KAUST and Apsco partnership aims to revolutionise sustainable aviation fuel development in Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the Arabian Petroleum Supply Company (Apsco) have agreed a material‑transfer arrangement under which Apsco will supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to KAUST for experimental and modelling work intended to speed SAF deployment and meet regulatory and market needs.

According to the original report from KAUST, the collaboration will see Professors Mani Sarathy, Thibault Guiberti, Aamir Farooq and Hong Im lead research into the chemical properties, reaction pathways and combustion behaviour of supplied SAF samples. The university said the project will generate new datasets on fuel behaviour, emissions characteristics and performance metrics to build a comprehensive database and train models for designing future SAF formulations with improved efficiency and lower environmental impact. “This partnership allows us to combine world‑class experimental facilities with advanced artificial intelligence to fundamentally reimagine how sustainable aviation fuels are designed,” Sarathy said.

The agreement comes at a pivotal moment for the aviation sector. ReFuelEU Aviation sets binding minimum SAF blends for flights to and from the EU , 2 percent by 2025, rising to 6 percent by 2030 and 70 percent by 2050 , targets that industry observers and analysts say will be difficult to meet with today’s production and cost structure. Industry data show SAF volumes are set to grow rapidly but remain a fraction of total jet‑fuel demand; the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast SAF production to reach around 2 million tonnes in 2025, still only a small share of global jet‑fuel use. Independent consultancy analysis has warned of potential shortfalls against 2030 goals and highlighted that SAF today can cost three to five times more than conventional jet fuel, constraining commercial uptake.

KAUST’s work aims to address technical and knowledge gaps that slow adoption. By combining laboratory measurements with machine‑learning models, the project seeks to shorten development cycles , moving from years to months , for candidate blends and feedstocks, while improving understanding of emissions and performance across operating environments. According to the KAUST statement, that capability should help regulators and operators make faster, better‑informed decisions about certification and deployment.

Apsco framed the arrangement as both an operational and strategic step for Saudi Arabia. “This collaboration with KAUST marks an important milestone for Apsco and for the future of sustainable aviation in the kingdom,” Apsco CEO Azzam Qari said, adding that investing in national SAF research and testing capacity is “no longer optional, it is strategic.” The company said its role extends beyond supplying test fuel to helping build the scientific and technical foundation for Saudi‑developed SAF technologies.

For stakeholders focused on industrial decarbonisation, the partnership has three practical implications. First, locally generated, experimentally validated data shorten certification pathways and reduce reliance on external test facilities , a material advantage where national SAF production is being pursued. Second, validated models that predict combustion and emissions from partial datasets can reduce R&D costs and accelerate scale‑up of promising pathways. Third, closer industry–academic links help align feedstock selection, refinery integration and emissions outcomes with national sustainability targets and market realities.

The initiative does not remove wider commercial and policy challenges. Recent market assessments and industry reports point to constrained investment, high per‑unit SAF costs and a potential supply gap relative to 2030 mandates. Accelerating production at scale will still require coordinated policy signals, capital deployment and offtake arrangements alongside the type of technical de‑risking KAUST and Apsco are pursuing.

By anchoring experimental capability and predictive modelling within Saudi Arabia, the KAUST–Apsco agreement seeks to make SAF formulation and validation a locally available capability , an outcome likely to be valued by carriers, airports and fuel producers as the kingdom expands its aviation network and considers domestic SAF production. The project therefore represents a technical building block that, while not a substitute for industrial capacity growth or supportive market mechanisms, can reduce barriers to certification and help de‑risk commercialisation pathways for lower‑carbon jet fuels.