Twelve companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Munich thereby establishing Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII). DII's objective is to analyze and develop a technical, economic, political, ecological and social framework upon which the future power generation project in North Africa would be based. The Desertec project, originally developed by TREC Initiative of the Club of Rome, is a project which describes the future of power generation for all regions in the world which contain desert areas. The 12 companies which signed the MoU are:
- ABB
- ABENGOA Solar
- Cevital
- Deutsche Bank
- E.ON
- HSH Nordbank
- MAN Solar Millennium
- Munich Re
- M+W Zander
- RWE
- SCHOTT Solar
- SIEMENS
The signing companies are going to establish a planning entity. One of the main goals of DII is the drafting of concrete business plans and association financing concepts. DII will also deal with initiating industrial preparations for the building of a network of large number of solar thermal power plants in the MENA region.
Aside from opportunities for the involved companies, there are other economic, ecological and social potentials:
- Greater energy security in the EU/MENA countries
- Growth and development opportunities for the MENA region as a result of substantial private investment
- Safeguarding the future water supply in the MENA countries by utilising excess energy in seawater desalination plants
- Reducing carbon-dioxide emissions and thus making a significant contribution to achieving the climate change targets of the European Union and the German Federal Government
The planning entity will be established by October31, 2009 in Germany, with the aim to include shareholders from many different countries.
