AVIATION-

The UAE’s Enoc and Finland’s Neste partner on SAF supply: The Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) has signed an MoU with Finnish oil refining company Neste to explore avenues for the purchase and supply of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) both in the UAE and the wider MENA region, according to a statement. The agreement falls in line with Enoc’s target of securing blended SAF reserves by 2030 in a bid to supply its clients with green fuels and cut its aviation carbon footprint by an estimated 80%, the statement notes.

Not the first Enoc-Neste collaboration: Enoc and Neste both recently partnered with UAE national air carrier Emirates on its first SAF-powered demonstration campaign of the Airbus A380, with both sides providing the green fuels for the flight

Both companies have big regional SAF ambitions: Last month, Neste signed MENA’s largest SAF purchase agreement with Emirates, committing to supply the airline with 3 mn tons of SAF to fuel upcoming flights from Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Singapore’s Changi airports. Enoc similarly plans to supply SAF to Dubai Airports starting 2024 and is currently exploring SAF production both domestically and abroad.

HYDROGEN-

Hycap sets up shop in the UAE: British green hydrogen-focused private equity fund Hycap opened up its first MENA office in the Abu Dhabi Global Market financial center to support establishing a GCC-focused net zero fund focused on investments in the regional hydrogen production sector, according to a statement. The fund is seeking to capitalize on MENA’s green hydrogen potential and Saudi Arabia’s commitment to mobilize USD 36 bn toward the sector by 2030. The UAE’s hydrogen strategy through which the country aims to produce as much as 1.4 mn tons of the green fuels annually by 2031 is also a draw, the company noted.

Hycap could pour in a lot of capital in MENA: Hycap aims to replicate the model of its hydrogen-focused fund in the UK — which was launched in 2021 with GBP 200 mn in investments from British developers — in our neck of the woods, the statement notes. The company had an initial target of raising GBP 1 bn in the UK to accelerate the transition to low-carbon hydrogen fuels.

CARBON EMISSIONS-

Egypt is documenting its crop production’s carbon footprint: The Egyptian Agriculture Ministry has begun documenting the carbon footprint of its crop production in a new project supported by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), FAO Representative in Egypt Nasr al-Din Haj al-Amin told Attaqa. The project — funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Global Environment Fund — will assess the size of the emissions for each step of the production process including irrigation, fertilization, and harvest. The move is part of larger efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change in Egypt, al-Amin added.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • Al-Futtaim Toyota to provide Cars Taxi with 1.3k hybrid vehicles: Emirati retail company Al-Futtaim Toyota will supply taxi franchise company Cars Taxi’s vehicle fleet with 1.3k Toyota Camry hybrid vehicles, adding to the company’s existing fleet of 4k vehicles. 100% of Cars Taxi’s fleet is now composed of hybrid/compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. (Statement)
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