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UAE Explores Production OF Sustainability Aviation Fuel | |
| Sumita Pawar |
At Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2023, Masdar, ADNOC, BP, Tadweer (the Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company), and Etihad Airways announced their collaboration.
The agreement conducts a joint feasibility study on exploring the production in the UAE of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other products, such as renewable diesel and naphtha, using municipal solid waste (MSW) and renewable hydrogen.
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The feasibility study will use the skills of the five partners to figure out if such a project is technically and financially possible.
If the study’s conclusions are positive, the partners will work toward developing the region’s first commercial-scale production capacity in Abu Dhabi, as highlighted in the report.
Produced from sustainable feedstocks, such as municipal solid waste and renewable hydrogen, SAF has the potential to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions on average by up to 80 percent during its full lifecycle compared to conventional jet fuel, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The elaborated collaboration is designed to strengthen the UAE’s leadership position in low-carbon energy and technology-driven industrial growth and will mark an important step in assessing the UAE’s potential to become a global leader in SAF production.
According to the report, aviation is a key industry in the UAE, supporting over 13 percent of the national gross domestic product according to IATA economic data, and is set to continue to grow in the next decades.
To support the UAE's Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, that growth must be sustainable.
SAF is currently the most viable proposition to help decarbonize the industry and has the potential to supply international markets.