Expo City Dubai and the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA) have signed a cooperation agreement, combining their expertise to identify, test, and scale innovative solutions for sustainable urban development. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting the growth of the UAE’s climate tech sector.
Under the agreement, UICCA will identify mature or near-market-ready innovations from its pool of initiatives, with selected projects gaining access to Expo City’s Urban Lab – an advanced city-wide testbed. Here, innovators can integrate their technologies into the city’s infrastructure to assess how they interact with real-world urban challenges.
Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President and CEO of UICCA, stated: “Nurturing new technology and fostering closer collaboration between the public and private sectors is vital to the UAE’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Through UICCA’s Launchpad, we are accelerating the growth of green startups and SMEs by providing tailored mentorship, regulatory guidance, and direct access to investors, ensuring they have the resources needed to scale their solutions in the UAE. By combining innovative ventures from the Launchpad with Expo City’s state-of-the-art Urban Lab testbed and supportive business ecosystem, we will strengthen our ability to grow the green economy and support our nation’s bold climate targets.”
Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and CEO of Expo City Dubai Authority, stated: “Collaboration and innovation for a better future are at the heart of Expo City Dubai’s mission and align with the UAE’s vision for sustainable social and economic growth. Our agreement with UICCA not only helps us find solutions to real-world climate and urban development challenges but also ensures they are supported, thoroughly evaluated, and implemented. This demonstrates how a human-centric approach to technological development can drive meaningful, long-lasting change.”
Dedicated to piloting solutions that enhance urban environments, improve quality of life, and promote sustainability, Expo City’s Urban Lab provides a safe, secure, and regulatory-compliant sandbox environment for innovators, entrepreneurs, and businesses. This environment can be customised for live testing of physical and digital solutions, leveraging the city’s 200,000 live data points from sensors, cameras, IoT, and other sources to validate testing results. Innovators also have access to Expo City’s existing datasets to identify challenges and support commercialisation.
Expo City will also support UICCA’s Launchpad by organising virtual workshops, providing mentorship, and guiding participants through the testing phase. The Launchpad connects climate-focused startups with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors, offering a structured pathway for their growth.
Strategically located next to Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) and Al Maktoum International Airport, Expo City’s master plan cements its position as a key driver of Dubai’s future economy. As one of five hubs in the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, it provides a blueprint for sustainable urban development and supports sectors aligned with Dubai’s Economic Agenda (D33).
The city continues to attract a diverse range of local and international organisations to its sustainability- and innovation-focused free zone. Recent initiatives, such as the launch of the Changemakers Academy – an incubator for young innovators – further reinforce Expo City’s position as a hub for creative problem-solving, fostering bold solutions to social and environmental challenges relevant to the UAE.
