Dubai to Establish SAF Production
This article was first published on Rigzone here
Dubai City will have its own sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production through an agreement recently signed by the municipal government, Emirates National Oil Co. (ENOC), Marubeni Middle East and Africa Power Ltd. (MAMEA) and N.V. Besix S.A.
The memorandum of understanding “aims to transform waste management practices in Dubai through an innovative project that utilizes cutting-edge technologies to treat mixed solid municipal waste, organic waste and green hydrogen produced from sewage treatment processes to produce SAF”, ENOC said in a news release.
The city, the capital of the namesake emirate, commits under the deal “to supply a specific amount of municipal solid waste per day, which may include a combination of organic waste and green hydrogen produced from sewage treatment”, said the announcement on the website of government-owned ENOC.
“The success of the project under study, set for implementation in July 2025, hinges on having the necessary technology and essential materials within Dubai Municipality to produce SAF”, Municipal Director-General Dawoud Al Hajri said in a statement. “These materials include waste and treat sewage water”.
Al Hajri said the project will boost the United Arab Emirates’ standing as a regional hub for low-carbon flight fuel.
In October the country’s flagship carrier Emirates conducted its first flight operating with SAF, though the fuel provided by Shell P.L.C. was a blend of 40 percent clean SAF and 60 percent conventional jet fuel. “The chemical characteristics at this ratio are identical to conventional jet fuel, and can seamlessly be integrated into the existing airport fuel infrastructure as well as in the engines of the entire Emirates fleet with no modifications required”, the airline said in a press release November 6 about the milestone flight bound for Sydney.
On November 22 it conducted a demonstration flight for the world’s biggest passenger aircraft using 100 percent SAF in one of four engines. The Airbus A380 flight helped demonstrate the potential of SAF “as a drop-in replacement that matches jet fuel’s technical and chemical requirements, while being a more sustainable alternative”, it said in a media statement at the time.
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“This is the first time that drop-in SAF has been used on an A380 aircraft, with the expectation of full compatibility across the aircraft’s existing systems”, Emirates added. The fuel used hydrodeoxygenated synthetic aromatic kerosene.
On December 14 the UAE government announced a goal of giving SAF a one percent share in the supply of fuels for national airlines at domestic airports by 2031. The “voluntary” target is contained in the General Policy for Sustainable Aviation Fuel, which aims to decarbonize the Gulf nation’s aviation sector and position it as a regional hub for low-carbon flight fuel.
“To achieve this, the UAE intends to develop its local capacity for ‘Sustainable Aviation Fuel’, enabling the production of 700 million liters of SAF annually”, the government’s online portal says.
Besides promoting sustainable aviation, Al Hajri added the SAF production agreement “will also assist in the waste management operations in Dubai, aligning with the strategic targets of the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, the UAE Circular Economy Policy 2021-2031 and the 2031 National Hydrogen Policy”.
ENOC Group chief executive Saif Al Falasi said in a statement, “Through this partnership, we will work closely with Dubai Municipality to transform sustainable feedstocks such as municipal solid waste to produce SAF at scale”.
MAMEA general manager for new energy Wataru Ikushima said, “In alignment with our Green Strategy set forth in 2022, Marubeni aspires to be a ‘Forerunner in Green Business’ by addressing environmental issues in all sectors and implementing sustainability initiatives - including the production of SAF”.
MAMEA is a subsidiary of Japan’s electric utility Marubeni Corp., while the other party in the agreement, Besix, is a Belgian construction company.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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