Dubai: Iceland is working in partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) on a project to deliver sustainable food with a long shelf life using renewable technology.
The President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, spoke of the partnership during his public lecture titled The Clean Energy Economy: A Road to Recovery from a Financial Crisis at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies (ECSSR) in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Grimsson said the cooperation with Masdar and Irena is based on transferring knowledge and technology to different parts of the world and not on investments into either the UAE or Iceland.
Masdar did not respond to a request for comment. Irena could not be reached for comment.
Iceland uses cheap heat generated from renewables to dry out fish heads that are exported to Nigeria. Grimsson said the advantage of the drying out technique, which can be emulated on other meats and vegetables, is that it last for up to two years. He said a challenge for many developing countries is that they lack adequate refrigeration utilities.
Iceland, Masdar and Irena are currently conducting trial projects in a number of countries, Grimsson said. The project is still in its early stages with Grimsson saying that the partnership was about informing the world of that this can be done.
However, he said it needs cooperation to bring it forward.
