Aviation Giants Fund $30M for Middle East Sustainable Fuel Project

NEW YORK & DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – January 16, 2026 – A major push to establish the Middle East as a new hub for green aviation fuel is underway, backed by some of the biggest names in the industry. SAFFA Fund I, an investment vehicle supported by a consortium including Airbus, Air France-KLM, and Qantas, has committed up to $30 million to a pioneering Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) project being developed by SAF One Energy Management.

An initial tranche of $10 million has already been disbursed for the project, which is slated to break ground in 2026 and targets the commencement of SAF production by the fourth quarter of 2028. The investment marks a critical step in scaling up the global supply of SAF, a low-carbon alternative to traditional jet fuel considered essential for decarbonizing the aviation sector.

“Scaling SAF globally requires collaboration across the ecosystem and SAF One is an ideal partner that has made excellent progress on its project in the Middle East,” said Michael Dickey Morgan, Executive Managing Director of Burnham Sterling Asset Management (BSAM), which manages the SAFFA fund. “We look forward to SAF One project becoming a key supplier of SAF for the global aviation industry.”

The Middle East’s Green Aviation Pivot

This project is poised to be a landmark initiative for the Middle East, a region historically defined by its fossil fuel production. SAF One aims for this facility to be the first to deliver SAF from the region, signaling a strategic pivot toward renewable energy and sustainable technologies.

“SAF One is delighted to partner with SAFFA and its stakeholders in the funding of our first project that we believe will be the first to deliver SAF out of the Middle East region,” stated Mounir Kuzbari, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of SAF One.

This ambition aligns with aggressive national strategies across the Gulf. The United Arab Emirates, for example, has established a national policy targeting that at least 1% of all fuel supplied at its airports to national carriers will be locally produced SAF by 2031. The country aims to produce 700 million liters of SAF annually by 2030. Similarly, Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 includes significant investments in green technologies. The region's unique geographical advantages, including abundant solar resources and vast tracts of non-arable land, make it an ideal location for advanced SAF production pathways. These include Power-to-Liquid (PtL) technologies, which use renewable electricity to create green hydrogen, a key ingredient for synthetic fuels. Furthermore, the arid climate is suitable for cultivating non-food feedstocks like the saltwater-tolerant salicornia plant, which has already been used in a successful SAF-powered test flight in the UAE.

Collaborative Capital to De-Risk a Green Future

The investment's significance extends beyond the specific project to the innovative financial model behind it. SAFFA Fund I represents a powerful cross-industry alliance, pooling approximately $208 million from aviation titans like Airbus and Qantas, logistics giant CMA-CGM, and financial institution BNP Paribas. This consortium model is designed to de-risk the substantial capital expenditure required for building new SAF facilities, which has been a major bottleneck in scaling production.

By co-investing, these corporate partners not only provide the necessary capital but also create a built-in market for the fuel produced. Airlines in the fund can secure future supply through priority offtake agreements, creating the demand certainty needed to make such large-scale projects bankable. This collaborative approach tackles both the supply and demand sides of the SAF equation simultaneously, creating a virtuous cycle intended to accelerate the industry's growth. The fund's strategy involves diversifying investments across different production technologies and geographical regions, mitigating risks associated with any single pathway or feedstock.

The Race to Production: Navigating Technical Hurdles

While the 2028 production target is ambitious, SAF One’s structure and strategy are tailored to navigate the complex challenges of bringing a new plant online. The company, a joint venture between aviation finance expert Novus Aviation Capital and energy infrastructure developer Sencirc Holding, combines deep industry knowledge with technical execution capability. Sencirc's background in waste-to-value projects is particularly relevant, as SAF One pursues a “pathway agnostic” approach.

This flexibility allows the company to select the most viable technology and feedstock for a given location, rather than being locked into a single method. While the mature HEFA pathway, which converts used cooking oils and animal fats, faces long-term feedstock supply constraints, SAF One is exploring a range of options. Its projects in other regions, such as a planned facility in India, are designed to use lignocellulosic waste from agriculture, a second-generation feedstock. This strategy of developing smaller, localized plants near airline customers and utilizing local waste streams is designed to optimize logistics and secure feedstock supply chains.

“SAF One’s mission is to deliver customized solutions to its aviation industry customers, recognizing that customer adoption and support is critical to scaling SAF production globally,” said Deepak Munganahalli, Co-Founder and CEO of SAF One.

A Growing but Competitive Landscape

SAF One is entering an increasingly active market. In the Middle East, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has already begun producing small batches of SAF from used cooking oil at its Ruwais refinery. In Saudi Arabia, SATORP, a joint venture between Aramco and TotalEnergies, is also producing certified SAF. These efforts, while currently limited in scale, demonstrate a firm regional commitment to the fuel.

Globally, over 100 SAF projects have been announced, with major energy firms and specialized producers all vying for a position in the burgeoning market. SAF One’s success will depend on its ability to execute its projects on time and on budget while securing sustainable and cost-effective feedstock. The company's decentralized model and focus on diverse, often waste-based, feedstocks could provide a key competitive advantage in a world where feedstock competition is intensifying. This investment from SAFFA provides not just capital, but a powerful vote of confidence from the very customers the project intends to serve, marking a significant milestone in the global effort to make sustainable flight a commercial reality.