Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse, has signed an agreement with TotalEnergies to assess the viability of developing a commercial green hydrogen to methanol to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) project.
The focus of the project is to help decarbonize hard-to-abate, emission-intensive sectors such as the aviation and maritime industries. The project will also capture and utilize CO2 from an industrial source to be used as a feedstock, in addition to green hydrogen from renewable energy-powered electrolysis, for the production of green methanol and SAF.
The agreement follows a successful test flight conducted by the two companies during COP28 in December 2023 that demonstrated the potential for converting methanol to SAF.
Aviation is a key focus for Masdar’s Green Hydrogen business, and over the past three years, the company has forged a number of strategic partnerships designed to support the development and growth of the SAF sector.
The UAE’s General Policy for Sustainable Aviation Fuel set a voluntary target of providing 1 percent of fuel supplied to national airlines at UAE airports using locally produced SAF by 2031 and seeks to develop a national regulatory framework for SAF by exploring potential policies to support the long-term economic operation of SAF facilities in the UAE.
The agreement aligns with Abu Dhabi’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Policy which is expected to significantly contribute to promoting low-carbon hydrogen as a future energy source, constituting a significant milestone towards ensuring economic growth, sustainability, and energy security and a strategic step towards a sustainable future.
The Low Carbon Hydrogen Policy complements the UAE National Hydrogen Strategy, which seeks to establish the UAE as a leading global producer of low-carbon hydrogen by 2031.
Since its establishment in 2006, Masdar has been a key enabler of the UAE’s vision as a global leader in sustainability and climate action. The company has developed and partnered in projects in over 40 countries, with a mandate to increase its renewable energy portfolio capacity to 100GW by 2030 and to become a leading producer of green hydrogen by the same year.
