It seems the focus lately in the car world has been on electric vehicles, and though Lexus brought its LS600h hybrid to the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, other stands proved there is more to the future of motoring than just a plug.
Some car makers brought cars and even motorcycles powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Hyundai and Kia had the most production-ready fuel cell vehicle of the show in the form of its Hyundai Tucson. The crossovers are already being tested on roads in Korea, and the car maker plans to bring the fleet up to 100 cars this year.
"This is the second-generation vehicle for us," says Jung Dae-Sup, research engineer for fuel cell vehicles at Hyundai/Kia, as he points to the Tucson. "Our third-generation vehicle, a Kia Borrego, will be larger, with more power and a greater range."
The Tucson on display has a range of 350km; the third-generation Borrego travels about 750km on a full tank. The car company has been getting about 100km per every kilogram of hydrogen on board.
Jung says that, while the testing is going well, the company doesn't foresee fuel cell vehicles in showrooms before 2015, mainly due to the cost of the power supplies. Hyundai/Kia are working at finding new materials for the fuel cell to bring the cost down.
Nissan had a cutaway example of a fuel cell-powered car on display, which showed the hydrogen tank, the power supply under the bonnet and the fuelling nozzle. The company has vehicles undergoing tests in both Japan and the US.
"Currently, this car is very expensive," says Tatsuro Kibe of Nissan's fuel cell laboratory. "But from 2015, we and other car makers will start mass-producing fuel cells, which will hopefully bring the prices down.
"But we need hydrogen stations. Currently, very few countries have hydrogen fuel stations. We wanted to show this vehicle to people in the Middle East," says Tatsuro, "because electric vehicles may not be sufficient for this area (due to heat and travel distances)."
At the Siemens booth, Ruf, the tuning house for Porsche, had its eRuf Greenster drawing crowds. Basically, it's a Porsche 911 Targa with an electric motor and batteries supplied by Siemens. Being based on a Porsche means Ruf couldn't squander the car's performance, and it didn't: the two-seat sports car goes from 0-to-100kph in five seconds.
There were two fuel cell concept motorcycles on display: a radically designed Scoophin from Korea and a more conventional example from Yamaha. But what sets the Yamaha two-wheeler apart is that it's powered by a methanol fuel cell instead of hydrogen.
Sitting on the floor of Al Masaood's display was an electric dirt bike. The Quantya looks very similar to a 150cc petrol-powered bike, apart from the black box of the battery located where the engine should be. Zaki Ben Yahya, sales manager with Enviromotion in Abu Dhabi, says the bike can get between one to three hours of use on a single charge, depending on its use. It can be yours for Dh42,000.
But alternative power wasn't constrained to the street. In Dubai, the famous abras of the Dubai Creek are getting an ecological makeover by an Austrian company based in Ras al Khaimah. Michael Themel, the managing director of Salzburg AG Utilities UAE, says his company is in the process of not only retrofitting the traditional, diesel-powered boats with CNG engines, but actually making them modern vessels while still keeping their ancient facades.
"These are heavy, old boats; there is a lot of room for improvement. We took the boat out of the water and dried it, because it soaks up a lot of water, and treated its hull to waterproof it.
"In fact, when we took the boat out of the water it weighed 9.2 tons, and when it was fully dried three months later it weighed 6.9 tons. We were shocked, we thought it would be about 500kg of water.
"We used another Austrian company that works with carbon fibre sandwich hulls, which are installed in the boat. Everything inside is modern, but we keep the heritage of the old boats."
The RTA had a Salzburg CNG-powered abra testing in the creek but it was damaged when a rope got caught in the propeller. Themel expects to have the repaired abra back in the Creek in about four weeks. Eventually, the plan is to replace 40 of the 150 abras currently running on the creek.
Apart from passenger cars, green commercial vehicles were also on display at the energy summit including small electric trucks and a hydrogen fuel cell baggage truck for airports. Tristan Durivault, export manager for France-based Goupil Industrie, attended the summit looking for a UAE distributor for the company's electric utility vehicles. "It has to be the right distributor," he says.
Goupil produces two tip-trucks of different heights as well as box vans which are commonly used in France by delivery companies.
They run on a bank of 24 two- volt batteries located behind the driver cabin and have an approximate retail price of ?18,000 (Dh95,168).
"You charge them overnight for eight to 10 hours and that should be enough for all day, around 80km, up to 100km with the long charge vehicles," Durivault explains.
For now, Europe is Goupil's main market with 65 per cent of their stocks sold in France and the remaining 35 per cent across other European countries, but the company is keen to expand into the Middle East and North Africa.
"We mostly sell them to local councils, universities [in Europe] but who knows - out here, maybe palaces," says Durivault with a smile.
The Silent Motor Company, based in the Netherlands, did not have any prototypes on their stand at the summit because their hydrogen fuel cell-powered airport baggage truck is currently being tested at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
Joris H. Mulder, marketing manager for The Silent Motor Company, says the baggage trucks could help reduce noise and air pollution.
"Airports cause a lot of pollution with the planes and noise pollution but these vehicles solve both problems as they are silent and the only emissions are water vapour," says Mulder. "It should go into production next year."
Unlike electric vehicles, the baggage truck has a range comparable to that of a petrol or diesel engine vehicle and does not have the inconvenience of requiring a lengthy charging time.
"It has a range of 300-400km and can be filled as easily as a car," says Mulder. A hydrogen filling station has been installed at Schiphol Airport for the trial. The truck costs up to ?30,000 (Dh158,312).
"We would like these to be at airports all over the world."
nvorano@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Georgia Lewis
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Dunki
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rajkumar%20Hirani%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Taapsee%20Pannu%2C%20Vikram%20Kochhar%20and%20Anil%20Grover%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
British Grand Prix free practice times in the third and final session at Silverstone on Saturday (top five):
1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:28.063 (18 laps)
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1:28.095 (14)
3. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1:28.137 (20)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 1:28.732 (15)
5. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Renault) 1:29.480 (14)
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
RACECARD%20
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Teenage%20Mutant%20Ninja%20Turtles%3A%20Shredder's%20Revenge
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETribute%20Games%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dotemu%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20One%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
