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Neutral Fuels chosen for Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator

The MBRIFA programme was established under the UAE Ministry of Finance to accelerate the expansion of pioneering, innovative businesses

by Staff Writer
Neutral Fuels chosen for Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator
Neutral Fuels chosen for Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator

Neutral Fuels has won a place on the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator (MBRIFA), becoming one of  seven companies chosen from 159 applications representing 29 countries. The applicants underwent a rigorous process of screening, assessment, evaluation and shortlisting before the final cohort was chosen. 

The MBRIFA programme was established under the UAE Ministry of Finance to accelerate the expansion of pioneering, innovative businesses. It helps local innovators reach their growth ambitions by providing access to world class services, new markets and financing for growth.

To qualify for the MBRIFA programme, Neutral Fuels had to meet challenging criteria, including having an exceptional level of transferability and market potential. The company also had to demonstrate:

• New and refined thinking through a unique post ideation product or service;
• Sector leadership underpinned by strong business leadership with ambitions for growth;
• Alignment with the UAE vision and support of growth, diversification, and excellence;
• Potential social impact on the UAE nationalization and talent agenda.

Karl W Feilder, Founder and CEO of Neutral Fuels

Karl W Feilder, Founder and CEO of Neutral Fuels, said: “This comes just as climate change is increasingly recognised as the biggest problem the world faces. Governments are now putting real pressure on companies to adopt carbon solutions and biofuel is simply the quickest and easiest way to reduce the greenhouse gases from transportation. This recognition is a fantastic reward for the nine years we’ve spent turning biofuel into a commercially viable and scalable business proposition.” 

Younis Al Khoori, the Ministry of Finance’s Under Secretary said: “Our Advisory Decision Committee represents the brightest minds in a variety of sectors with a collective pool of experience spanning the globe. They have selected the best and brightest innovators who have the potential to deliver tangible impact.’

Neutral Fuels, which has pioneered the use of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and real time fuel tracking and management, has proven that biofuel made from waste is the best option for mitigating climate change caused by transportation.

In its flagship example, from July 2011 to March 2019 McDonald’s delivery trucks have travelled over 12 million kilometres on Neutral Fuels pure biodiesel resulting in almost 100% reduction in their transportation carbon footprint. The 100% pure biodiesel they use is made from McDonald’s own waste cooking oil and every drop is tracked using the Neutral Fuels cloud-based IoT platform, modelling a closed loop recycling in a circular economy.

Feilder, who has previously established businesses in over 20 countries around the world, said he knew of no other nation as business-friendly as the UAE. 

“Ten years ago, we were granted the first ever GCC licence to commission a biodiesel refinery right in the heart of the fossil fuel capital of the world. That level of forward-thinking by a government is highly unusual. Being a member of the MBRIFA will help us accelerate our plans to expand beyond the UAE this year, and we will expand yet further with a stock exchange listing in the next few years,” he said.

Neutral Fuels is set to expand its pioneering work in the UAE to other counties in the region, locally producing high quality clean, green, ultralow-carbon biofuel which can be used in any diesel vehicle or generator without modification and without any change to fuel economy.