RIYADH: Saudi startup Mirai Solar placed second, after Egypt’s Viridia Tech, in the first run of the Mega Green Accelerator program, a scheme to promote environmental startups in the Middle East.
Mirai Solar will be awarded $30,000 after standing out as one of the eight shortlisted startups chosen after 363 submissions were received from the MENA region during the applications phase of the program.
“Imagine a shading structure that simply provides shade without any additional function … but now envision it as photovoltaic-enhanced, capable of harnessing blocked sunlight to generate power,” Michael Salvador, CEO of Mirai Solar, told Arab News during the demo day of the Mega Green Accelerator, a program launched in 2023.
Only two nominated startups were Saudi-based. The other is AHYA Technologies, which specializes in climate software and AI, and is creating a single platform to facilitate climate action in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan.
Among the eight nominated startups were The Surpluss (UAE), Kumulus (Tunisia) and YY ReGen (Lebanon).
Mirai Solar originated in 2019 as a spinoff company from KAUST, stemming from the university’s solar center with a vision to create innovative solar panel technology.
Salvador said that the startup’s vision evolved into what is now known as photovoltaic shading.
“A typical shading structure, whatever it might be, is just passively shaded. So, it is only there to shade whatever’s underneath,” he said.
That is why Mirai Solar decided to develop a technology that enhances photovoltaic cells such that the blocked sunlight is used to generate power.
Salvador said that the concept of shading with power has numerous applications, from sustainable power generation for agricultural purposes to constructing EV charging stations and more.
One significant application involves optimizing food production in greenhouses, which are highly efficient but energy-intensive environments.
“By bringing our technology in, we can use the blocked sunlight that would normally be blocked by conventional passive shading locally to generate electricity, feed it directly into the greenhouse, and reduce the carbon footprint of food production in those systems,” he said.
PepsiCo and SABIC, in collaboration with 12 strategic partners, are introducing the Mega Green Accelerator initiative to address pressing challenges.
The program requires all applicants to have a relevant sustainable solution aligned with at least one of the following tracks: Food security, water and agriculture, circular economy and energy transition.
Yasmin Fansa, MENA head of sustainability at PepsiCo, told Arab News: “We are here at the launch of the Mega Green Accelerator program, whose purpose is to work with startups that are directly benefiting the sustainability world.”
Fansa said that the program provides startups with mentorship and funding, with an eye on scalability, whereby the private sector can benefit from the technologies.
The program is stimulating growth in climate technology startups across the MENA region. It seeks to cultivate a cooperative atmosphere that fosters ingenuity and tackles the pressing sustainability issues unique to the region by generating scalable and adaptable solutions.
“The unique characteristic of the program is the triangular relationship that we have between the private sector organizations that are trying to find the right types of solutions to their sustainability challenges,” said Fansa.
The third element of the relationship is private investment, which can supercharge the integration of startups and businesses.
