Abu Dhabi: The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC) announced today at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week that it will begin operating in March the world’s first bio-energy research facility using desert land, irrigated by seawater, to produce both food and aviation fuels.

The facility is located on a two-hectare site at Masdar City, a low-carbon, low-waste sustainable urban development in Abu Dhabi.

“This game-changing research places Abu Dhabi at the centre of a global movement to advance technologies to produce sustainable, commercially viable bio-energy,” said Dr Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.

“Abu Dhabi’s commitment to advance breakthrough research that addresses water and food security, with tremendous growth potential, underpins the nation’s transformation into a knowledge-based economy.”