How a project consortium works: seats, agreements and the NDA
A plant of this size is not built by one company. A consortium puts the capital, the operator, the customer and the technology under one agreement, and the NDA is the door to the detail.
What a consortium is
A consortium is a group of separate companies that agree to pursue one project together, each taking a defined role, under a consortium agreement that sets out who does what, who pays for what, and how decisions are made. It is usually the step before an operating company exists: the agreement holds the project together while the company that will own and run the plant is being formed.
AERC's seats
AERC has defined four seats, and each has a page section that says what the seat brings and what it receives:
- Funding partner. Equity or project finance for a waste management project of about USD 500M, structured through the group's capital advisory arm.
- Operating partner. A company with waste processing or refuse derived fuel plant experience to design, build and run the plant.
- Off takers. Cement kilns and industrial users who would take the fuel under a supply agreement.
- Technology partner. Process technology for sorting, shredding, drying and recovery, including Canadian technology through the Canada to UAE pipeline.
The which seat tool routes a visitor to the right one in three questions.
What is signed, and what is not
AERC states its status the same way on every page: concept stage; consortium agreements signed by every stakeholder; the operating company being registered with Dubai DED; the municipal partnership in development and not signed; technology, logistics and plant mapping under way. No permit, site or off take contract is claimed. A partner reading this should take it as the whole position, and the consortium brief under NDA as the detail behind it.
What the NDA does
The non-disclosure agreement is what allows the consortium to share the structure, the signed agreements in outline, the technology and logistics mapping and the capital case with a prospective partner without publishing them. The sequence on this site is: the one page concept summary first, the NDA, then the consortium brief, then a call with the founder and introductions to the signed stakeholders where the fit is clear. The group's guide on how memoranda are shared under NDA describes the same practice across its mandates. The NDA and brief request checklist lists what each side provides.
What "concept stage" means for a partner
It means the commercial work is ahead, not behind: feedstock, fuel specification, off take, site, permits and finance are the project. What exists is the consortium, the mapping done so far, the position inside the Canada to UAE pipeline as Initiative 12, and a founder who answers within one working day. Tell us your seat.
General information, checked 14 November 2026. Figures are quoted from the sources listed at the end; the source in force prevails. AERC is at concept stage: nothing here is an offer of securities or a promise of returns.