New research initiatives, new tenants and the handing over of the first grants under the Proof of Concept Fund have marked Qatar Science and Technology Park’s (QSTP’s) progress towards becoming a major centre for research and development
Giving a big boost to QSTP, Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced recently it is setting up a research and technology centre with the aim of contributing to its operational performance.

Estimates are that it will invest $75 million in the first five years. The centre is to focus on the measurement, corrosion and separation of liquids and gases. “The Qatar Petroleum Research & Technology Centre represents a significant expansion of QP’s technology capability.  It will help determine QP’s long-term technology strategy, and remain at the forefront of key technologies through collaborative research with international organisations,” a QSTP spokesman said.
In a more recent announcement, it was stated that TCE Consulting Engineers Limited, a subsidiary of Indian engineering giant Tata Group, would invest $12 million over the next five years at QSTP to develop engineering solutions for environmental challenges.
Initially TCE will focus on software that makes it faster and easier to design “green” buildings, and create a blueprint for a solar-thermal power station.  TCE will also use its engineering expertise to find practical applications for novel nanotechnologies.
“Buildings account for 40 per cent of energy consumption worldwide, so with the right technology we can make a real difference in this area” said A P Mull, chief of TCE Consulting Engineers Limited.
“Meanwhile most leading universities around the world are developing nano-particles, which have the potential to bring immense benefit to society.  We want to take the experimental work to the field in close cooperation with Qatar researchers and businesses” he added.
 QP and TSE join a galaxy of reputed firms that have established a presence at QSTP. These include Cisco, ConocoPhillips, EADS, ExxonMobil, GE, Microsoft, Rolls-Royce, Shell, Institut de Soudure and Total.
In January of this year, the Scientific Medical Applied Research & Development (Smard) company announced its launch as Qatar’s first biotechnology and medical research company, becoming a member of QSTP. Smard will develop diagnostic tools and treatments for diseases, especially those that particularly affect Middle East and North Africa populations.
QSTP is launching a $400,000 project to overcome a major environmental impact of water desalination.  Known as “Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD),” the technology promises to replace the salty brine that normally remains from desalination plants with easily-disposable solids.
Qatar’s farms could be among the first to benefit.  As seawater intrudes into inland aquifers, it is increasingly necessary to desalinate groundwater before using it for irrigation.  The ZLD technology could solve both problems of increasing groundwater salinity and brine disposal.
The current method of dealing with brine is to evaporate it in ponds or with petroleum-fired vaporisers.  This typically accounts for 70 per cent of the system cost and consumes either land or fuel.  Instead of evaporating the brine, Tamuq University has presented an innovative system that will remove the salt chemically via a lime-aluminium process.
If successful, the technology could be commercialised and exported to other parts of the world affected by groundwater salination.
The project will be carried out by Tamuq University under a $419,800, 18-month grant from QSTP’s Proof of Concept Fund.  The university will conduct bench-scale testing of the ZLD process to study its effectiveness, energy requirements and overall cost per litre of water produced.
In another initiative, Qatar Petroleum, QSTP and Shell will contribute together up to $70 million over a 10-year period to provide the foundation for new CO2 storage technologies that can be applied in Qatar, elsewhere in the Middle East and beyond.
This collaboration forms part of a technology partnership between Qatar Petroleum and Shell, within the QSTP that involves select academic partners from around the world, the first being Imperial College. It also builds on the on-going Grand Challenge Programme agreed between Shell and Imperial in 2006.
The agreement will see Imperial’s departments of chemical engineering, earth science and engineering recruit a number of new academic staff, 20 PhD students and 20 post-doctoral researchers to push forward research in the UK and Qatar. It will also provide critical expertise for Qatar and Shell as they seek to develop hydrocarbon resources in a sustainable way.
Researchers involved in this collaboration will characterise carbonate reservoirs in detail and develop advanced computer modelling and simulations to establish an in-depth knowledge of rock structures and the way fluids such as oil, water, natural gas and CO2 move within them. This in turn will improve understanding of how these rocks trap gas and fluids.
Using mobile phones to create interactive websites could soon be quick and simple.  Fuego Digital Media will develop and test such technology using the first-ever grant under QSTP’s Proof of Concept Fund.
Fuego’s vision is for people to create internet content by accessing web-based software from mobile devices.  The company says that although tools exist which address some of these requirements, none satisfies them all.
It will use the $500,000 grant to develop and demonstrate the software in Arabic and other regional languages.
The project is led by Kevin Higgins and Karl Gretton, both of whom have founded software companies before.  It will be located at QSTP’s business incubator which opens in the middle of this year.
QSTP’s Proof of Concept Fund provides grants for universities and small-to-medium companies in Qatar to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of their research outcomes.  Grants range from $100,000 to $500,000, and can be used to develop prototypes, undertake market research and manage intellectual property.