1-2 April 2026 | Virtual Summit, Gulf Standard Time (GST)
Strategic Partner
Sustainability Partners
Green Sky Visionary Partner
In Conjunction with:
Co-located with:
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2026 Strategic Summit Agenda
Day 1 Morning: Future Fuels Market Overview
09:10 - 09:20
10 mins
Opening Welcome Address
Eng. Nawal Alhanaee
Director of the Future Energy Department
Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, UAE
09:20 - 09:30
10 mins
[Regional Ministerial Keynotes] Government Policies & Incentives for SAF & Low Carbon Fuels
Oma​​r Bin Ghaleb
Deputy Director General
UAE General Civil Aviation Authority
09:30 - 09:40
(10min)
[International Ministerial Keynotes] Global Trends in SAF & Low Carbon Fuels Adoption
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​[Keynote] EU–Middle East Clean Energy Partnership: Aligning Policies and Leveraging Resources for Global Decarbonization
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Michael Karnitschnig
Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf
European Commission (Virtual)
09:40 - 09:50
(10min)
[Keynote] Scaling SAF in MENA: Bridging Policy, Production & Aviation’s Net-Zero Future
Kamil Al-Awadhi
Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
09:50 - 10:40
(50min)
[C-Suit Panel] The Future of Fuels in MENA: What Lies Ahead for SAF, Hydrogen & Beyond?
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What are the key drivers for the growth of SAF, hydrogen in the MENA region?
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What strategic role can SAF play in decarbonizing regional aviation, and how can MENA position itself as a reliable supplier?
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How can MENA countries balance domestic hydrogen demand with the potential for hydrogen export?
Moderator:
Brendan Hundt
Partner
King & Spalding
Panelist:
Nicolas Poirot
CEO Africa, Middle-East, South & Central Asia
Air Liquide
Gabriel Semelas
President, Africa and Middle East
Airbus
Coffee Break & Exhibition
11:10 - 11:20
(10min)
[Keynote] Strategic Hydrogen in Transition: How Air Products is Balancing Today’s Realities with Tomorrow’s Opportunities
Ahmed Hababou
President Middle East and India
Air Products
11:20 - 12:10
(50min)
[Visionary Panel] What Buyers Really Want: Decoding Demand for SAF, H2, Low Carbon Fuels
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What are the top adoption barriers for SAF from the perspective of airlines and logistics operators?
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How are industrial offtakers evaluating hydrogen’s readiness, pricing, and long-term reliability?
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What will it take to build credible, scalable demand signals across sectors for low-carbon fuels in MENA?
Moderator:
Carlo Stella
Managing Partner, Global Practice Leader, Sustainability Practice
Arthur D. Little
Panelist:
Noriyuki Ueda
Chief Executive Officer
JERA Middle East and Africa
Hamead Ahrary
Chief Sales Officer
SEFE Securing Energy for Europe
Maryam Telmesani
Group Vice President of Sustainability
Saudi Airlines
12:10 - 12:30
(20min)
[Keynote] Integrated Hydrogen Solutions: The Interdependence of the H2-value Chain Components
Carlo Terragni
Managing Director
Neuman & Esser Italia
Lunch & networking break
Day 1 Afternoon Theme: H2 Forum
14:00 - 14:50
(50min)
[Panel] Hydrogen Revenue 2.0: Monetizing Derivatives, Synthetic Fuels, and Flexibility in MENA Projects
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Which hydrogen-based fuels (ammonia, methanol, or SAF) and markets offer the strongest growth opportunities for MENA?
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Are synthetic fuels truly a profitable pathway for MENA, or will ammonia remain the primary vehicle for hydrogen value?
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How can byproducts and carbon credits enhance project bankability?
Moderator:
Stefan Krümpelmann
Editor, Hydrogen and Future Fuels
Argus Media
Panelist:
Akram Azerbayev
Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive
OQ Alternative Energy
Benjamin Dennhardt
Business Development,Energy Transition & Industrial Decarbonization
EnBW
Arnava Sinha
EVP and Head of Business Development, Green Hydrogen & Ammonia
ACME Group
Ali Zerouali
Executive Vice President Middel East, Africa
HIF Global
14:50 - 15:10
20 mins
[Keynote] Green Hydrogen as a Development Paradigm: Powering MEA’s Journey Beyond Energy Transition
Xiaowei Duan
Head of MEA Region&Int'l
Sungrow Hydrogen
Coffee Break & Exhibition
15:40 - 16:30
(50min)
[Panel] Delivering Cost-Competitive Hydrogen in MENA: Innovations, Infrastructure, and Project Execution
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What does it take to reach FID in MENA’s hydrogen projects? De-risking strategies, infrastructure readiness, and aligning stakeholders across the value chain.
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What technology breakthroughs are most critical to reducing hydrogen production costs in MENA?
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How can infrastructure integration — from water, power to storage — unlock economies of scale for hydrogen projects?
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​What financing and policy mechanisms can accelerate deployment of cost-effective hydrogen at scale?
Moderator:
Alejandro Longueira
Senior Principal
Oliver Wyman
Panelist:
Tony Nieman
Head of Middle East
InterContinental Energy
Dr. Jimmy Rojas
Chief Executive Officer
EVOLOH
Xiaowei Duan
Head of MEA Region&Int'l
Sungrow Hydrogen
16:30 - 16:50
(20min)
[Keynote] Reserved for SLG
16:50 - 17:40
(50min)
[Panel] Building Domestic Hydrogen Demand: Use Cases, Incentives, and Regional Momentum
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What government policies and incentives are driving local hydrogen adoption in MENA?
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Which hard-to-electrify industries offer the most immediate potential in MENA?
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How hydrogen refueling stations can activate MENA's domestic hydrogen economy?
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What other local use-cases are best suited for hydrogen in the immediate term?
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What’s driving hydrogen adoption in mobility, and how can fleets catalyze domestic demand?
Moderator:
Smriti Priya
Principal
Roland Berger
Panelist:
Vijeet Singh
Vice President, EVCI & H2
ADNOC Distribution
Ali Russell
Managing Director, Co Founder
EXTREME H
Neeraj Gupta
Head of Operations & Commercial, Road Freight MEA
DHL Global Forwarding
Elie Adaimy
Group Head of Business Development & Innovation
Gulf Cryo
18:00 - 21:00
180 mins