Saudi energy giant settled in Shanghai.

On March 7, the Saudi International Power and Water Company (ACWA Power) announced the opening of its first overseas innovation center in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. The first phase of the innovation center has an investment of 20 million yuan, focusing on innovative research and development in five major fields: photovoltaic, wind power, energy storage, green hydrogen and seawater desalination.

"The ACWA Power Global Innovation Center serves two roles. The first is to help China's industrial chain better achieve globalization," said Lv Yunhe, general manager of ACWA Power China, and second, we hope to rely on the technical solutions of China's industrial chain to generate innovative technologies on the application side within the company to support the company's business development.

Lv Yunhe pointed out that ACWA Power, as the largest purchaser of the R&D results of the Innovation Center, can promote the innovative products developed to the world through the application platform.

Founded in 2004, ACWA Power is the world's largest privately owned desalination company and a major operator of renewable energy projects. According to the official website, the company's portfolio is valued at US$107.5 billion (about 777 billion yuan), which can generate 78.85 GW of electricity and produce 9.5 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day.

At the beginning of 2025, ACWA Power announced the official launch of its business in the Chinese market, signing project agreements with a total installed capacity of more than 1 GW in several provinces.

Among them, the company signed the first agreement with a subsidiary of Sungrow Power Supply (300274.SZ) to jointly put into operation 132 MW of solar PV assets in Guangdong Province, consisting of three stations; Signed a cooperation agreement with Mingyang Intelligent (601615.SH) for an initial portfolio of 200 MW wind power projects.

ACWA Power plans to invest a total of US$30 billion (about 216.8 billion yuan) in China by 2030, and simultaneously promote its global layout, tripling its global assets under management to US$250 billion (about 1.8 trillion yuan). At that time, the Chinese market will account for one-third of ACWA Power's AUM.

Before entering the Chinese market, ACWA Power has cooperated with Chinese enterprises around the world, and is also the "financier" of many Chinese new energy companies.

For example, photovoltaic companies such as Tongwei (600438.SH), JinkoSolar (688223.SH), and Jolywood (300393.SZ) supply photovoltaic projects in ACWA Power in the Middle East and other places.

In October 2024, ACWA Power also signed a joint development agreement with the Moroccan subsidiary of Chinese battery producer Gotion Hi-Tech (002074.SZ) to develop a 500-megawatt wind power plant in Morocco with a 2,000-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system, with an initial investment of US$800 million (about 5.8 billion yuan).

Recently, Bart Boesmans, chief technology officer (CTO) of ACWA Power, pointed out in an exclusive interview with Jiemian News that at present, China is in a leading position in the field of renewable energy and other technologies, and all solar photovoltaic projects launched by ACWA Power around the world use modules provided by Chinese suppliers.

He hopes that the Global Innovation Center will become a hub for ACWA Power to connect with various partners, conduct research and promote deeper cooperation in China in the future.

Mr. Bosemans has more than 25 years of international experience in the power industry, having held operational and executive leadership roles in a variety of areas including engineering, business development, project execution and asset management. Prior to joining ACWA Power, Mr. Bosmans spent more than 10 years at the Engie Group in France.

Image source: ACWA Power

The following is an abridged transcript of the interview, which was abridged at the time of publication.

Jiemian News: In recent years, ACWA Power has continued to expand the Chinese market and put forward the goal of investing a total of 30 billion US dollars in China by 2030. Can you share some details about your investment plan?

Bart Bosmans: Since its establishment 20 years ago, ACWA Power has been working closely with suppliers, contractors, financial institutions and equity partners in the Chinese market. As a leading company in the industry, market expansion is still necessary for ACWA Power.

Entering China was a natural choice and we are proud to join forces with a number of Chinese partners to advance projects in this high-potential market.

As the world's largest privately owned desalination company, we are focused on renewable energy and desalination while also looking to bring ACWA Power's successful experience in the Middle East to the Chinese market.

In addition, we attach great importance to the development of the green hydrogen industry. In the Middle East, we are spearheading large-scale green hydrogen projects. We believe that cooperation with Chinese companies will bring more value to these projects.

We pay more attention to the value created by the project itself than the amount of investment. For a truly valuable project, it is important to think not only from a business perspective, but also how the project can better create value for the market.

Jiemian News: In which areas does Chinese enterprises have the greatest potential for cooperation with ACWA Power?

Bart Bosmans: At the moment, we are mainly focusing on three areas: renewable energy, desalination and green hydrogen. In 2024, we signed a number of cooperation agreements, including agreements with Chinese partners for renewable energy projects, with a total installed capacity of more than 1 GW.

Chinese companies are global leaders in all aspects of renewable energy technology. In the case of solar photovoltaic (PV), for example, all of the projects we launch globally use modules from Chinese suppliers. Thanks to favorable solar irradiation conditions and clear renewable energy targets, ACWA Power's PV deployment in the Middle East is progressing rapidly.

We also work with leading wind turbine manufacturers in China to develop wind power projects in Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as work with Chinese suppliers to advance inverter projects. The role of the inverter in the renewable energy system is crucial, it not only affects the system integration, but also determines the stability of the energy conversion.

In addition, we cooperate with Chinese suppliers in the field of battery energy storage systems (BESS), which is currently the most active area for technological innovation and development. Due to the limited supply stability of renewable energy, energy storage systems are critical to enable large-scale renewable energy deployment.

Jiemian News: What are the driving factors behind the decision of ACWA Power's Global Innovation Center in Shanghai? What are your expectations for the future contribution of the ACWA Power Global Innovation Center?

Bart Bosmans: ACWA Power is not a device manufacturer, so we innovate in a collaborative model, which we call open innovation.

Globally, we collaborate with industry leaders and research institutes on projects. We invited these partners to conduct extensive trials and tests with the help of ACWA Power's equipment, a collaborative model that has been successful in several countries, including Saudi Arabia.

In the future, we hope that the ACWA Power Global Innovation Center will not only serve as an R&D center, but also serve as a hub for us to connect with our partners, conduct research, and promote deeper cooperation in China.

We believe that Shanghai is the ideal location to realize all these ideas, and we are very grateful for the strong support of the Shanghai Municipal Government and the Pudong New Area Government. The opening of ACWA Power's Global Innovation Center will accelerate our technological innovation and create more value for the market."

Jiemian News: Compared with other international energy companies, ACWA Power is still a relatively young company, how is it different from other international energy companies in terms of technological innovation and strategic development?

Bart Bosmans: Unlike traditional utilities, ACWA Power started out as a private sector in the energy and desalination markets, so we're committed to reducing costs and providing more economical clean energy and desalinated water.

Our success stems from the application of advanced technology, ACWA Power was the first company to adopt membrane desalination technology on a large scale. We have also extended this technology to the renewable energy sector, optimizing energy costs in several projects around the world.

We also work closely with the entire supply chain to improve efficiency and optimize the supply chain during large-scale projects.

In the field of hydrogen energy, the company is also reducing energy costs through cutting-edge technologies, and hopes to lead the development of the industry in the field of green hydrogen in the future.

Interface News: Green hydrogen can provide flexibility for the power system, but it does not have a cost advantage at present. ACWA Power plans to deploy green hydrogen on a large scale, so how do you see the future of green hydrogen? What are the challenges to commercialization?

Bart Bosmans: ACWA Power is building one of the world's largest green hydrogen plants, which are currently 80% complete. Located in Saudi Arabia, the electrolysis plant has a total installed capacity of 2,200 MW and its main goal is to produce green hydrogen for export to other countries.

Unlike traditional energy storage, green hydrogen is an energy carrier. The use of green hydrogen is critical in sectors where electrification is restricted, such as oil refining, steelmaking, and some areas of transportation. Although the green hydrogen market is still small, it has been able to support multiple large-scale projects, which is of great significance for the future development of the industry.

The green hydrogen industry still has a lot of work to do in terms of technological optimization and innovation. This is because electrolysis technology was originally developed for the chemical industry to keep the operating conditions stable. Today, numerous laboratories and companies around the world are focusing on developing a new generation of electrolysis technologies specifically for green hydrogen, which will help drive the practical, large-scale application of green hydrogen.

Interface News: You are an expert in traditional energy and renewable energy. One of the major challenges of the current energy transition is that the large-scale integration of renewables can lead to the instability of the power grid. What do you think about this?

Bart Bosmans: The transition to renewable energy is a long-term process that requires systematic planning and stability management. Flexible resource adjustment is essential in the process of energy integration, which can be achieved through energy storage technologies, traditional power plants, demand management, and close regional and international grid interconnections.

The good news is that the energy transition, which has progressed over the years, now has the necessary technical foundation in place to allow renewables to account for 20%-40% of the total energy supply. The main challenges for further development are speed of deployment and cost control. In the long run, we still need further technological breakthroughs, especially to play an important role in the application of digital technology, smart grids, real-time monitoring and active control systems, will be the key technologies to maintain the balance between energy supply and demand.

Among them, smart grids can fully exploit the potential of demand management and are one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to maintain the stability of energy systems.

At present, most energy systems still follow the traditional model of supply following demand. However, this model needs to be optimized, and some energy demand can be adjusted according to the supply situation, for example to increase electricity consumption when renewable energy is abundant.

For data centers, it can still be challenging to keep them running around the clock while relying solely on renewable energy. But ACWA Power's data centers are widely distributed around the world, and some regions may have ample renewable energy, and we can offload the compute load from one data center to another, which is a typical demand management case.

China has a clear, science-based, long-term vision for the energy transition and already has the key elements needed to achieve it. At the same time, this transition will also make energy costs more economical. Due to the widespread use of renewable energy, the total cost of supplying electricity to households and countries is already significant, even when taking into account the cost of energy storage technology and mineral resources.

Jiemian News: You mentioned that the rise of data centers will bring about a continuous increase in power demand, in addition to this, what other industry trends have you observed recently? Especially in the renewable energy sector, are there technological breakthroughs, cost reductions, or other trends that are worth paying attention to?

Bart Bosmans: Overall, the demand for electricity will continue to grow worldwide. The proliferation of electric vehicles, the increasing demand for heat pumps in colder regions, and the acceleration of the overall electrification process are all factors driving the rise in electricity demand. This trend has been further accelerated by the development of data centers, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) technology continues to advance, and the market demand for computing power continues to rise.

It is estimated that by 2030, data center electricity consumption could increase by an additional 5%-10% on top of global electricity demand.

Renewable energy solutions have reached a relatively mature stage with high reliability and cost-effectiveness. The infrastructure of the overall energy system is already relatively well developed, but every year we continue to witness the latest innovations in photovoltaic modules, wind turbines, battery technology and other fields.

When we study more data, we can gain more additional value from it, and we can use it to optimize the management and operation of our energy systems. In recent years, ACWA Power has connected all project planning to a central data monitoring platform and runs intelligent analytics, machine learning, other types of artificial intelligence, and statistical modeling, which has helped us improve equipment performance, reduce downtime, and optimize overall efficiency.

With the large-scale deployment of these data technologies, power production, water management, energy transmission and consumption will be deeply integrated and become an important driving force for the energy transition.

Interface News: Artificial intelligence (AI) can also be a solution while increasing the demand for electricity. How do you see the role of AI in the energy system?

Bart Bosmans: As I mentioned earlier, data center power demand is expected to grow by 5%-10% over the next five years. In fact, many countries are already growing at an average annual rate of 5% in electricity demand, and if this growth can be managed, meeting the additional power demand of data centers is no longer a problem.

I believe that AI will play an important role in asset operation optimization as well as the development of new technologies. For example, in areas such as batteries and solar modules, we can use digital technology to advance materials science.

Now, we have to rely on physical testing in the lab to verify the viability of new materials. But in the future, we can use AI-driven simulation to evaluate new materials and molecular structures, which can greatly improve the performance of the technology. This model will not only improve R&D efficiency, but also accelerate the implementation of new technologies, and I am looking forward to this change.