Green aviation fuel industry in UAE battles red tape

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• Hope for production start in 2026
• Uncertainty over regulations
• Target of 10bn litres

The UAE is ready to produce “green” aviation fuel, but uncertainty around the regulations has delayed the take-off of the industry, a senior government representative said.

Maryam Ali Al Balooshi, environment manager at the General Civil Aviation Authority, told a conference in Abu Dhabi that the UAE is working on unifying the certification of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and alternatives, including low carbon fuel.

Talks are continuing with international authorities to make sure production output is compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and its carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation.

“We are trying to expedite the certification process before 2026,” Al Balooshi said. “We need to unify it globally to allow airlines to use our SAF and be rewarded for that.”

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SAF and alternative fuels have been billed as the main solution to decarbonising the aviation industry, which contributes approximately 3 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions and aims to be net zero by 2050.

Projections suggest that SAF could contribute to over 80 percent of the necessary emissions reductions. 

However, according to the International Air Transport Association, the goal will require an output of 450 billion litres of SAF by 2050. Today, less than 1 million litres of SAF are produced globally.

The aviation industry represents around 13 percent of the UAE’s GDP and 10 percent in the wider GCC, which includes airlines such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Riyadh Air.

Balooshi said studies with the ICAO suggested 90 percent of SAF production by 2030 will be focused on the GCC. “This is a big challenge for the industry,” she said.

SAF target

Last December the UAE announced a target of at least  1 percent of SAF blended into aviation fuel by 2031. 

The UAE aims to produce 700 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 and 10 to 12 billion litres by 2050, which requires an estimated investment of between $7 billion and $9 billion.

Several SAF production projects have been announced in the UAE but they have yet to start, and the country faces challenges in both accessing feedstock and producing fuel at an affordable price: SAF costs at least twice as much as traditional jet fuel.

Balooshi said that the UAE was working on bringing low carbon aircraft fuel to the market at the same price of today’s jet fuel “within two to three years”.

Alejandro Rios Galvan, a chief research scientist at Khalifa University, told AGBI: “The industry is committed, but not at the scale big enough. I don’t think we are moving fast enough. 

“Given the size of the industry in the region, some priorities should be assigned towards aviation.”