IRENA at the World Future Energy Summit 2026
The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) serves as a global platform for advancing sustainable development. Commencing with the sixteenth session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly, the week convenes a diverse gathering of policymakers, industry specialists, technological innovators, and emerging leaders in sustainability. Through a variety of initiatives and events, ADSW aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, implementation of strategies, and provision of solutions to drive progress towards sustainable development. The week will feature a series of high-level sessions focused on the key priorities for sustainable development.
As the largest event during ADSW, the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) is a driving force for innovation, collaboration and thought leadership in renewable energy and sustainability. Now in its 18th edition, the Summit is a vital platform that bridges policy with real-world action and business growth. As part of the week's proceedings, IRENA will host and actively participate in a number of WFES events taking place between January 13 - 15 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
The flagship event, IRENA Innovation Day on Shaping a Competitive and Renewable-Powered Industry taking place on January 13 will bring together a diverse mix of policymakers and innovators to explore how innovative solutions can shape a competitive and decarbonised industry sector. IRENA's Innovation Days take place in different regions around the world with the aim to showcase emerging innovations and inform and inspire broader and faster uptake of innovative solutions that can help deliver a renewable future. Building on a series of Innovation Days in Uruguay, Thailand, Turkey, Canada and at the UAE in the World Future Energy Summit in 2025, this event follows discussions from the IRENA Innovation Week 2025.
IRENA Events at WFES 2026
IRENA events at Stand 3450, Hall 3 and IRENA Innovation Day: Shaping a Competitive and Renewable-Powered Industry at FUSE AI Stage, Hall 1.
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IRENA Innovation Day Shaping a Competitive and Renewable-Powered Industry 13:00 – 16:00 | FUSE AI Stage | Hall 1 |
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| 13:00 – 13:20 |
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Opening Session Welcome remarks |
| 13:20 – 14:30 |
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Scaling Renewables in Industry: Innovations in Integrating Renewables in Heavy Industries This session explores innovations that enable decarbonisation of heavy industries with renewables, particularly how renewable electricity can be sourced and integrated into various industrial processes. |
| 14:30 – 14:40 |
| Networking break |
| 14:40 – 15:50 |
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Aligning Industry and Policy: Participatory Energy Planning for Decarbonizing Heavy Industries This session explores participatory energy planning processes that bring industry and government together, ensuring alignment between industrial decarbonisation strategies and national plans to secure the grid access, policy frameworks, and infrastructure needed for competitive renewable-powered operations. |
| 15:50 – 16:00 |
| Closing Remarks |
| IRENA Pavillion: Hall 3 | Stand 3450 |
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| 12:00 – 13:30 Climate Data to Action: Enhancing Clean Energy Resilience and Mitigation with Climate Services |
| 14:00 – 15:30 Advancing Progress on Energy Storage and Grids - UNEZA |
| 16:00 – 17:30 Global Wind Readiness: Harmonising International Wind Standards with JOBS4RE |
| IRENA Pavillion: Hall 3 | Stand 3450 |
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| 08:30 – 10:00 Powering Inclusive Growth from Potential to Prosperity: Opportunities and Trade-offs in Green Hydrogen (PARTNER EVENT) |
| 10:00 – 11:30 Accelerating Egypt’s Renewable Energy Transition – From Potential to Systemic Deployment |
| 12:00 – 13:30 Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Energy Access and the Energy Transition |
| 14:00 – 15:30 Financing Industrial Decarbonization Across Global Supply Chains |
| 16:00 – 17:30 IRENA NewGen Hackathons: Unlocking RE Solutions wordwide |
| IRENA Pavillion: Hall 3 | Stand 3450 |
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| 10:00 – 11:30 Bridging the Gap: Financing a Just and Inclusive Energy Transition |
| 12:00 – 13:30 Data Governance to Intelligence: Designing AI-Ready Data Ecosystems for the Energy Transition |
| 14:00 – 15:30 Global Landscape of Energy Transition Finance |
| 16:00 – 17:30 Aligning Investments and Policies: How Renewable Energy Delivers on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) |