Market Sustainability Intelligence · June 2026

Sustainable Aviation Fuel& Future Aviation Energy

Strategic implications for scaling SAF, aviation energy transition, policy certainty, investment and UAE market positioning.

Sector Lens
Energy · Government · Financial Services
Boardroom Views
2 senior perspectives
Expert Voices
5 contributors · UAE & global
Survey Base
29 respondents
57%
UAE SAF potential
believe the UAE has strong potential to become a leading SAF hub
35%
Policy enabler
identify government incentives and regulation as critical for UAE leadership
71%
Partnership priority
rate cross-industry partnerships as critical to scaling SAF
§ 01

Executive introduction

The June 2026 MEBAS MSI edition examines Sustainable Aviation Fuel as one of the most practical routes for reducing aviation emissions while using existing aircraft and airport infrastructure.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel is no longer a distant sustainability theme. It is becoming a strategic question for airlines, airports, energy companies, investors and policymakers as aviation faces pressure to decarbonise without compromising connectivity, cost discipline or long-term competitiveness.

The report highlights the UAE's opportunity to become a regional and global SAF hub, supported by aviation infrastructure, renewable energy potential, strategic location, sovereign investment capacity and growing policy momentum. The challenge is to convert these strengths into bankable projects, resilient supply chains and trusted certification systems.

The strongest message from the June research is that SAF scale-up is not only a technology issue. It is an ecosystem issue. Progress will depend on policy certainty, sustainable feedstocks, investment, Book & Claim mechanisms, international partnerships and cross-sector collaboration.

§ 02

Boardroom & expert views

This edition combines boardroom insight with expert perspectives on SAF scale-up, energy resilience, investment risk, policy durability and future aviation energy models.

Boardroom views
Dr. Emad Alharbi
Dr. Emad Alharbi
Strategic Advisor · Confidential Government Organization · Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Sustainable Aviation / Energy Resilience / Strategic Investment
"For airlines and energy boards, the shift toward Sustainable Aviation Fuel is no longer just an environmental goal; it is a strategy for business continuity."
Dr. Alharbi frames SAF as a resilience and energy-security decision. His perspective links aviation competitiveness to localised supply networks, long-term green partnerships, alternative energy infrastructure and smart carbon tracking.
Siddharth Malik
Siddharth Malik
Partner & CEO · Green Investors AG · Abu Dhabi, UAE
Energy Transition / Project Finance / Low Carbon Infrastructure
"The future aviation energy ecosystem will belong to organizations that take a longer-term view and future-proof the business."
Siddharth Malik positions the aviation energy transition as a commercial opportunity as well as a risk response. He highlights SAF offtake, upstream participation, fixed-price low-emission fuels and bankable investment structures as strategic priorities.
Expert views
Ajmal Ashraf
Ajmal Ashraf
Co-founder & CEO · Recall FZCO · UAE
Aviation / Sustainability Strategy / Risk
"The industry has to stop treating sustainability and profitability as separate conversations. In aviation, unmanaged risk is often more expensive than proactive investment."
Ajmal Ashraf's contribution connects SAF adoption to risk management, cost exposure and strategic competitiveness. His view reinforces the need to align sustainability targets with commercial resilience rather than treating them as competing priorities.
Swati Mandloi
Swati Mandloi
Head of Sustainability · Emtribe · UAE
Sustainability Policy / Climate Finance / Net Zero Strategy
"The goal is a self-sustaining market where feedstock investment, technology deployment and SAF offtake reinforce each other."
Swati Mandloi frames SAF scale-up as an economic and systemic transition. Her perspective connects circular feedstock strategies, blended finance, Book & Claim mechanisms and policy sequencing into a practical pathway for making SAF commercially rational across the value chain.
Dr. Viktoriia Betina
Dr. Viktoriia Betina
Senior Advisor for Energy Transition / Industry / Fuels · UAE
Project Finance / SAF Markets / Policy Durability
"Sophisticated investors do not assess SAF as a green play — they assess it as project finance with an unusual risk allocation."
Dr. Betina highlights that SAF investment confidence depends heavily on policy durability. The premium that makes SAF viable is shaped by regulation, so investors will price political and regulatory reversal risk alongside technology and offtake risk.
§ 03

Market survey findings

Survey of 29 respondents across aviation, energy, sustainability, finance and investment. UAE market sustainability intelligence, June 2026.

1 · UAE SAF positioning
Strong potential as SAF hub57%
Moderate potential32%
Limited potential14%
More than half of respondents see the UAE as strongly positioned to become a leading SAF hub.
2 · SAF scaling barriers
Regulatory and policy uncertainty31%
Limited feedstock availability19%
Limited demand / offtake agreements19%
High production cost14%
Policy clarity, feedstock availability and demand certainty remain the leading barriers to bankable SAF scale-up.
3 · UAE leadership enablers
Government incentives and regulation35%
Infrastructure and production capacity28%
Strategic global partnerships15%
Respondents see policy and infrastructure as the foundations of UAE SAF leadership.
4 · Opportunity map
SAF production and supply chain32%
Hydrogen and alternative fuels24%
Financing and investment17%
Carbon markets and offsets16%
The commercial opportunity extends beyond fuel supply into hydrogen, finance and market infrastructure.
71%
Critical partnerships
Cross-industry collaboration is viewed as critical to scaling SAF.
21%
Cost priority
Cost efficiency remains a visible pressure in the transition.
43%
5-10 year outlook
The largest group expects SAF to become commercially competitive within 5-10 years.
36%
Innovation priority
Innovation and new business models lead strategic priorities for aviation energy transition.
§ 04

Key takeaways for business leaders

Core strategic insights synthesized from research, expert contributions and survey findings.

01SAF is a strategic resilience issue. It affects emissions, energy security, supply-chain exposure, airline competitiveness and long-term market access.
02The UAE has a credible leadership window. Aviation infrastructure, renewable energy potential, investment capacity and policy momentum create a strong platform for SAF hub development.
03Policy certainty is the decisive unlock. Mandates, incentives, Book & Claim systems and stable certification frameworks are essential to attract private capital.
04Commercial scale requires ecosystem design. SAF growth depends on feedstocks, production pathways, logistics, offtake agreements, finance and cross-sector partnerships working together.
05Investment confidence depends on bankability. Investors will assess SAF as infrastructure/project finance, pricing policy durability, offtake risk and long-term demand certainty.

The future of SAF will be determined less by technology alone and more by the quality of the ecosystem built around it.

§ 05 · Boardroom and Expert Questions

Questions for Boardroom and Experts

Questions aligned with the June 2026 SAF report structure, expert prompts and boardroom insight contribution pack.

Q01What are the biggest challenges to scaling SAF globally and in the UAE?
Q02How should aviation stakeholders balance sustainability targets with cost pressures?
Q03What actions are needed to position the UAE as a leading SAF hub?
Q04Where do you see the most significant opportunities in the aviation energy transition?
B01How should leadership redefine business strategies to remain competitive as aviation shifts toward new energy models and sustainability requirements?
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