The MENA Future Fuels Summit was officially held on April 1. As a premier industry platform dedicated to SAF, hydrogen and future fuels, this year's summit gathered senior representatives from government bodies, regulatory authorities, the aviation sector and energy industry.
Distinguished guests included Eng. Nawal Alhanaee, Director of Future Energy Sector at the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure; Michael Karnitschnig, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Middle East, North Africa and Gulf; H.E. Mohammed Abdulla Lengawi, Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Omar Bin Ghaleb, Deputy Director General of the General Civil Aviation Authority of the UAE; as well as representatives from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Air Liquide, Air Products, ACWA Power and other leading institutions and enterprises.
Yao Changsheng, CEO of HydoTech, was invited to the high-level forum themed Hydrogen Revenue 2.0: Commercial Pathways for Derivatives, Synthetic Fuels and Flexibility Value in MENA Projects, where he joined panel discussions with senior executives from major international energy firms including OQ, ACME Group, HIF Global and EnBW.
During the dialogue, Mr. Yao spoke alongside Akram Azerbayev, Senior Advisor to the CEO of OQ; Benjamin Dennhardt, Head of Business Development for Energy Transition & Industrial Decarbonization at EnBW; Arnava Sinha, Executive Vice President for Green Hydrogen & Green Ammonia Business Development at ACME Group; and Ali Zerouali, Executive Vice President for Middle East & Africa at HIF Global. The panel explored market opportunities for hydrogen-derived fuels such as ammonia, methanol and SAF, business models for synthetic fuels, and the role of by-product value and carbon credits in enhancing project bankability.
Mr. Yao noted that the growth of green fuels is a comprehensive competition of resource endowment, cost competitiveness, engineering capabilities and industrial synergy. For HydoTech, technological innovation has always been the core pillar driving industrialization and large-scale deployment. The performance of renewable-powered hydrogen production technology directly determines project returns, end-product costs and overall project bankability.
Adaptive hydrogen production for variable renewable energy is a critical differentiator. Only by diving into on-ground scenarios and building solutions tailored to project owners' needs can we continuously optimize project economics. HydoTech continues to advance innovation in large-scale VRE-integrated hydrogen production, and has built the technical capability to bring green hydrogen costs down to $2 per kilogram. Building on its leading hydrogen production technology, the company has further extended green hydrogen into downstream applications such as green methanol and SAF, delivering integrated end-to-end solutions for large-scale projects.
HydoTech has secured strategic investment from Aramco, and is deepening cooperation and exchanges around regional energy initiatives including the NEOM megacity. Over the past five years, the company has co-created solutions with project owners and partners, advancing project validation and solution iteration in strict alignment with technological and engineering fundamentals.
Globally, regions with superior resource endowments and strong green fuel export potential — the Middle East, North Africa and South America — are rapidly emerging as strategic hubs for the future fuels industry. HydoTech will continue to deepen its footprint in these priority regions, accelerate the deployment of green hydrogen and green fuel projects, and collaborate with global partners to shape the new landscape of the future fuels sector.
