Masdar, Elite Agro roll out MENA’s first solar agriculture project

Masdar + Elite Agro boost solar farming with agriPV: State-owned renewables giant Masdar and Abu Dhabi-headquartered agrifood firm Elite Agro Holding will roll out the MENA region’s first agricultural photovoltaic (agriPV) project at Elite’s farm in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, according to a press release.

What’s an agriPV? The initiative integrates solar panels with greenhouses to facilitate dual-use land management, generating renewable power while maintaining crop cultivation. Shading provided by the solar panel mitigates heat and water stress, boosting crop yield stability, while the solar power generated can be used for farm operations including irrigation pumps and cold storage.

An eye to the future: Outcomes from the project will be used to look into scaling up the project to deploy across similar arid climates.

Astrazeneca will tap into Abu Dhabi’s biobank

Abu Dhabi Biobank — which stores blood samples — and global biopharma player Astrazeneca are teaming up on precision med. and genomics, looking to turn research into clinical applications, according to a statement. The two will use insights based on population analysis to expedite applications from research to clinical practice for rare and hard-to-diagnose illnesses.

Is this the Biobank’s first major utilization? Abu Dhabi Biobank has previously supported research and public health initiatives, but this appears to be one of its first high-profile collaborations with a global pharma company focused explicitly on drug development and precision med., rather than population screening or academic research.

Why it matters: The agreement fits into Abu Dhabi’s broader push to industrialize genomics as part of its economic diversification and AI ambitions, with the UAE already home to the world’s largest genomic database thanks to the Emirates Genome Program. Abu Dhabi also holds 3.5 bn clinical records across 12.7 mn patient profiles, with a new biobank up to 10x larger expected this year.

Kezad Group inks 50-year land lease with Jotun Abu Dhabi

Jotun signs on for 50 years with AED 450 mn Kezad facility: AD Ports subsidiary Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (Kezad) inked a 50-year land lease agreement with paint and coating manufacturer Jotun Abu Dhabi for a new AED 450 mn manufacturing facility in Kezad Musaffah’s ICAD, according to a press release.

The details: The 88k sqm plant marks an expansion from Jotun’s existing 22k sqm site, aimed at producing specialized paints and coatings to serve the region’s construction, energy, and real estate sectors. The UAE is seeing a surge in demand for the products on the back of construction growth, the release read.

GSU, China collaborate on clean energy

GSU and China’s Weiheng partner on clean energy tech for Global South: Emirati resources investment firm Global South Utilities (GSU) partnered with Chinese battery energy storage provider Weiheng to produce clean energy technologies in Abu Dhabi, state news agency Wam reports. The tie-up will see GSU use its market access and project implementation tools to direct Weiheng’s storage tech to commercial and industry projects in the Global South.

Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners backs Bain Capital’s latest fund

Joint venture Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners committed toinvest in Bain Capital’s new private equity fund, Wam reports. Bain primarily operates in the financial and business services, healthcare, industrials, and tech sectors. The size of the investment from the JV between Mubadala Capital and investment firm Alpha Wave Global wasn’t disclosed.

Track record: Mubadala and Bain Capital already operate together at the asset level. Last December, the pair acquired US-based Service Logic, a North Carolina-headquartered commercial HVAC and building automation platform.

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