Dubai’s DEWA Hackathon drives innovation with focus on AI and integrated clean energy solutions

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is gearing up for the fourth edition of its well-established CleanTech Hackathon, scheduled from the 18th to the 20th of May. This year, they’re broadening the event’s reach as they seek fresh, innovative ideas to tackle climate change, water shortages, and related environmental challenges.

Organized by DEWA’s Sustainability and Innovation Centre, the competition is open to a wide range of participants, including companies, university teams, inventors, and specialist researchers from all over the globe. DEWA is particularly interested in solutions that can help confront climate issues, water conservation problems, and wider environmental pressures.

This year’s hackathon is centered around three main themes: cutting emissions and boosting sustainability efforts; integrating clean energy sources with storage solutions; and harnessing artificial intelligence along with digital tools. Interestingly enough, this mix reflects a bigger shift in the region’s climate-tech focus. These days, software, data analytics, and power systems are increasingly being designed in tandem, not as separate fields, as part of a more integrated approach.

For DEWA, the hackathon isn’t just a one-time event. It’s part of a longer-term strategy to position Dubai as a testing ground for pioneering clean energy innovations. The authority has used the event to connect early-stage ideas with investors, researchers, and industry experts, while also helping student projects find pathways toward real-world deployment.

The winners of this year’s contest will be given the chance to present their solutions at the upcoming Clean Energy Forum in 2026. This event will be hosted by DEWA’s Sustainability and Innovation Centre, situated at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, a site DEWA describes as the largest single-site solar park in the world, operating under the independent power producer model. Additionally, winners will be invited to participate in a dedicated session within the centre’s Clean Energy networking series, giving them further exposure to potential partners and funding sources.

This hackathon isn’t a one-off. DEWA has been building this pattern over several years. Back in February 2025, they launched the third round of the competition, tying it in with UAE Innovates 2025. That round saw 193 applications from seven countries, with winners working on projects like desalination, decarbonization, digitalization, energy efficiency, and digital technologies applicable to sustainable systems. The prizes included entries from Germany, the UAE, and Spain, highlighting the international reach of the event.

A year before, in February 2024, DEWA’s Innovation Centre hosted the second cycle, which focused on making clean energy more efficient and reliable. That iteration aimed to lower costs, improve grid stability, and address the intermittency issues still faced by renewable power sources. Storage, smart grids, and distribution technologies played a key role then, illustrating how the competition has gradually shifted from broad sustainability themes to more technical system integration.

Looking back at the earlier rounds, it’s clear how this evolution is happening. In March 2022, DEWA awarded winners from a hackathon that attracted 110 applications across 16 countries. That first competition had a broader scope, covering sustainable energy, urban environment concerns, digital transformation, and sustainable lifestyles. Since then, DEWA has zeroed in on specific challenges directly linked to Dubai’s long-term energy and climate goals.

And those policies are pretty important to consider. DEWA’s hackathon aligns closely with Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050. Both strategies emphasize a faster shift toward low-carbon energy sources and more efficient use of resources. Moreover, DEWA has been expanding its circular economy initiatives, which it unveiled in 2023, with principles focused on sustainable design, optimized asset management, retaining value, renewable energy efficiency, and circular partnerships.

The company says it’s investing heavily in sustainable projects too. Reports from 2023 mention a commitment of around $40 billion toward these initiatives. DEWA’s belief is that its research and innovation infrastructure, located at the solar park, plays a crucial role in this effort. Dozens of researchers are working on technologies related to clean energy, smart grids, and water solutions. That mix of research, infrastructure, and partnerships makes the hackathon stand out a bit, offering a practical setting that’s somewhat unique in this region.

For climate-tech entrepreneurs and startups based in the UAE, this ecosystem is an important asset. Events like this can help turn prototypes into deployable solutions, especially in sectors like desalination, grid management, and industrial efficiency, areas where both demand and investment are strong in the region. The challenge is coming up with ideas that aren’t just innovative, but also scalable, affordable, and capable of forming partnerships with utilities or investors.

DEWA’s latest call clearly aims for just that, solutions with real potential to grow and scale. By welcoming ideas from business people, academics, and the wider innovation community, they’re framing this hackathon as a global effort to find solutions that help build a lower-carbon economy. The focus on AI and digital tools also highlights how the energy landscape is shifting, more and more, data-driven solutions are becoming central to energy production, storage, and system optimization.

For Dubai, this event signals that climate technology isn’t just an environmental issue, it’s becoming part of the city’s broader economic growth story. And for those working in this space, the May hackathon offers a clear pathway into one of the Gulf region’s most established and ambitious clean energy platforms.