Initiated by the Non-Profit-Organisation DESERTEC Foundation, which was founded in January 2009 to realise the DESERTEC Concept worldwide, and the Munich Re, the world’s leading reinsurance company, the "Dii" is a unique industry initiative which was launched in July 2009. The Dii aims at creating the conditions for an accelerated implementation of the DESERTEC Concept in EUMENA (Europe, Middle East, North Africa). The Dii was founded under German law as a GmbH (limited liability company) in Munich on 30 October 2009.

Dii is a joint venture founded by 13 founding signatories. The shareholder base and the company network will be broadened continuously as further companies from north and south of the Mediterranean will join as shareholders or associated partners.

As a private sector initiative, Dii seeks and welcomes all forms of collaboration with leading or complementary international political and institutional initiatives such as the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) or the World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF) that are devoted to developing the markets for large scale sustainable energy production and transmission.

Dii’s activities focus on power generation from the sun and wind in the deserts of the MENA countries and transmission to local demand and partly to the European interconnected grid. Dii will objectively investigate and identify suitable technologies for power generation and transmission. As a consequence all field proven, feasible technologies for sun and wind energy conversion and long distance power transmission will be candidate for selection. This would for instance include CSP and PV technologies, AC and DC transmission and also different concepts for wind power. Dii aims to facilitating and encouraging investments in the framework of the DESERTEC Concept, including knowledge transfer to the MENA area and the establishment of local industries.

Read more at www.dii-eumena.com

On 13th of July 2009 the founders of the Dii signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim to realise the DESERTEC Concept in the EUMENA Region. Information about this event can be found here.

On the 30th of October 2009 twelve companies and the DESERTEC Foundation signed the articles of association for the industry initiative "Dii GmbH". The official press release can be read and downloaded here.

On 20th of January 2010 at the annual Handelsblatt Energy Conference in Berlin, Dii CEO Paul van Son presented objectives of the industry initiative.

Press release, 5th of March 2010: Prof. Klaus Töpfer will advise the industry initiative (Dii) on strategic issues. His activities will focus on political and social questions, with a view to realising the DESERTEC vision to the benefit of all participants in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

"A secure and sustainable global energy supply and efficient climate protection measures are key to securing the well-being of present and future generations. We, the signatories of this MoU, regard the DESERTEC Concept as a scientifically substantiated and economically feasible way of achieving this strategic goal. Therefore, the signatories of this MoU intend to establish a planning entity in order to create a basis for putting the DESERTEC Concept into practice as soon as possible. Work on the Mediterranean Solar Plan (Union for the Mediterranean) are intended to be included in this effort."