First day of WETEX 2025 hosts 37 seminars
The first day of the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) hosted 37 specialised seminars. WETEX is being organised by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) from 30 September to 2 October 2025 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Main Seminars
The main seminars were held under the themes ‘Powering Sustainable Mobility: Building the UAE’s EV Charging Ecosystem’, ‘Powering Green Transport: The Future of EVS and Charging Infrastructure’, ‘Next-Gen Grid Resilience: The vPAC Alliance Software-Defined Architecture for Virtualised Substation Automation’, ‘Energy Storage Technologies (Lithium-ion)’, and ‘Energy Efficiency, Sustainability and Conservation’.
During ‘Empowering Human Capital for a Sustainable and Digital Energy Future – Reimagining Workforce Development for Utilities in the Digital Age’, Khawla Al Nuaimi, Human Capital Executive Director at EWEC, said: “The energy transition is fundamentally a human endeavor, not merely a technological one. While digital transformation—driven by AI and smart data—makes our operations more proactive and efficient, its true potential is unlocked only when our people are prepared to thrive in this new environment. Achieving our ambitious net-zero targets requires more than technology; it demands inclusive and diverse teams that blend the deep expertise of seasoned professionals with the bold, adaptive mindset of the next generation. We must therefore foster a continuous culture of learning and shift our collective mindset from simply keeping up with change to leading it.”
During ‘Navigating the Energy Transition: Innovation, Security and Sustainable Growth’ session, ACWA Power highlighted its achievements in spearheading the global energy transition, with a strong focus on innovation, security, and sustainable growth showcased at WETEX in Dubai. Operating 109 projects across 15 countries, ACWA Power delivers 94 GW of power and 9.9 million m³/day of desalinated water, positioning it as the world’s largest private water company.
Siemens experts, at ‘From Gridlock to Resilience: Powering the Future with AI and Sustainability’ seminar highlighted the immense pressure on today's power grids, caught between the push for Net Zero and the accelerating energy demand of AI. They described this challenge as a "gridlock," where aging infrastructure designed for unidirectional power flow is now overwhelmed by renewables and the spatially concentrated, high-demand data centers.
Renewables and Sustainability Seminars
Renewables and Sustainability Seminars included the themes ‘Introduction by Clean Energy Business Council MENA’, ‘Solar PV Market Update – From Cost Decline to Energy Security’, ‘Digital Grids and Load Balancing in the Age of Renewables’, ‘Digital Grids and Load Balancing in the Age of Renewables’, ‘Water Security and Energy Policy – A Linked Agenda’, and ‘Delivering Water and Energy Access for a Net-Zero Future’.
During ‘Grid-Ready Energy Systems – Storage, Hydrogen & Flexibility’, panelists explained how to make power systems renewables-ready. Digitalisation—sensors, analytics, AI—enables two-way grids to forecast weather impacts, pinpoint faults, automate restoration (ADMS), and coordinate distributed resources (DERMS), extracting more from existing assets.
Mohamed Daoud, VP – Grid Automation MEA, Hitachi Energy, said: “IEA data indicates that by 2050 roughly 90% of global energy could be renewable, moving us from predictable, centralised systems to distributed, variable ones.
At ‘Decarbonising Desalination in the Gulf – Tech & Pathways’ session, Arnaud Delamare, Partner at Oliver Wyman, explored how the growing reliance on desalination, vital for water security across the Middle East, presents major energy and carbon challenges.
Water Seminars
The themes of the Water Seminars included ‘Shaping the Future of Dubai’s Water: Sustainability through Efficiency, Innovation, AI and Reliability’, ‘Your Sewer is Talking, are You Listening? – Reduce Costs, Maintain Compliance and Protect Communities with Smart Sewer Monitoring’, nanofiltration (NF), and ultrafiltration (UF) systems with unmatched flexibility, precision and ease of use’ and ‘Vontron SWRO Membranes with High Rejection Rate and PURO Membranes for Wastewater Reclaim’.
During ‘The Value of Continuous Water Quality Monitoring in Distribution Networks’ seminar, Tristan Prager, Business Manager for International Metropolitan at Badger Meter, provided a presentation exploring how continuous water quality monitoring is reshaping the future of water distribution.
During ‘AquaPro design software: MANN+HUMMEL’s next-generation membrane system design software empowering water professionals to simulate and optimise reverse osmosis (RO) session, MANN+HUMMEL Water and Membrane Solutions introduced the latest version of the AquaPro Design Software, a comprehensive tool for designing ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis systems.
Innovation and the Future Seminars
The themes of the Innovation and the Future seminars were ‘How SOCIALEYEZ Empowers Brands as a Sustainability Enabler’, ‘Modernising the grid with Cisco’, ‘Harnessing the Potential of the AI Revolution with Proper Security and Governance guardrails’, ‘Automating SCL Engineering’, and ‘Beyond Limits: Harnessing Wave Energy for a Sustainable Future’.
During ‘Sustainable water harvesting solutions – How WaHa is revolutionising Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG)’ seminar, WAHA has showcased groundbreaking advancements in Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG).
Health and Safety Hub Seminars
The themes of seminars that were part of the Health and Safety Conference included ‘Health and Well-Being in Sustainable Communities’, ‘Awareness of Safety and Security in the Living Environment’, ‘Care2Lead: Redefining the Future of Safety Leadership’, ‘Creating a Culture of Safety: Best Practices and Innovations’, ‘Leadership and Strategy in Innovative OHS’, ‘Safer Places: The Power of Holistic Well-Being at Work’ and ‘Leveraging Smart Technologies and AI for Health, Safety and Wellbeing in High-Risk Environments’.
During ‘The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Occupational Health and Safety in Industries’ panel discussion, speakers explored how AI can lift safety performance when deployed under strong governance. They argued that AI should enhance, not replace, human decision-making to reduce errors, especially since 88% of generative AI users are nontechnical, creating new risks. Speakers advocated human-in-the-loop oversight to curb errors and manage emerging cybersecurity exposures.
During ‘Eliminating the risk of serious harm in heavy industry’ seminar, Najeeba Hassan Al Jabri, Chief ESG & Sustainability Officer at Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Our foremost priority is eliminating the risk of serious harm in heavy industry by embedding a culture of ‘zero harm’ across all our operations. At EGA, safety is not just a policy—it is the foundation of our growth strategy to 2040, where we aim to expand production from 3 million to 7 million tonnes annually, both in the UAE and globally.
SRM Seminars
These interactive seminars and panel discussions were designed to strengthen co-operation between DEWA and suppliers, enhance partnerships and drive efforts to promote sustainability and the circular economy.
DEWA's Supply Chain management discussed an end-to-end, fully digital supplier journey, registration (typically within 24 hours with complete documents), transparent sourcing via RFX by category, and three tender routes (open, selected, single) with opening results and total prices published online for the last six months.