Doha, Qatar: Swedish companies are seizing the opportunity to establish new partnerships within Qatar’s transport ecosystem. They aim to collaborate closely with key stakeholders in Qatar’s extensive transportation landscape to identify and address the country’s needs for innovative and sustainable transport solutions.
The Peninsula recently spoke to some of the delegates in Doha for the latest edition of Innovation and Sustainability Platform (ISP) as part of Swedish efforts to support Qatar’s innovation and sustainability agenda.
Founder and Executive Director of Green City Ferries, Fredrik Thornell, expressed his enthusiasm for being part of the delegation and the substantial progress achieved within a short time.
“Many new relationships have been created in a very short period with different stakeholders in Qatar but also within the Swedish delegation. I also understood the high ambition from Qatar to make the transportation system into something modern and sustainable, and especially having great ambitions to develop the maritime system, which has great potential,” he said.
Green City Ferries, known for its innovative approach to emission-free waterborne transportation, combines Italian yacht-style design, New Zeeland’s efficient foil-assisted hull design, and state-of-the-art Swedish technology to create the Beluga24. The vessel can carry up to 147 passengers, operating at 30 knots with minimal wakes.
It is 100% electric, powered by batteries or hydrogen, and equipped with super-fast charging for optimised timetables. “We see a great potential in and around Doha for Beluga vessels. We also want to bring in other specialised Swedish companies to offer Qatar a holistic solution that will significantly impact its maritime sector,” said Thornell.
“Qatar could become a platform for implementing Swedish state-of-the-art innovations that will also bring life to the Maritime industry in Qatar. The technology is ready and waits to be implemented,” he added. Director of Business Development MEA at KBR, Nimit Shah, shared the developments following meetings with key Qatari ministries and entities in the civil aviation sector.
In alliance with KBR, Swedish Biofuels introduced Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) technology, which could replace fossil jet fuel entirely.
Shah said aviation contributes approximately 2 percent of global CO2 emissions, so the need to address this issue is pressing.
Shah highlighted the potential for SAF technology to be used by Qatar. “The One World Alliance, which Qatar Airways is part of, has committed to 10 percent of sustainable aviation fuel usage by 2030. So, the demand is there, but the supply is not there. So that’s where we can play a role,” he said. “The technology is the key enabler; this is where our partnership comes into play. To bring that technology into Qatar and scale it up to the quantity the Qatar Airways needed to decarbonise their fleet.”
President of Heart Aerospace, Simon Newitt, lauded Qatar’s sustainability leadership and commitment to supporting new technologies, which aligns with Heart Aerospace’s mission. Newitt stressed the importance of collaboration among airlines, airports, governments, regulatory authorities, and financiers to decarbonise the aviation industry, particularly Qatar’s influential role in the aerospace sector. With the regional hybrid electric airplane that Heart Aerospace develops, the ES-30 targets the short-haul market. Flights shorter than 1,500 km account for one-third of aviation emissions and are expected to triple by 2050. With the ES-30, we can start decarbonising air travel before the end of the decade.
“Qatar and its civil aviation sector are thought leaders in the aerospace industry, so having Qatar’s support for the new technologies, such as battery electric airplanes, that are of equal significance to solutions such as SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) is very important,” Newitt said. “Electric air travel can support Qatar’s short-haul connectivity requirements. There is much work going on now into electrifying the airport infrastructure, so the provisions will be there to accommodate electric aircraft in the future,” he added.
