SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUELS- <\/p>\n
Red <\/strong>Sea Global + daa International to bring SAF to Saudi airport: <\/strong>Red Sea Global (RSG) and daa International \u2014 the operators of the Red Sea International Airport (RSI) \u2014 have signed an agreement with the Arab Petroleum Supply Company to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), according to a statement<\/a> released on Wednesday. The agreement would enable RSI operators to make SAF available as a refueling option for all airlines operating from the airport, and RSG subsidiary Fly Red Sea will exclusively power its fleet with SAF and lower-carbon aviation fuel. The two deployed SAF blends \u2014 one mixed at 35% and another at 65% SAF ratios \u2014 are expected to reduce each aircraft\u2019s emissions by up to 35%.<\/p>\n KSA <\/strong>has its sights on e-fuel production:<\/strong> Aramco, TotalEnergies, and the Saudi Investment Recycling Company signed a joint development and cost sharing Agreement in December<\/a> to evaluate establishing a SAF plant in the Eastern Province. Aramco also plans to bring online two SAF demonstration projects in Neom by 2025<\/a>. <\/p>\n STARTUP WATCH- <\/p>\n #1- <\/strong>Haala <\/strong>Energy raises SAR 28.5 mn in funding round: <\/strong>Saudi solar developer Haala Energy<\/a> has completed its Series A funding round led by Fakeeh Investment Holding, raising SAR 28.5 mn, according to a statement<\/a> released on Wednesday. The funds \u2014 comprised of SAR 18.5 mn in equity and SAR 10 mn in debt \u2014 will support a pipeline of solar projects and is targeting 30 MWp of new industrial and commercial solar capacity in the next 3 years, with plans to raise more funds later to achieve that target. France\u2019s Finegreen<\/a> was the sole financial advisor.<\/p>\n About Haala Energy: <\/strong>Haala Energy specializes in solar photovoltaic and solar-diesel hybrid projects in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region, according to its website<\/a>. The company covers feasibility studies, proposals and contracts, engineering design and procurement, construction and commissioning, and monitoring, operation, and maintenance. <\/p>\n GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE- <\/p>\n UAE <\/strong>pushes <\/strong>for climate resilience infrastructure expansion: <\/strong>Abu Dhabi\u2019s Government has issued tenders for stormwater drainage and flood mitigation projects, according to announcements (pdf)<\/a> on the Abu Dhabi Government Procurement Gate<\/a>. The request for bids comes as an attempt to control flooding and increase climate resilience as extreme weather events become more frequent.<\/p>\n The tenders:<\/strong><\/p>\n A necessary adaptation: <\/strong>UAE experienced the heaviest rainfall the country has seen in 75<\/a>years<\/a> last April, which experts say was made 40% more intense<\/a> due to climate change. Dubai has also approved the USD 8.2 bn rainwater drainage Tasreef<\/a> project back in October to address flooding challenges. <\/p>\n \n SOLAR-<\/p>\n Morocco\u2019s <\/strong>ONEE<\/strong> + Chad\u2019s SNE ink solar electrification contracts:<\/strong> Morocco\u2019s National Office of Electricity & Drinking Water (ONEE) and Chad\u2019s National Electricity Society (SNE) have signed two contracts for a solar-powered rural electrification project in Chad, Map News<\/a> reported on Monday. The project includes building mini-grids powered by a 3 MWp solar plant and a 15\/33 kV substation to supply electricity to 20 localities. The initiative will be financed by the Islamic Development Bank under the ONEE-IDB program to expand rural electrification across sub-Saharan Africa. <\/p>\n \n WASTE MANAGEMENT- <\/p>\n Tadweer <\/strong>+ Fams Technologies launch AI-backed waste management solution: <\/strong>Abu Dhabi Waste Management (Tadweer Group) has partnered with Dubai-based Fams Technologies to launch an AI-integrated waste management platform, Wam<\/a> reported on Monday. The platform aims to optimize operations by leveraging AI analytics and the Internet of Things for planning waste collection and optimizing routes to reduce emissions. The platform will also support the planning process by providing data on landfill diversion rates, recycling efficiency, and waste identification. <\/p>\n GREEN FINANCE-<\/p>\n DIB <\/strong>launches<\/strong> first sustainability-linked finance framework:<\/strong> Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has issued its inaugural Sustainability-Linked Finance Facilities Financing Framework, marking the first framework of its kind published by an Islamic Bank globally, the bank said in a press release<\/a> issued on Monday. The framework sets clear eligibility criteria for sustainability-linked finance facilities (SLF). <\/p>\n Details: <\/strong>The framework integrates predefined key performance indicators and sustainability performance targets to ensure measurable climate impact. DIB will publish an allocation and impact report annually throughout the instrument\u2019s lifetime, detailing the SLF facilities financed and their environmental impact. <\/p>\n Not their first:<\/strong> The lender launched a sustainable home finance program<\/a>, dubbed Nest, that offers financial products for customers to invest in green homes, solar panels, and sustainable construction materials in 2023.<\/p>\n \n GREEN HYDROGEN- <\/p>\n Oman <\/strong>launches<\/strong> first hydrogen refueling station:<\/strong> Shell Oman has inaugurated Oman\u2019s first hydrogen refuelling station near Muscat International Airport, Oman News Agency<\/a> reported on Monday. The facility can produce up to 130 kg of green hydrogen daily and includes an EV fast-charging option. State-owned transport company Mwasalat, in partnership with Shell Oman and Nama Power and Water Procurement Company, will roll out 15 hydrogen-powered vehicles for premium transport.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not all:<\/strong> State-owned transport company Mwasalat is also partnering up with Shell Oman and Nama to roll out 15 hydrogen-powered vehicles for premium transport. Nama will also supply Shell with 7k International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-REC) through 2029, issuing 1.4k certificates annually.<\/p>\n Sounds smart?<\/strong> I-RECs are tradable clean energy tracking digital certificates<\/a>, each representing 1 MWh of clean energy delivered to the electricity grid from a renewable energy source. Unlike carbon credits that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, RECs offset non-renewable electricity use. <\/p>\n Oman\u2019s I-REC market in numbers:<\/strong> So far, the Omani market has seen about 250k being sold, and more than 3 mn I-REC certificates are expected to be issued this year. <\/p>\n BATTERIES- <\/p>\n China\u2019s <\/strong>BYD <\/strong>Energy Storage and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) have inked contracts <\/strong>for a 12.5 GWh energy storage project<\/strong>, according to a press release<\/a> issued last week. The battery energy storage system equipment will be installed across five sites in Saudi Arabia, fully integrating into the Kingdom\u2019s power transmission network. BYD will supply its MC Cube-TESS<\/a> systems, which feature its Cell-to-System integrated tech. The project brings BYD\u2019s total battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity in the country to 15.1 GWh.<\/p>\n A BESS bonanza for Saudi:<\/strong> The Saudi Power Procurement Company issued a request for<\/a>proposals<\/a> earlier this month to qualified bidders for 2 GWh BESS projects, the first group of its 8 GWh developments. <\/p>\n OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-<\/strong><\/p>\n Stories on our radar this week from around the region<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[66,166,98,11,39,45,92,159,350,42,312,386,191,52,136,296],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-89341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-also-on-our-radar","tag-also-on-our-radar","tag-bess","tag-carbon-markets","tag-enterpriseclimate","tag-green-hydrogen","tag-morocco","tag-oman","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-saudi-electricity-company","tag-solar-energy","tag-sustainable-aviation-fuels","tag-tadweer","tag-turkey","tag-uae","tag-waste-management","tag-wastewater-treatment","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"33ba2a2e-4216-48a4-af1e-7e6a81e551d0","order":"9","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2025\/2\/2681.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"SAF, start ups, solar updades from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco, and more","related_issue":[89324],"teaser":"Stories on our radar this week from around the region","voice_url":"https:\/\/s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/ent.news\/audio\/2025\/2\/.82790b15-82a7-4384-9cba-0076bfe81ac9.mp3"},"yoast_head":"\n\n
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