UAE EXERGY a Global Game Changer in the digital energy revolution

UAE EXERGY a Global Game Changer in the digital energy revolution

In the global race to harness computing power, energy has emerged as the defining factor. Nations and organizations alike are accelerating energy infrastructure development to meet the surging demand fueled by data-driven economies. Yet, the path to this energy transformation is fraught with complexities—from securing resources to deploying infrastructure, and finally, commercializing compute capacities for applications such as bitcoin mining and AI workloads. In this context, energy is not just the enabler but the ultimate determinant of success. This is why UAE’s Exergy could be a global game changer.

The Decentralization Dilemma

Can we achieve truly decentralized, sovereign digital economies with global reach when the game is so heavily reliant on power? While the technology exists to enable such an ambitious vision, the question remains whether capital can be directed toward achieving it at scale. With an estimated $1 trillion expected to be invested in energy innovation, there’s an opportunity to build global distributed energy infrastructure using modular and remote compute technologies.

By focusing on underdeveloped and marginalized regions, private capital can drive global connectivity while bypassing the bureaucratic barriers that often stifle innovation. This could foster wealth creation in areas historically disadvantaged by geopolitical agendas.

The UAE’s Digital Energy Vision

A shining example of forward-thinking energy strategy is the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Despite global economic turbulence, the UAE has proven its resilience, emerging stronger post-COVID and in the midst of regional turmoil in surrounding countries, taking a leadership position in the regional virtual asset ecosystem. From Web3 advancements to Bitcoin mining, and now AI, the UAE has embraced technology to fuel economic growth.

However, rapid technological progress also brings challenges—particularly the rising energy consumption associated with AI and deep tech. Addressing this requires bold and forward-looking investments. Enter EXERGY, a revolutionary international energy investment company launched by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of Masdar.

Global Energy Demand in the AI Era

As Dr. Al Jaber highlighted, global energy demand is set to rise dramatically, increasing from 9,000 GW to 15,000 GW by 2035 and potentially reaching 35,000 GW by 2050—a staggering 250% increase. The rise of AI applications like ChatGPT, which consumes ten times the energy of a single Google search, is accelerating this trajectory.

Without diversified energy solutions, meeting this demand sustainably will be nearly impossible. EXERGY addresses this by optimizing energy production and usage across the spectrum—from traditional fuels to low-carbon alternatives and advanced infrastructure.

The essence of this challenge lies in the economic implications of insufficient energy infrastructure to power AI deployments. Nations that fail to establish sovereign compute capabilities could face economic stagnation. In the next five years, such nations may struggle to compete globally, reinforcing the urgency of energy-centric national policies.

The following graphs illustrate electricity demand from data centers, artificial intelligence, and digital asset mining worldwide in 2022, with a forecast for 2026, by scenario.

EXERGY: A Blueprint for the Future

EXERGY’s innovative structure embodies efficiency and adaptability. Dr. Al Jaber’s vision is rooted in maximizing every energy unit, spark, and joule—a philosophy that aligns with PermianChain’s mantra of “creating wealth from every watt.” By investing in diverse energy technologies, EXERGY offers a scalable model for nations to secure economic prosperity in the digital age.

At PermianChain, similar principles drive our efforts. Through our global digital energy market, we’ve aggregated over 500 MW of distributed alternative energy projects to serve underserved markets. This approach exemplifies how modern energy investments can transform underdeveloped regions by accelerating digital transformation and fostering exponential growth.

The Role of Innovation in Efficiency

Innovation is not just about finding new energy sources but about optimizing existing systems. For instance, NEXGEN, one of our companies, aligns closely with EXERGY’s strategy by adopting cutting-edge technologies to maximize energy efficiency. As global energy demand rises, such approaches will be critical, particularly in energy-intensive sectors like AI computing.

Equity in Energy Access

Equity in energy access is essential for global progress. With over 1.7 billion people living off-grid or without reliable utility connectivity, vast populations are excluded from the potential of digital economies. Distributed energy solutions offer a pathway to bridge this gap, enabling marginalized communities to participate in and benefit from the global digital revolution.

The Path Forward

By embracing a diversified and efficiency-driven approach will require collaboration, innovation, and a relentless commitment to sustainability from industry stakeholders and global public and private capital markets.

As Dr. Al Jaber rightly emphasized, reliance on a single energy source is not a viable solution. Instead, a comprehensive strategy combining traditional and emerging technologies is imperative. Only by taking this holistic approach can we meet the demands of an increasingly interconnected and data-driven world while preserving the planet for future generations.

Conclusion

The launch of EXERGY is more than an investment in energy; it’s an investment in the future. By championing distributed, efficient, and inclusive energy systems, the UAE is leading the charge in creating a sustainable digital economy. As nations navigate the complexities of energy transformation, the new digital energy frontier offers a powerful blueprint for aligning innovation with equity and sustainability.

In a world where energy is the key to unlocking economic growth, it’s time for global leaders to prioritize bold and forward-thinking strategies. Only then can we truly harness the potential of the digital age while ensuring prosperity for all.

Written by Mohamed El Masri, Founder of PermianChain and originally published in his blog.

Tune in to my podcast at Drilling into Crypto to explore the world of finance, energy and modern technologies.

UAE Hodler Investments and EHC Investment to develop digital energy market for AI, Blockchain digital asset datacenters

UAE Hodler Investments and EHC Investment to develop digital energy market for AI, Blockchain digital asset datacenters

HODLER INVESTMENTS, a UAE based investment company, headquartered in the Dubai, which includes in its portfolio energy, AI, and digital asset mining startups such as PermianChain, Brox Equity and others; and Abu Dhabi’s EHC Investment which leads multiple businesses with operations and investments across the energy, infrastructure, firefighting technology and system integration services have signed a strategic partnership to launch NEXGEN.

NEXGEN will support the creation of a compliant digital energy market to supply critical energy infrastructure that will monetize wasted energy such as flared gas in the UAE, KSA, and Egypt with the aim of hosting global data center operators, reducing carbon emissions and contributing the Digital Energy Infrastructure (DEI) Fund, a local decarbonization innovation fund.

The UAE is a strong supporter of the decarbonization initiative. Over the past 15 years, the UAE has invested more than US$40 billion in clean energy projects. Globally, the UAE supports green infrastructure, investing approximately $16.8 billion in renewable energy projects across 70 countries, primarily in developing nations. It has also provided over $400 million in aid and soft loans for clean energy initiatives.

Moustafa Rashad, Chief Executive Officer of EHC Investment added, “Our partnership with HOLDER INVESTMENTS will solve various challenges facing the energy sector in MENA. We believe that modern technology coupled with smart capital can accelerate decarbonization and address the renewable funding gap. This partnership will address market challenges of commercializing wasted and underutilized energy, while streamlining regulatory compliance for this newfound digital energy market, ensuring compliance with key systems and controls.”

Mohamed El Masri, Managing Director of HOLDER INVESTMENTS, stated, “Our strategic alliance with EHC Investment will accelerate our mission to build distributed energy infrastructure to power compute clusters that optimize wasted energy resources and build equitable energy infrastructure that strengthens the regional position for integrating data mining systems that support a sovereign digital economy.”

The strategic partnership with EHC Investment comes after HODLER announced its ongoing plans for a $500 million Digital Energy Infrastructure (DEI) Fund with the participation of UAE based GEWAN holding. The DEI will be established as a closed-ended Fund, subject to compliance and regulatory approvals. The DEI Fund has already secured soft commitments from lead investors and in-kind contributions in addition to offtake partners seeking energy and connectivity for A.I. and digital asset mining operations.

Ahmed Ebrahim, Managing Director of Hodler Investments, explained, “Through this strategic partnership with EHC Investment, we are ensuring that the evolving regional market for modern data center applications will be built on equitable energy systems that will power on site, and remote data mining farms, including edge computing, bitcoin mining, AI and other critical compute applications.”

Ali Al Gebely, Managing Director of EHC Holding, stated, “We are very pleased to have signed this strategic partnership with HODLER Investments, given the growth that we are witnessing in the MENA region when it comes to the digital economy incorporating AI applications, Blockchain, IoT and others. The partnership is aligned with our goal of shaping a clean energy transition for a sustainable future. We believe public and private investments play a critical role in driving innovation.”

Alaa Al Ali, Founder & Group CEO, Gewan Holding comments, “We are proud of our direct affiliation with Hodler Investments which resulted in the ongoing establishment of the Digital Energy Infrastructure Fund to support such innovative initiatives as we look to streamline sustainable capital to accelerate decarbonization projects in the region, enabling carbon offset opportunities and optimized cash flow from energy assets.”

Digital Energy Fund emerges from UAE to power Blockchain, DePIN, AI infrastructures

Digital Energy Fund emerges from UAE to power Blockchain, DePIN, AI infrastructures

HODLER INVESTMENTS (“HODLER”), a UAE based investment company, headquartered in the Dubai Silicon Oasis, which includes in its portfolio energy, AI, and digital asset mining startups such as PermianChain, Brox Equity and others, has announced its ongoing plans for a $500 million Digital Energy Infrastructure (DEI) Fund to be established as a closed-ended exempt Fund, subject to compliance and regulatory approvals. The DEI Fund has already secured soft commitments from lead investors and in-kind contributions in addition to offtake partners seeking energy and connectivity for A.I. and digital asset mining operations.

The Digital Energy Infrastructure (DEI) Fund will offer professional investors and clients the opportunity to invest in utility-like income generating assets and distributed energy infrastructure for compute applications that adopt innovative methods for carbon capture, storage & utilization. The DEI Fund’s investment mandate covers the entire digital energy value chain including sectors such as clean energy, power generation (IPPs), data mining (ASICs, GPUs, etc…) for blockchain, Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN), AI, cloud, and other compute cluster applications with a focus on achieving zero-emissions across the majority of the Fund’s portfolio.

Additionally, the DEI Fund will allocate capital investments towards vertical technology startups operating platforms and software that add value to the Fund’s portfolio.  The Fund will seek to acquire early to growth stage modern software technology companies that are active in digital infrastructure and software applications that support the development and growth of financial technology (FinTech), decentralized finance (DeFi), web3, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI).

HODLER has appointed and engaged Ento Capital Management Ltd, a well-established asset manager in DIFC regulated by DFSA with a shari’a compliant window for ethical investing, to advise on, structure, establish and manage the DEI Fund

Mohamed El Masri, Managing Director, Hodler Investments states, “The Digital Energy Infrastructure Fund is a testament of our commitment to our mission, centered around the development of critical energy infrastructure for the advancement of the digital economy globally. We are proud to be leading this mission out of the UAE, building on the nation’s strategy to develop a digital economy while encompassing sustainability at the core. We are committed to contributing to energy security and reducing energy poverty.”

It is estimated that global spending on construction of new data centers is expected to surpass US$49 billion by 2030 (source: MicKinsey & Company). With over US$1.0 trillion funding gap in renewable energy, it is believed to be an opportune time to lay the groundwork to power the advancement of compute infrastructure for a vibrant digital economy.

Ahmed Ebrahim, Managing Director, Hodler Investments, adds, “We are confident in our initiative to unlock natural wealth for all stakeholders including communities. The Digital Energy Infrastructure Fund is capitalizing on an existing pipeline of deals and projects that have been vetted by our qualified team of professionals backed by almost a decade of industry expertise and long-standing relationships with institutional stakeholders across the Middle East, Asia and North America”.

The Digital Energy Fund aims to utilize technologies such as blockchain, A.I., digital asset mining and other solutions combined with energy resources to strengthen the feasibility for sustainable energy infrastructure to meet the growing compute power demands while contributing to power grid stability for more equitable energy systems globally.

The utilities sector has seen an exponential growth in energy demand from modern compute applications. Data center electricity consumption stood at around 240-340 TWh (source: EIA).

Alaa Al Ali, Founder & Group CEO, Gewan Holding notes, “Our decision to be part of the Digital Energy Infrastructure Fund stems from our belief that the digital economies of the future cannot grow without globally distributed sustainable energy infrastructure. We are confident in our stakeholders and our collective effort to build sovereign digital energy infrastructure. We see the Fund as an effective vehicle to support the UAE’s Digital Economy Strategy.”

Currently the DEI fund is expected to have a size of between $250 million and $500 million, including in-kind commitments with a value not exceeding the total capital commitments.

The Fund’s capital commitments will be focused on providing Limited Partners exposure to, an existing energy envelope with offtake commitments and deal-flow from a portfolio of companies with high growth potential and proven business models. HODLER has secured over US$300 million in exclusive deal-flow across the Middle East, North America, Australia, Asia and Africa.

Amer Al Osh, Chief Development Officer, Gewan Holding added, we are pleased to be working closely with the team at HODLER to establish a compliant structure subject to regulatory approval. Given recent advancements in UAE regulations around digital assets and more specifically the recent landmark steps by the UAE’s financial jurisdictions to enact favorable laws for digital assets and AI sectors, we see improved investor sentiment for this type of asset class.