RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — Saudi Arabia seeks to achieve leadership in renewable energy, secure its resources, and find long-term solutions by launching a large project that includes one of the world’s largest energy industry laboratories.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Energy statement, the new laboratory, inaugurated on January 30 by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, aims to localize services and industries, enhance local content, and build national expertise that will qualify the kingdom to achieve global leadership in various fields of energy.
The laboratory is expected to meet the needs of the electricity market and test equipment used in electrical networks throughout the kingdom, the Gulf, and other regions.
Ultra Labs
The Gulf International Laboratory Company complex is located in Dammam’s third industrial city. It includes a range of high-quality projects for laboratories and centers of excellence in renewable energy, smart networks, optical fibers, safety and fire prevention, equipment and electrical power laboratories, and the Gulf laboratory, which was established in 2016.
The complex, adjacent to King Salman Energy City, is the largest energy laboratory in the world, with an area of 170,000 square meters and a US$ 192 million investment by several leading entities in the kingdom and Gulf markets.
Under the supervision of the Higher Authority for Industrial Security, the complex also includes a laboratory specialized in safety and fire prevention, as well as laboratories for equipment and electrical power, whose electrical capabilities cover all equipment manufactured up to 550 kV and can be developed to 800 kV to include research and development projects and the future of regional and continental electrical interconnection.
Rehabilitation and consultation
In addition to testing and checking products, the laboratory works to localize the tests and services required to qualify, improve, and develop industries and products and increase the competitiveness of Saudi exports.
The complex aims to improve service levels, facility safety, efficiency, and environmental suitability and develop technical capabilities in consulting, studies, accident investigation, asset management, and training.
The Gulf laboratory has received several Saudi, Gulf, and international accreditations, as well as a number of enabling global partnerships with world leaders in energy, industry, and technology.
First of its kind project
This is the first project of its kind in the Gulf and the Middle East, and it aims to benefit all sectors in the region that rely on the electrical industry.
According to Muhammad Al-Maeili, senior deputy for operations in the Gulf laboratory, the number of similar international accredited laboratories currently is at most 5, putting the Kingdom on the map of the knowledge economy in this field.
In an interview with the Saudi newspaper “Al-Riyadh,” Al-Maeili revealed that the laboratory’s actual start was at the beginning of the year 2020, when the Minister of Energy inaugurated the first solar energy laboratory, with investments in the Gulf laboratory for electric power equipment totaling US$ 213.2 million.
At the time, he stated that all laboratories were nearly complete. Five laboratories have been gradually operational, with an 80% to 90% completion rate. All laboratories are expected to be completed in late 2023, as the laboratory focuses on localizing the electrical testing industry as a primary enabler for national initiatives and enhancing their competitiveness, pointing out that most electrical equipment in Gulf markets undergoes the necessary tests.
According to Al-Maeili, the Gulf laboratory would be a critical pillar in the localization of the electric energy industry in such laboratories, as well as the localization of human cadres, as national cadres make up 90% of the workforce in the renewable energy laboratory.
During the previous year, the laboratory contributed to the first tests for solar panels manufactured in the kingdom and exported to the European continent and tests for solar panels manufactured elsewhere.
Strategic initiative
The Gulf Laboratory Company for Electrical Equipment Testing is one of Saudi Arabia’s most important strategic projects.
According to the company’s official website, the laboratory was established by 10 entities, and they represent significant entities working in energy, efficiency, and quality tests in the kingdom and the Arabian Gulf.
The Saudi Electricity Company, Saudi Aramco, the Public Investment Fund, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, the Gulf Interconnection Authority, Motabaqa Company, Al-Fanar Company, ACWA Power, the Electrical Industries Company, and the Saudi Electromechanical Services Company are among the most prominent of these companies.
This collaboration aims to achieve global leadership in testing, quality, conformity, and calibration, as well as to localize this expertise at the highest levels in the Saudi and Gulf markets and to provide services in the fields of electric power, renewable energy, smart grids, engineering consultancy, calibration and inspection, training, and research and development.
According to the announced figures, the laboratory will save more than US$ 266.5 million in the field of testing energy devices by eliminating tests conducted outside the kingdom. The laboratory is expected to grow by entering international contracts and partnerships to provide its services to the world’s energy, industry, and technology leaders, which will undoubtedly generate significant economic returns.