1-2 April 2026 | Virtual Summit, Gulf Standard Time (GST)
Strategic Partner
Sustainability Partners
Green Sky Visionary Partner
In Conjunction with:
Co-located with:
.png){kind=small}
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
-
​[Keynote] EU–Middle East Clean Energy Partnership: Aligning Policies and Leveraging Resources for Global Decarbonization
.png)
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?
-
What are the key drivers for the growth of SAF, hydrogen in the MENA region?
-
What strategic role can SAF play in decarbonizing regional aviation, and how can MENA position itself as a reliable supplier?
-
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
-
What are the top adoption barriers for SAF from the perspective of airlines and logistics operators?
-
How are industrial offtakers evaluating hydrogen’s readiness, pricing, and long-term reliability?
-
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
Maryam Telmesani
Group Vice President of Sustainability
Saudi Airlines
Hamead Ahrary
Chief Sales Officer
SEFE Securing Energy for Europe
Markus Exenberger
Executive Director and Chairman
H2Global Foundation
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
-
Which hydrogen-based fuels (ammonia, methanol, or SAF) and markets offer the strongest growth opportunities for MENA?
-
Are synthetic fuels truly a profitable pathway for MENA, or will ammonia remain the primary vehicle for hydrogen value?
-
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
-
What does it take to reach FID in MENA’s hydrogen projects? De-risking strategies, infrastructure readiness, and aligning stakeholders across the value chain.
-
What technology breakthroughs are most critical to reducing hydrogen production costs in MENA?
-
How can infrastructure integration — from water, power to storage — unlock economies of scale for hydrogen projects?
-
​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
Dr. Sören Dresp
Director of Advanced Technology Institute
Sungrow Hydrogen
16:30 - 17:20
(50min)
[Panel] Building Domestic Hydrogen Demand: Use Cases, Incentives, and Regional Momentum
-
What government policies and incentives are driving local hydrogen adoption in MENA?
-
Which hard-to-electrify industries offer the most immediate potential in MENA?
-
How hydrogen refueling stations can activate MENA's domestic hydrogen economy?
-
What other local use-cases are best suited for hydrogen in the immediate term?
-
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