In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the UAE Circular Economy Council inaugurated the Lootah Biofuels biodiesel plant in Dubai Industrial City as part of the Council's third meeting of 2022 which was held on October 21, 2022.
Founded in 2010 in Dubai by S.S. Lootah Group to address the growing demand for alternative fuels in the region, Lootah Biofuels is one of the largest collectors of used cooking oil (UCO) in Dubai.
Leveraging agreements with public and private sector entities in the food and hospitality sectors, the Lootah Biofuels plant collects UCO and processes it into biodiesel using the latest international technologies at a competitive price compared to fossil diesel.
The launch of the new plant and the consequent increase in biodiesel production capacity by 100 tonnes per day will help the UAE achieve its goal of obtaining five percent of transportation fuel from food waste and other non-fossil resources.
Chaired by Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, the UAE Circular Economy Council presided over the inauguration.
The transition to a circular economy contributes to driving sustainable economic development in line with the UAE’s vision, which ensures continued growth while protecting the environment and preserving natural resources, in addition to supporting the efforts to reduce emissions and achieve net zero. Innovative solutions play a key role in accelerating the shift. The Lootah Biofuels plant represents a remarkable model of the practical application of circularity principles and a prime example of active participation of the private sector in achieving the UAE’s goal of developing a circular economy Minister Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri said.
The project is seen as a model of efficient integrated waste management and will contribute to fast-tracking the nationwide transition to a circular economy.
Promoting the enablers of the circular economy transition in the UAE through close cooperation between the public and private sectors is one of the main tracks led by the UAE Circular Economy Council, which is based on a real partnership with the country’s private sector aimed at exploring opportunities, proposing solutions, and developing the necessary policies to consolidate the UAE’s position as a leading global example of leveraging the circular economy as one of the engines of sustainable economic growth during the next stage, said Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy.
Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri added that the Lootah Biofuels factory serves as an innovative model of converting used cooking oil (UCO) into biofuel for use in energy production and enhances endeavours to shift towards more sustainable energy and create new economic opportunities that advance the country’s transition to a more flexible and diversified economic model based on knowledge and innovation and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Yousif Saeed Lootah, Chairman of Lootah Biofuels, expressed his appreciation to the “wise UAE leadership for the great attention it pays to promote the transition to a circular economy, which constitutes an important part of sustainable development.”
The circular economy drives the adoption of efficient and responsible production and consumption patterns and provides ample opportunities for growth and prosperity for companies that uphold sustainable values and practices, such as Lootah Biofuels, Yousif Saeed Lootah said.
Lootah added that the government’s support for leading projects motivates and empowers young people to achieve their aspirations and contribute to the national agenda in innovative ways.
He also highlighted the company’s keenness to participate in building youth capacities by providing training opportunities.
Startups and RDF also discussed
The Council meeting’s agenda included many important topics related to following up on the implementation of circular economy methods in all sectors and the latest developments on previous decisions of the Council.
MOCCAE delivered a presentation on startups with high ambitions in the field of the circular economy that can be involved in the Dubai Future Accelerators program.
Among the featured companies was Solein which has developed a unique protein using air and electricity as raw materials.
Disconnecting food production from agriculture, the manufacturing process consumes 1 000 times less water than is required to produce protein from livestock and 100 times less than producing vegetable protein.
Meanwhile, Evo & Co seeks to reduce the use of plastics by replacing them with new materials derived from nature, such as seaweed, rice straw, and sugarcane bagasse, and Mimica produces low-cost temperature-sensitive indicators of food freshness in the form of dynamic expiry labels that help prevent food waste.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Union Cement to partially use alternative fuels produced by the Emirates RDF municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment plant in Umm Al Quwain.
The move is part of the Ministry’s efforts to boost the participation of the private sector in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, implementing circular economy principles, and developing an integrated waste management system.
