CBC at ACWA Innovation Days 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Strategic MoUs, WCSA2025 Ceremony, Leadership TV & China 2026 Expansion
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The CleanTech Business Club (CBC) proudly participated in ACWA Innovation Days 2026 in Riyadh — a three-day global forum that attracted more than 1500 registrations and resulted in the signing of 27 strategic memoranda of understanding across green hydrogen, advanced desalination technologies, long-duration energy storage systems and industrial AI.
Watch ACWA Innovation Days 2026 & WCSA2025 Ceremony Snapshot — #TogetherWeAreStronger in Action
Held under the patronage of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy and aligned with Vision 2030, the event positioned the Kingdom as a global scaling engine for integrated water–energy–hydrogen–AI systems. Key institutional partners included King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), reinforcing the strong convergence between research excellence and industrial deployment.
A defining highlight was the unveiling of ACWA’s new brand identity, reflecting its evolution into a global infrastructure platform guided by Integrity, Ingenuity and Impact. For CBC, this people-centred vision strongly resonates with our Human-to-Human leadership philosophy — built on trust, long-term partnerships and measurable impact across ecosystems.
CBC Family Leaders attended the Innovation Days Gala as VIP guests, celebrating alongside global partners the shared ambition to accelerate systemic transformation.
Two Strategic MoUs Strengthening Global Ecosystems
CBC’s participation was marked by two important strategic partnerships announced during the forum.
ACWA – NEIAAP (SNEC) – CBC
CBC joined ACWA and the New Energy Industry Association for Asia and the Pacific (NEIAAP) — organiser of SNEC — to deepen collaboration across CleanTech, energy storage, hydrogen, AI and digitalisation.
This partnership builds on years of trusted cooperation and will drive:
The Global StorageVersity Innovation Challenge
The Global Clean Hydrogen Innovation Hackathon (China Edition)
Expanded cross-continental ecosystem mobilisation
Importantly, it was confirmed during ACWA Innovation Days 2026 that the first regional edition of the Innovation Days platform will be hosted in Shanghai:
ACWA Innovation Days China 2026 I 7-8 October 2026 | Shanghai
The event will be organised in partnership with SNEC and CBC, preceding SNEC H2 & ES week. This expansion marks a significant step in the internationalisation of the Innovation Days platform, extending its ecosystem impact from Riyadh to East Asia and strengthening cross-continental collaboration.
Watch brief leadership insights from Thomas Altmann (ACWA) on this strategic partnership or learn more here
ACWA – IRESEN – CBC
CBC also signed a strategic collaboration with IRESEN (Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies), anchoring global hydrogen cooperation with Morocco at its core.
This partnership focuses on:
The Global Clean Hydrogen Innovation Hackathon and its central flagship event in Morocco
Coordination of regional brainstorming events across Australia, China, India, Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, UAE and Saudi Arabia
Integration with CBC’s Quo Vadis Clean Hydrogen (QVCH) – Hydrogen Tipping Points Initiative
The initiative is aligned with CBC ecosystem building in Morocco, including:
The Joint Center of Excellence in Clean Hydrogen at École Hassania des Travaux Publics (EHTP), Casablanca
Capacity building and long-term ecosystem development
Watch brief leadership insights from Thomas Altmann (ACWA) and Dr. Samir Rachidi (IRESEN) on this strategic collaboration or learn more here
WCSA2025 – ACWA Innovation Award, Ceremony Saudi Arabia
A major highlight was the WCSA2025 Saudi Arabia Awards Ceremony held at the main stage.
The WCSA2025 ACWA Innovation Award was presented to Hysata, recognised for its high-efficiency capillary-fed electrolysis technology — a breakthrough solution addressing critical hydrogen tipping points.
In addition, CBC awarded a Finalist Diploma to Glencal Technology Co., Ltd. for its zero-OPEX desalination and mineral recovery technology — reflecting Innovation Days’ strong emphasis on next-generation desalination systems, a central theme of the forum.
See the whole report: Hysata Wins WCSA2025 ACWA Innovation Award — Jury Announces Next Global Ceremonies in Morocco & Germany and WCSA2026 Launching Ceremony in China here
CBC Leadership TV – Studio Edition
Throughout the forum, CBC hosted seven CBC Leadership TV interviews at the joint CBC–ACWA–SNEC booth. Four episodes are already available, with three additional interviews to be released in the coming days.
The joint booth stood as a visible symbol of #TogetherWeAreStronger — demonstrating how ecosystem alignment accelerates transformation.
See the latest CBC Leadership TV interviews here
From Riyadh to Shanghai – A Global Innovation Axis
Innovation Days 2026 confirmed Saudi Arabia’s role as a global testbed and scaling engine for integrated infrastructure systems — hydrogen, desalination, energy storage and AI.
The decision to expand Innovation Days to Shanghai in 2026 marks a pivotal step in building a Riyadh–Shanghai innovation axis, connecting Middle Eastern ambition with Asian industrial scale.
Appreciation
CBC extends its sincere gratitude to the ACWA Innovation Team — including Thomas Altmann and colleagues — for their outstanding organisation, openness and partnership.
ACWA Innovation Days 2026 demonstrated that transformation is no longer conceptual. It is structured, institutional and accelerating.
When ecosystems align, innovation scales. #TogetherWeAreStronger
Photo Impressions from WCSA2025 Saudi Arabia Ceremony and ACWA Innovation Days 2026
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