Khalifa University’s Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS) Recognized by Global Water Awards

The integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS), the flagship project of Khalifa University’s Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium and the world’s first bioenergy facility using saltwater to produce seafood and aviation biofuel in the desert environment of the UAE, has been recognized as “Industrial Project of the Year – Distinction” by the Global Water Awards.

This SEAS project was recognized by the Global Water Awards because it is a unique project characterized by cross-industry co-operation to implement sustainable biofuel production and create an agricultural alternative in the UAE. In January 2019, Etihad Airways operated the first commercial flight using biofuel produced by the project, successfully flying from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam.

The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC) was established in Abu Dhabi in 2011 as a not-for-profit research consortium to advance the aviation industry’s commitment to sustainable business practices by developing technology with the promise of producing a clean, alternative fuel supply. Its flagship project, SEAS, is being carried out in collaboration with Boeing, Etihad Airways, ADNOC Refining, Safran, GE, and Bauer Resources.

Dr. Alejandro Rios Galvan, Director of SBRC, said: “It is a great honor to be recognized by the Global Water Awards. It ��ݮ��Ƶ the importance of collaboration between the private sector and academia in creating solutions for the creative use of water, which is of utmost importance for arid and water-constrained regions of the world.”

The success of the SEAS system demonstrates the viability of using saltwater for halophyte agriculture in the desert environment of the UAE, avoiding the use of precious groundwater and arable land to produce biofuel. It also uses on-site solar panels to power the system’s pumps and valves, further extending its environmental impact. 

The next step for the SEAS system is to scale it up to a 200-hectare site, in a move towards full commercial implementation.

The Global Water Awards was established in 2006 by Global Water Intelligence. It recognizes the most important achievements in the international water industry within several categories, and rewards those initiatives in the water, wastewater and desalination sectors that are moving the industry forward through improved operating performance, innovative technology adoption and sustainable financial models.

Erica Solomon
Senior Publication Specialist
13 December 2020

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Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has committed to purchasing carbon offsets, to completely neutralize the CO2 emissions of its flagship “Greenliner” 787-10 aircraft for a full year of operations in 2021.

The initiative is the start of the airline’s journey to reduce CO2 emissions to 50 percent of 2019 levels by 2035, and to achieve full net zero emissions by 2050 – a first for any airline in the Gulf and one of the first to set a target of this scale in the industry. Separately the airline will implement an additional voluntary offset program for passengers via its website (etihad.com) in 2021.

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Researchers at KU’s Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC) have  spent the past few weeks tilling, leveling, and replenishing the water levels in its integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS), the flagship project of SBRC and the world’s first research facility to grow both food and fuel using desert lands irrigated by seawater. They are preparing to plant the fourth season of Salicornia plants, whose oil-rich seeds are harvested to produce aviation biofuel.

“This season will be dedicated to increasing the yields of the oilseed crop based on experience gained from previous seasons by implementing a different planting strategy and a supplementary irrigation methodology during the germination phase of the plant,” said Research Engineer Jose Barron.

“Two of the eight fields will be dedicated to grow three of the best performing accessions based on the recommendation of the halophyte breeding team.”

From the aquaculture side, the ponds are also being prepared to be restocked with a fin fish species to explore the feasibility of growing higher market value seafood at demonstration scale. Fin fish species is more attractive to the UAE market than the Indian White Shrimp, Tilapia, and Sea Bream species that were cultivated previously.

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By Dr. Alejandro Rios

Innovative solutions are part and parcel of a genuine green economy.

The impact of environmental degradation brought forth by human actions done in the name of progress over decades has given rise to a new socio-economic development paradigm that ��ݮ��Ƶ the need to equally promote social equality, environmental sustainability, and economic stability – all of which are closely intertwined with each other. This paradigm, called green economy, did not come from a vacuum but rather as a result of the mounting need to adopt a new strategic approach that drives significant growth but with careful regard to the environment and sustainable use of our finite natural resources.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocate for a green economy transition. One-third of the agenda’s 169 targets relate to the green economy concept as per the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

While this is easy to say, there is nothing simple about leaving behind the old ways of doing things to make a landmark shift to this form of economic framework. The transformation, like any other change, is replete with challenges.

Opposition arises when it becomes clear that the transition entails getting rid of the business-as-usual behaviour. Some of the deeply-entrenched business processes and practices, including those adopted by energy companies that for the most part are not paying for the externalities they cause, have to go if we are to successfully arrive at our target sustainability destination.

Another challenge, apart from the threat of questionable business models, deals with green investments and funding. Ambitious projects and initiatives needed to build a green economy do not come cheap. Establishing key infrastructure and facilities as well as deploying technologies usually require heavy investments and commitment from both the public and private sectors. In this regard, governments and businesses are enjoined to earmark substantial capital funding to help fuel and sustain the green economy movement.

Boosting investments in bankable smart environmental projects, for instance, is the key to accelerate our sustainability journey.

It helps that more than 9,500 companies, up from 8,000 companies in 2018, are already part of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Under this initiative, the member organisations have voluntarily pledged to adopt and report on the implementation of sustainable and socially responsible policies. With this pledge, we hope to see a significant increase in the needed green investments and funding today and in the years to come.

Pushing for sustainability that goes beyond conventional factors, including cost-saving and risk management, also remains a challenging task. Going ‘beyond’ means continuously developing and improving our capacity to generate innovative solutions to the world’s urgent sustainability issues. It also entails companies adopting and embracing green technologies.

Innovative solutions are part and parcel of a genuine green economy. In particular, we need innovative solutions and unique practices that inspire change and deliver, not just promise, concrete actions. In the UAE, several institutions, especially in the academic sector, encourage innovative research, which is helping to bring tangible solutions to some of our most pressing challenges, including water, energy and food security. This helps build human capital, advance the scientific understanding, and contributes to the development of a sustainable green economy in the UAE.

Dr. Alejandro Rios is Director of KU’s Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC)

This article originally appeared on on  22 October 2019.

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Researchers at Khalifa University’s innovative SEAS facility explore ways to improve crop yields and in turn, increase their understanding in the cultivation of fish and halophytes

Khalifa University’s Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS), the world’s first research facility to grow both food and fuel using desert lands irrigated by seawater, has received a major upgrade to improve the pilot facility’s performance and the healthy growth of its salt-tolerant plants and fish.

Back in January, the oil-rich seeds of the plants grown in the SEAS facility, which is the flagship project under KU’s Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), were used to produce the first batch of biofuel that was combined with traditional jet fuel to power the world’s first commercial flight using locally produced sustainable halophyte-based fuel, on an Etihad Airways Boeing 787 from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam.

The major achievement was a testament to the commercial potential of the SEAS project. But to those most intimate with the work, it highlighted the importance of continuous improvement. The researchers identified significant structural improvements to the facility that would enable better yields of the salt-loving plant known as Salicornia and the growth of a wider range of fish species.

“Given that the SEAS concept had not been attempted in such a way before, the initial design of the aquaculture ponds tried to mimic natural conditions as much as possible, but this, we realized, was not the most optimal design,” said Hendrik Visser, Program Manager for the SEAS at Khalifa University. Visser is working with Dr. Alejandro Rios, Director of the SBRC, and Jose Barron and Nahla Mezhoud, both Research Engineers, to optimize the Salicornia’s harvest yields. In addition to refurbishing the facility, the team is exploring other crop management practices to obtain high yields, such as planting different quality of seeds and other factors.

“Preparation of the fields, such as tilling, leveling, and sowing, volume of irrigation, quality of the water and seeding density (plants per square meter), play a crucial role in the agronomic performance of the plants,” Barron explained.

The team is implementing a new sowing pattern – rows instead of concentric circles, facilitating much better coverage of the fields in less time. The plants will be ready for harvesting by the end of September. The final yield of the harvest will help the researchers understand the optimal growing season of the plant in the UAE’s harsh environmental conditions of high salinity and very high summer temperatures and humidity.

Perhaps the most important considerations the team has made to optimize crop yields are the corrective works to the facility. The six aquaculture ponds at the SEAS facility underwent a complete refurbishment that spanned seven months. The work consisted of excavating, setting new foundations, reshaping the ponds, installing a new liner, and reconfiguring the drainage pipes.

The newly shaped ponds hold a bigger volume of water and have a sump at the bottom that helps drain the fish waste to the bottom of the pond and provides better conditions for the fish to grow during the hot summer. These new conditions will allow researchers to explore the potential of growing other fish species that may be more attractive to the UAE market. An additional benefit that has already been observed as a consequence of the newly refurbished ponds is a significant increase in the flow and quality of water for irrigation of the Salicornia fields.

“This is the third season that the Salicornia bigelovii crop is being cultivated at the SEAS facility. By the end of September, when fields are harvested and the biomass has been fully processed (dried, ground, and winnowed), the seed yield will help to build on the knowledge with regards to the best agronomic practices for cultivating the Salicornia bigelovii,” Barron added.

Finding the optimal yield potential of the Salicornia will boost the production of sustainable fuel, and such management practices must be properly adopted.

“The SEAS is an unprecedented project – it is an integrated system that ticks the UAE’s boxes for promoting energy sustainability, food security, carbon footprint reduction, and training and employing high-tech professionals in the future knowledge economy,” Dr. Rios said. “We will continue to investigate ways to further enhance the facility’s performance in order to boost the production of sustainable fuel and food. Our efforts will be particularly valuable as we enter our next phase of development, which involves scaling up this pilot facility to a 200-hectare facility, where we will demonstrate the feasibility of the SEAS concept at a commercial scale.”

The SEAS project is being conducted under the Masdar Institute, one of KU’s flagship research institutes that serve as interdisciplinary research units focused on long-term strategic priorities. The Masdar Institute focuses primarily on sustainable energy, water and the environment.

Erica Solomon
Senior Editor
23 June 2019

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