The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), a nonprofit, research consortium established to develop technology with the promise of producing sustainable bioenergy, announced GE as its newest member.

“One of the central pillars of our long-term commitment to the UAE and the region is our focus on promoting and collaborating on localized innovation and cocreation of advanced solutions to support sustainable development. Through our partnership with Mubadala, we opened our ecomagination Center last year in Masdar City to drive local research in energy,” said Rania Rostom, chief innovation officer of GE.

The SBRC was founded by The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MI), together with Etihad Airways, The Boeing Company, and Honeywell UOP, to advance the aviation industry’s commitment to sustainable business practices by developing technology to produce a clean, alternative fuel supply. Safran also subsequently joined the consortium.

“Our membership in SBRC, which is making significant strides in the viability of bioenergy production through its groundbreaking research, is an ideal fit to our operations here,” said Rostom. “We look forward to supporting the SBRC, and helping to launch the world's first bioenergy pilot project to use desert land - irrigated by seawater - to sustainably produce both bioenergy and food."

SBRC’s most promising research is its Integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System. The project is based upon an integrated, closed-loop system. The technology uses coastal seawater to raise fish and shrimp for food, whose nutrient-rich wastewater then fertilizes plants rich in oils that can be harvested for aviation biofuel production. The plants thrive in arid, desert conditions and don’t require fresh water or arable land to grow. Lastly, the effluent is diverted into cultivated mangroves before being discharged back into the sea, further removing nutrients and providing valuable carbon storage.

SBRC is planning to pilot test the technology to demonstrate the integrated bioenergy process as a commercially viable and sustainable system for renewable jet fuels with respect to essential food and fuel production, suitable land use, reduced carbon emissions and wastewater clean-up.

Masdar Institute
www.masdar.ac.ae