks to secure funding,” he said.

The company has rapidly increased its footprint, trebling capacity in 2024 to 100 megawatts split between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Another 250MW are under construction or in advanced development stages, with seven projects signed across both countries in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

Saudi Arabia, Abi Saab said, is becoming a growth driver, citing policy reforms and falling technology costs.

“In the last few years, we’ve seen a dramatic shift in Saudi Arabia,” he said, referring to its net-zero targets and the increasingly competitive economics of solar.

Emerge’s recent projects include a 3MW rooftop installation for AJ Steel Pipes in Abu Dhabi, a 60MW solar photovoltaic plant at Sharjah National Oil Company’s Sajaa Gas Complex, and a 13.25MW system at Tawazun Industrial Park between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

As solar module and battery prices hit record lows, Gulf utilities and industrial clients are accelerating their transition to renewables. BloombergNEF data shows lithium-ion battery pack prices fell 20 percent last year, while global solar module prices are down more than 30 percent since early 2023, amid oversupply and improved manufacturing efficiency.

Emerge is also positioning to capitalise on surging energy demand linked to data centre growth in the Gulf. The company powered the region’s first solar-driven data centre, a 7MW facility in Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa City, and is eyeing opportunities tied to Stargate UAE, a 1 gigawatt AI-focused data centre cluster led by G42 in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle and Nvidia.

“It’s a matter of finding the space and striking the deal,” Abi Saab said.

UAE energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei on Tuesday warned that surging electricity demand from hyperscale computing infrastructure is putting pressure on long-term energy planning.

“It’s overwhelming, even for a country like the UAE,” he said.