Etihad Airways has joined Air-CRAFT, a UAE-led collaboration founded by eight organizations, to conduct research on innovative and renewable aviation fuels.
During the 3rd ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3) in Dubai, during the UAE Year of Sustainability, eight founding entities announced the creation of the “Air-CRAFT” initiative, a research consortium based in the UAE that aims to develop, produce, and scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technologies.
Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure said, “The aviation sector holds great importance as a key contributor to the GDP and as a target sector for our robust decarbonization drive. The UAE has committed to reaching net zero by 2050, and this goal can only be achieved by slashing the emissions across the board. Air-CRAFT will go a long way in supporting the decarbonization of the aviation sector, helping to make it resilient and sustainable well into the future.”
The partnership aims to assist the commercial aviation sector’s 2050 net zero emissions target as well as the UAE’s National SAF Roadmap concepts. To launch the Air-CRAFT initiative, top leaders from the eight consortium businesses signed a strategic collaboration agreement today at CAAF/3.
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy of the UAE and Chairman of the GCAA said, “Introducing ‘Air-CRAFT’ at CAAF3 in Dubai emphasizes the UAE’s commitment to accelerate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, uniting government, private sector, and academia for a collective push toward sustainable aviation practice. Aligned with the net-zero emissions goal by 2050, this consortium, the largest and most unique in the SAF industry, represents a substantial stride towards greener aviation future, and we look forward to making a significant positive impact through it.”
Techno-economic assessments, feedstock and process optimisation, and environmental impact assessments are examples of possible study subjects at Air-CRAFT. Additionally, Air-CRAFT will create pertinent connections with other educational and research facilities both domestically and abroad.
Hanan Balalaa, Senior Vice President, New Energies, ADNOC, said: “The world needs to accelerate the pace of progress towards net zero and this requires us to decarbonize core sectors such as aviation. Collaboration and innovation will be key to addressing all emissions and ADNOC is already working with our customers to help them transition to new energies. The launch of Air-CRAFT supports this objective and we look forward to working with our partners to unlock sustainable aviation fuel technologies that can decarbonize the sector faster.”
Air-CRAFT’s inclusion in the intergovernmental US-UAE “Partnership to Accelerate Transition to Clean Energy” (PACE) accord is supported by the US government.
The consortium invites the United Arab Emirates and other foreign entities to join it, and its industrial and institutional partners will supply the technology, market demand, and knowledge needed to enable research into the manufacture of alternative fuels for the aviation industry. With important and strategic international players that will be revealed in due course, Air-CRAFT is already in advanced conversations.
Brian Moran, vice president, Global Sustainability Policy and Partnerships at Boeing, said, “Scaling SAF is central to aviation achieving its net zero commitment by the middle of the century. Building a thriving local SAF economy requires collaboration across the value chain and we are honoured to have helped catalyse and now work with this esteemed group on Air-CRAFT to further spark SAF innovation in the UAE and beyond.”
An unprecedented endeavour, Air-CRAFT, or the UAE Centre for Renewable and Advanced Fuel Technologies for Aviation, will unite stakeholders from all points along the value chain, including industrial policy makers, aviation regulators, fuel producers, academic institutions and researchers, manufacturers of aircraft and powerplants, and airline operators.
Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior VP for International Affairs, Emirates Airline, said, “Emirates supports initiatives that contribute to the deployment of SAF. We’ve contributed to the development of the UAE’s National SAF Roadmap and power-to-liquids fuel roadmaps, and believe the UAE is uniquely placed to lead in this space with its policies, technology and infrastructure capabilities. We see Air-CRAFT as a solid platform to progress the National SAF roadmap into reality, and we are proud to be one of the launch entities.”
Despite having its headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, the consortium will interact with and encourage participation from pertinent foreign organisations as it develops. Ahead of COP28 and on the fringes of CAAF/3 today, the new project was unveiled.
Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO at ENOC, said, “We are proud to join hands with key industry leaders in launching Air-CRAFT, a ground-breaking initiative that underscores our commitment to advancing sustainable aviation fuels. Through collaborative research and innovation, we aim to propel the aviation industry towards a greener future, aligning with the UAE’s vision and unwavering pursuit of sustainability and environmental stewardship.”
Adopting SAF is the largest decarbonization lever accessible to the aviation sector. Due to financial, technological, or regulatory obstacles, no other technology platform is anticipated to materially contribute to carbon neutrality targets for long-haul commercial flights in particular for the next three decades at the very least.
Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer, Etihad Airways, said: “Etihad applauds the development and assembly of the Air-CRAFT MoU and stands proudly alongside our partners for this announcement. For more than a decade, Etihad has committed to pioneering the development of SAF supply chains in the UAE and beyond, and since 2019, with the deployment of the Etihad Boeing Greenliner Programme, has driven an industry-leading sustainability initiative which targets all areas of our value chain. With Air-CRAFT, the Etihad ethos of partnerships and collaboration, and pursuit of the million little things continues strongly, under the banner of sustainability and the UAE.”
Adopting SAF is the largest decarbonization lever accessible to the aviation sector. Due to financial, technological, or regulatory obstacles, no other technology platform is anticipated to materially contribute to carbon neutrality targets for long-haul commercial flights in particular for the next three decades at the very least.
Mohammed Mohaisen, President and CEO Middle East and North Africa, Honeywell, said, “Honeywell is a trusted technology partner to the aviation and energy sectors, sharing the common goal of decarbonizing the future of air travel. Our suite of technologies enables SAF producers to capitalise on a range of non-competing feedstocks, including waste fats, used oils and greases, biomass, ethanol, methanol and captured carbon dioxide, and we are fully committed to accelerating the local production and deployment of SAF in the UAE. Underscoring this commitment, we are proud to form Air-CRAFT alongside our valued partners to support the UAE’s National SAF roadmap and advance its leadership in this critical innovation.”
Leading the way in the world of energy, the UAE is aggressively working to decarbonize its economy. It was the first nation in the Middle East and North Africa to pledge to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, as well as the first nation in the Gulf to join the Paris Agreement.
Dr. Steven Griffiths, Senior Vice-President, Research and Development, and Professor of Practice, Khalifa University, said, “Khalifa University places the UAE’s energy transition at the core of its strategy. Given the critical importance of aviation to the UAE economy, the Air-CRAFT initiative therefore aligns seamlessly with our research agenda. Khalifa University looks forward to serving as the cornerstone of Air-CRAFT’s research, technology development and human capital development activities.”
Mohammad Abdelqader El Ramahi, Chief Green Hydrogen Officer for Masdar, said, “As the UAE’s clean energy champion, Masdar is delighted to support this initiative to accelerate innovation in and adoption of SAFs. Sustainable fuels have enormous potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. Masdar looks forward to working in collaboration and partnership with Air-CRAFT members to advance research and scale to deliver against the National SAF Roadmap, as well as continuing to drive our green hydrogen business which will be fundamental to the wider commercial production of SAFs and a key element of the UAE Energy Strategy 2050.”
In addition, it has proclaimed 2023 to be the nation’s Year of Sustainability and is set to host COP28.Although SAF is essential for the aviation industry’s decarbonization paths, its supply is limited, necessitating its quick scaling.
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The National SAF Roadmap, which outlines five guiding principles to help the industry accelerate decarbonization and turn the sector into a regional powerhouse for alternative aviation fuels, was released by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. The following five tenets are:
- Establishing the Ambition: 700 million litres of SAF by 2030
- Accelerating SAF Technology Deployment and Innovation
- Developing the National Regulatory Environment for SAF
- Building Local Capacity to Boost In-Country Value
- Leading International Collaboration
To address the five guiding principles of the National SAF Roadmap, the Centre for Renewable and Advanced Fuel Technologies for Aviation (Air-CRAFT) will work to industrialise SAF production and establish an ecosystem.
