The Malaysian government has announced state-owned oil company Petronas will collaborate with major palm oil producers to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel from palm oil waste. The feedstock is contentious in many western countries as development of commercial palm oil plantations often comes at the expense of tropical forests, displacing and endangering wildlife. The Malaysian move, announced in the government’s 2025 federal budget, is part of a broader drive to strengthen the country’s palm oil industry, one of the largest in the world and a key national exporter. Meanwhile, its northern neighbour Thailand is to pump first supplies of SAF to Bangkok’s two main airports, while to the south, Singapore Airlines Group is preparing to receive 500 tonnes of the fuel from Neste’s local refinery. Both the latter SAF consignments were produced from waste oils and fats.

The decision that Petronas would work with palm oil producers to make low emission aviation fuel was announced by Malaysia’s prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, as he handed down the country’s 2025 financial budget.

But rather than a specific sustainability initiative, the announcement was buried on page 83 of the PM’s budget speech in a section dedicated to strengthening the country’s palm oil sector.

While the volumes, delivery timeframe and prospective users of the palm oil SAF were not disclosed, the PM specifically referenced the Petronas initiative as part of a broader endorsement and defence of the palm oil industry, which in the new fiscal year will also receive incentives totalling 100 million Malaysian ringgit ($23m) to replace ageing, unproductive palm trees with new crops.

The PM also encouraged major palm oil companies to support small adjacent landholders “by supplying the latest seeds and the best fertilisers, as well as helping them achieve compliance with sustainability standards.”

And he announced an allocation of 65 million Malaysian ringgit ($15m) “to counter misconceptions in Europe and enhance the sustainability of palm oil,” but provided no further details of how this campaign would be delivered.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), parent of Malaysia Airlines, has joined the national CEO Action Network – a coalition focused on sustainability advocacy, capacity building, action and performance. MAG will contribute to the Diversity Equity Inclusion workstream, which aligns with its commitment to IATA’s 25by2025 initiative aimed at improving women’s representation in the aviation sector.

“We are proud to join CAN, focusing on establishing collective commitments to climate action and social stewardship,” commented Datuk Captain Izham Ismail, Group Managing Director of MAG. “This initiative aligns seamlessly with our sustainability ambitions, particularly our decarbonisation goals and our commitment to creating a positive socio-economic impact.”

Across Malaysia’s northern border, Thai energy company Bangchak Corporation is delivering first supplies of blended SAF into the fuel pipeline system supplying Bangkok’s two international airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.

The fuel was delivered as part of a pilot programme with Bangkok Aviation Fuel Services and BAFS Pipeline Transportation to help prepare infrastructure for SAF production and use in Thailand, and to help achieve recognition as a renewable energy leader within the broader Southeast Asia region.

“Bangchak has invested over 8.5 billion Thai Baht ($250m) in developing SAF production from used cooking oil through its subsidiary BSGF,” reported the energy company.

“The construction of the SAF production unit at Bangchak Refinery in Phra Khanong, near Bangkok, is progressing as planned, with production expected to commence in early Q2 of 2025 with a capacity of 1 million litres per day.

“This initiative aims to prepare the aviation industry, both domestic and international airlines within the SAF alliance, to support the industry’s goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in alignment with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Air Transport Association.”

In Singapore, renewable fuels producer Neste is due this quarter to deliver the second of two 500-tonne consignments of blended SAF to the Changi Airport for use by Singapore Airlines and its low-cost sibling Scoot.

Earlier this year their parent company, Singapore Airlines Group (SIA), purchased 1,000 tonnes of the fuel from Neste’s refinery near the border with Malaysia. During the second quarter, the airlines became the first to receive the waste oil SAF from Neste through the airport’s fuel supply system.

Soon after, a Vietnam Airlines Airbus A321 destined for Hanoi became the first visiting carrier from the Asia-Pacific region to uplift Neste SAF from Changi, followed by a long-haul Emirates Boeing 777-300.  

Neste’s refurbished plant, opened mid last year, is the world’s largest SAF manufacturing facility, capable of producing 1 million tonnes of the fuel per year. As well as supplying the Singapore hub, the facility also produces SAF for export to other markets including North America and Europe, where demand is currently far higher than in the Asia-Pacific region. The Singapore government has decreed that from 2026, at least 1% of the fuel used by each departing flight will need to be SAF, with mandated proportions to increase to between 3% and 5% by 2030.

Photo (Martijn Gijsbertsen): Malaysia Airlines flew an inaugural flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in December 2021 with SAF supplied by Neste and Petronas

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will establish a S$50 million ($37m) investment fund to support new programmes or initiatives that progress the nation’s ambitions to become a sustainable air transport hub. The Aviation Sustainability Programme will provide selected applicants with funding towards delivering measures that help to reduce aviation’s carbon emissions, build sustainable operational capabilities or unite industry partners to help create a sustainable aviation ecosystem. Sector-wide projects will be subsidised by as much as 70% and company-level projects by up to 50% as part of Singapore’s development of a Sustainable Aviation Blueprint, which is due to be released later this year. The investment programme coincides with an assessment by the flag carrier of neighbouring Malaysia that South-East Asian nations will substantially expand the production of sustainable aviation fuels from 2025 to narrow the current large gap in decarbonisation capabilities between Asia-Pacific markets and both the US and Europe.  

Singapore is growing its capabilities to decarbonise aviation not only to reduce harmful emissions from the sector but also to leverage new low-or-no-emission initiatives for competitive gain as it seeks to strengthen its position as a regional aviation hub. In September last year, an International Advisory Panel (IAP) on Sustainable Air Hub submitted to the CAAS a detailed report containing 15 initiatives to help decarbonise airline, airport and air traffic management operations. The final report will list medium-term targets to 2030 and longer-term measures to 2050, along with enabling pathways.   

“Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, we want to build sustainability as a new competitive advantage for the Singapore Air Hub,” said Han Kok Juan, Director General of CAAS. “The new $50 million programme is a response to industry feedback and will provide a much-needed boost to our effort to decarbonise. It will help alleviate investment costs and catalyse and accelerate company-level projects. It will also facilitate sector-wide risk pooling, capability building and collaboration, which will be how we can distinguish ourselves from other air hubs.”

In 2019, said CAAS, operations at Singapore’s airports created 297.5 ktCO2, or around 0.7% of the country’s domestic carbon emissions, while air operators accounted for 17.6 MtCO2, a 2.8% share of all carbon emissions from international aviation.

Singapore’s primary gateway, Changi Airport, is already engaged with partners including Singapore Airlines and its low-cost brand Scoot, Exxon Mobil, renewable fuels producer Neste and state investment company Temasek in a trial of sustainable aviation fuels. It is also investigating other initiatives including the production and supply of hydrogen fuels for future generations of aircraft. As well, CAAS has signed aviation accords with New Zealand, the US, the UK, and Japan which include collaboration on measures that can help to decarbonise air transport between those markets and Singapore. The Singapore government has also signed an agreement with ICAO through which Singapore will provide and receive assistance, capacity building and training (ACT) as part of ICAO’s ACT-SAF programme.

There are three key conditions for participation in the new Aviation Sustainability Programme. For applicants to qualify, they must meet at least one of the criteria – reduce energy use and demonstrate a reduction of at least 10% in carbon emissions; develop and test new service offerings that enhance the ability of companies to operate more sustainably; or bring together aviation ecosystem partners for R&D, green certification or standards development, and foster knowledge transfer.

Examples cited by CAAS of eligible proposals include the adoption of novel or more energy-efficient airport systems or equipment, more efficient and sustainable airport processes such as faster aircraft turnaround times or improved airside vehicle operations, and testing cleaner energy sources such as new alternative or low carbon fuels. CAAS will conduct its first call for proposals in April, with information available to applicants by email.

In neighbouring Malaysia, a senior executive of Malaysia Aviation Group said South-East Asian nations lagged other more developed markets in SAF production “by about a decade,” but would rapidly catch up from 2025.

Philip See, the company’s Group Chief Sustainability Officer and CEO Loyalty and Travel Solutions, told GreenAir that in their second full year of a formal sustainability programme, Malaysia Airlines and its sibling companies – Malaysia Airlines Cargo and regional subsidiary Firefly –  had performed 18 international, regional and domestic flights using SAF. 

“Last year, our SAF flights were a bit ad hoc to gauge customer comfort with the concept,” he said. “We want to move away from one-off SAF flights and beyond one-year to multi-year agreements. Our goal now is to build our operational depth of experience.

“We want to progress to something more structured and to start looking at issues such as procurement and SAF supply chain. We also have to address the local feedstock challenges we have in the region, but it’s not going to be done in the immediate term of one to two years.

“My view is that we are behind the US and Europe by about a decade but if we mobilise, we can narrow that gap relatively quickly. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has a lot more work to do but we are very fast adopters. Asian SAF production will begin to take root beyond 2025 in my estimation.”   

See said the pace of SAF scale-up in the ASEAN region would be driven by government policies in member nations, particularly if blending mandates were applied. He also acknowledged the establishment by renewable fuels company Neste of a major SAF production facility in Singapore and said a key benefit in Asia would be logistics. But, he added, “there must still be SAF availability.”

Malaysia Airlines has worked closely with the Malaysian global energy company Petronas to procure blended SAF, but increasingly will work with other partners to source the fuel internationally. As part of the oneworld global airline alliance, Malaysia Airlines is bound by the goal of the alliance that by 2030, 10% of the jet fuel used by its member airlines will be blended SAF. In addition to its growing commitment to SAF, Malaysia Airlines has introduced a range of operational initiatives to help reduce carbon emissions from its flight and ground operations. The airline is also preparing to introduce 20 new Airbus A330-200 neo jets and 25 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbodies, which respectively are up to 11% and 14% more fuel efficient than the older versions they will replace. 

Top photo: Singapore Changi Airport

Bottom photo: In December 2021, Malaysia Airlines, in partnership with Petronas and Neste, operated its first SAF flight

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost sibling Scoot have started using sustainable aviation fuel on flights from their Changi Airport home base following the launch this week of a 12-month pilot programme in which neat SAF will be blended locally, certificated and delivered via existing infrastructure. Under the initiative, driven by the Singapore government, the waste-to-fuel producer Neste will provide 1,000 tonnes of SAF, which will be blended with refined jet fuel at ExxonMobil’s Singapore facilities. Use of the fuel is expected to cut aircraft carbon emissions by 2,500 tonnes. The programme is a collaboration between SIA, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and GenZero, a division of state investment company Temasek, which is focused on global decarbonisation projects. In a parallel initiative by CAAS, SIA and Temasek, SAF credits will be available for purchase from this month, initially enabling corporate travellers and freight forwarders to help cut the carbon emissions of passenger and cargo flights, reports Tony Harrington.

“There is broad-based consensus amongst government and industry leaders around the world that the decarbonisation of the aviation sector and the achievement of net zero targets by airlines will require large-scale SAF production,” said CAAS Director-General Han Kok Juan. “This first successful uplift of blended SAF is an important milestone in Singapore’s journey towards sustainable aviation. It shows that the Singapore Changi Airport is SAF-ready.” The programme will also provide operational experience in adoption of SAF, which the CAAS is studying as part of a Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint to be published early next year.

Lee Wen Fen, SVP Corporate Planning for Singapore Airlines, said the start of the pilot was “an important milestone in the SIA Group’s decarbonisation journey and a clear demonstration of the company’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Working together with our partners, we will continue to support the adoption of SAF in Singapore.”

Geraldine Chin, Chairman and Managing Director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific, added: “We are proud to supply certified SAF to Singapore Airlines in this inaugural pilot. ExxonMobil is bringing its deep capabilities in fuels manufacturing and logistics to help customers such as SIA achieve their net zero ambitions. We are focused on growing our lower emissions fuels business by leveraging technology and infrastructure, and continuing research in advanced fuels that could provide improved longer-term solutions.”

Renewable fuels producer Neste is preparing to start SAF production in Singapore from the first quarter of 2023, expanding an existing renewable diesel plant to additionally produce up to 1 million tonnes of SAF per year.  Sami Jauhiainen, the company’s VP Renewable Aviation for the Asia-Pacific region, said the collaboration through the Singapore programme “demonstrates the potential of SAF in reducing aviation’s emissions and helps accelerate its use in Singapore and globally.”

Under the SAF credit programme, 1,000 credits will be offered, one for every tonne of neat SAF to be delivered under the 12-month pilot. It is estimated that the initial SAF credits will reduce CO2 emissions from aircraft by 2,500 tonnes, equating to 2.5 tonnes per credit. The purchases are expected to help stimulate demand for the fuel and support the development of a SAF industry in Singapore.

The credits will be registered in a pilot project within the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB} Book & Claim System, designed to ensure that SAF credit transactions are conducted transparently and without double-counting of credit usage.

Initially, to help mitigate the carbon emissions created by their air travel, corporate customers and freight forwarders will be able to buy SAF credits directly from Singapore Airlines. Alternatively, freight forwarders will also be able to sell SAF credits to their cargo customers as a means of helping to recompense their own carbon emissions from business operations.  Then, from the fourth quarter of this year, all Singapore Airlines customers will be able to buy a mix of SAF credits and carbon offsets as part of the SIA Group Voluntary Carbon Offset Programme.

The airline group will also collaborate with Climate Impact X, a global exchange for carbon credits, to offer a combined portfolio of SAF and carbon credits to help meet corporate demand for SAF.

“As we progress with the SAF pilot in Singapore, we can now offer more opportunities for our corporate customers and travellers to mitigate their carbon emissions using SAF credits, which are registered and accounted for within the RSB Book and Claim System,” said SIA’s Lee Wen Fen. “This will help to accelerate and scale up the collective adoption of SAF.”

CAAS DG Han Kok Juan said: “The creation of a trusted and vibrant marketplace for the sale and purchase of SAF credits in Singapore will help support the adoption of SAF, which is essential for the decarbonisation of the aviation sector.”

Frederick Teo, CEO of GenZero, the investment platform wholly-owned by Temasek, welcomed the start of SAF use by SIA and Scoot on flights departing Changi Airport. “We have also been working with our project partners and the Climate Impact X global exchange to pilot innovative products for SAF credits,” he said. “Such credits represent an important way to crowd in financing from environmentally-conscious corporates and institutions to reduce the cost premium and encourage greater adoption of SAF to decarbonise global aviation. We look to the SAF credits arising from this project being available by the end of the year.”

Mikkel Larsen, CEO of Climate Impact X, said: “The current lack of incentives for the adoption of green fuels has meant that prices continue to remain high and economically unviable. SAF credits can help to spur adoption by enabling competitive price discovery and channelling finance towards projects that can drive the use of sustainable fuels at the scale necessary to support decarbonisation in the aviation sector.”

Arianna Baldo, Programme Director, RSB, said: “Singapore Airlines’ participation highlights how this innovative approach can add value for companies who are serious about decarbonising the aviation sector.”  

In neighbouring Malaysia, the national oil and gas company, Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB), and the nation’s largest air hub, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), have pledged to jointly increase the long-term supply of sustainable fuel for airlines, following successful demonstrations on two recent flights by Malaysia Airlines, one from Amsterdam, the other from KLIA to Singapore with SAF produced by Neste.

To align with its commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and ahead of the 2027 mandatory phase of the CORSIA international carbon offsetting scheme, Petronas is evaluating developments of both greenfield and brownfield biorefineries as well as co-processing at existing facilities.

“Exploring the supply of SAF at KLIA is a natural progression for us with aviation fuel being one of our key products,” said Petronas CEO Azrul Osman Rani. Having supplied SAF for two commercial flights by Malaysia Airlines, he said Petronas had shown it had the capabilities and infrastructure to supply SAF to the airport “from now onwards to support the aviation industry’s sustainability agenda.”

Philip See, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Malaysia Airlines Group, said the carrier would increase its use of SAF for flights in Malaysia as part of its commitment to achieving socio-economic development and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. “Moving forward,” he said, “we will look to make SAF the cleaner and more viable energy option for our regular flights by 2025.” 

To support the increased adoption of SAF, in line with Malaysia’s national commitment to a lower carbon future, a dedicated taskforce has been established by the National Aerospace Industry Coordinating Office and led by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. Malaysia Airlines, Petronas and other government ministries are also participants.

Photo: Representatives from GenZero, Neste, Singapore Airlines, ExxonMobil and CAAS at the uplifting of blended SAF onto SIA flights at Changi

Malaysia Airlines has operated its first flight using sustainable aviation fuel, with one of its Airbus A330-200 aircraft flying nonstop from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur powered by a blend of used cooking oil and conventional fuel, reports Tony Harrington. The milestone flight by Malaysia’s national carrier was conducted in partnership with Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB), a division of the national energy company, with a 38% blend of SAF produced by Finland’s Neste. The fuel for this flight was procured from Neste by Petco Trading UK, the European marketing and trading arm of Petronas. Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, the New Zealand government has confirmed that in 2022 it will progress plans to introduce a SAF blending mandate, while national airline Air New Zealand has gone to market seeking formal submissions from global manufacturers for novel propulsion systems to help decarbonise its domestic short-haul operations by 2030.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH 7979, which took around 12 hours, was the first major collaboration between the airline’s parent company, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), and PDB, which recently partnered to progress the shift to more sustainable air transport. Among their objectives, the companies are working to help progress the permanent provision of SAF at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, for use by the airline on scheduled flights by 2025.  Planning for the flight from Amsterdam also incorporated the use of GE Digital’s FlightPulse and Fuel Insight software, which was used by the pilots to optimise fuel use for the journey.

The airline committed earlier this year to target net zero emissions by 2050 and as a member of the oneworld alliance has joined a collective pledge to ensure that by 2030, 10% of the fuel it uses will be SAF. MAG Group CEO Izham Ismail said: “Building on the momentum from our net zero emissions commitment earlier this year, we are proud to have crossed the significant landmark of operating the first Malaysian flight using sustainable aviation fuel. Moving forward, we expect SAF to be a key component of our strategy to deliver a more sustainable travel experience for our customers. With the completion of this significant first step, we are committed to working towards having a viable SAF supply chain here in Malaysia and we believe the only way we could reach this goal is through strategic collaboration and support from our stakeholders.”

PDB’s Chief Executive Officer, Azrul Osman Rani, said the SAF flight marked a significant milestone in the company’s 20 years-plus relationship with Malaysia Airlines, and the broader sustainable energy activities of Petronas, which include the provision of electric vehicle chargers, liquefied natural gas, solar power and other renewable power sources. “With SAF now proven to be a feasible alternative for commercial flights, we are excited to continue making headway in this decarbonisation journey,” he said.

Neste’s EVP Renewable Aviation, Thorsten Lange, welcomed the opportunity to work with Malaysia Airlines and Petronas to support the sustainable flight. “Neste’s SAF provides immediate emission reductions and is already available today, playing a pivotal role in decarbonising the aviation industry,” he said. “We continue to scale up our operations and will have the capacity to produce some 1.5 million tons of SAF annually by the end of 2023.” Up to 1 million tons of that total will come from Neste’s refinery in neighbouring Singapore, which is being expanded to help accommodate soaring global demand for SAF.  

In New Zealand, the national government has confirmed that in 2022 it will develop a mandate for jet fuel as part of a broader 2030 commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 41% of 2005 levels. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is working with Air New Zealand on a feasibility study of local production of SAF. Additionally, Air New Zealand has released to the aviation manufacturing sector a Product Requirement Document (PRD), seeking engagement with industry on the development of zero emission aircraft, or new propulsion systems that can be retrofitted into existing aircraft, potentially resulting in commitments to new aircraft as early as Q4 of 2022. “Air New Zealand’s ambition is to be an early adopter of technology to enable operational learnings and develop infrastructure for future zero-emission fleet additions,” the carrier said.

Zero emissions aircraft will be used by the airline to cut its total emissions by 20%. As well as seeking solutions for its own short-haul operations, the airline has invited interested parties to also consider the prospect of testing new-concept aircraft in New Zealand. And it has expressed willingness to consider retrofitting existing turboprop aircraft for use as concept demonstrators for novel propulsion technology. The PRD was intended “to enable Air New Zealand to accelerate the deployment of aircraft which benefit from energy and propulsion systems which produce significantly lower life-cycle carbon emissions than current gas turbine designs today.”

Photo: Malaysia Airlines flight fuelled with SAF blend at Amsterdam Schiphol (credit: Petronas)

At least nine of the 14 members of the oneworld airline alliance will between them purchase 350 million gallons (1.3 billion litres) of blended sustainable aviation fuel from California-based renewable fuels company Aemetis for flights from San Francisco International Airport over a seven-year period, commencing in 2024, reports Tony Harrington. Initially, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Qatar Airways will look to using the fuel, a blend of 40% sustainable product and 60% petroleum jet fuel, with other oneworld carriers potentially joining the programme in coming months. American Airlines, with the largest share, has signed an offtake for 280 million gallons of blended fuel (120 million gallons of SAF) with Aemetis. In a separate initiative by a oneworld member, Malaysia Airlines has partnered with Petronas, the Malaysian government-owned oil and gas company, to introduce SAF by 2025 and to explore new technologies to further reduce its carbon emissions.

The oneworld partnership with Aemetis followed a joint request to fuel suppliers for the purchase of sustainable aviation fuel. Waste wood from orchards and forests will be used to produce cellulosic hydrogen, which will then be combined with waste and non-edible sustainable oils, and zero carbon intensity hydroelectric power, to make sustainable aviation fuel at the Aemetis Carbon Zero plant, which is currently being developed in Riverview, near California’s capital, Sacramento. The process technology is licensed from Axens in France, a global technology provider to the oil and chemical industries.

The renewable jet/diesel plant is on the site of a 125-acre former US Army Ammunition production plant. To further reduce carbon intensity, the Carbon Zero production process includes injecting CO2 from the production plant into a sequestration well at the plant site to permanently capture an estimated 200,000 tonnes per year of CO2.

The Chairman of oneworld, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: “Our alliance is standing together with the industry in supporting the transition to net zero. As sustainable aviation fuel will play an important role in meeting aviation’s decarbonisation targets, we are proud to establish another milestone and drive the SAF use at commercial scale.” The alliance’s Chief Executive, Rob Gurney, added the Aemetis deal “continues to demonstrate what we can achieve together as an alliance and underlines the importance of collaboration in the important work to advance environmental sustainability. This latest milestone signals our commitment in driving forward momentum for the development of sustainable aviation fuel.”

The American Airlines purchase has an aggregated value of more than $1.1 billion, including LCFS, RFS, 45Q and tax credits. American has agreed to take delivery of 16 million gallons of Aemetis SAF annually over a seven-year period from 2024, with the blended fuel delivered to SFO.

“We’re proud to join with our oneworld partners in supporting the growth of SAF through this agreement with Aemetis, and we’re eager to continue collaborating with like-minded partners to meet aviation’s climate challenge,” said the airline’s CEO, Doug Parker.

As well as producing SAF, said Eric McAfee, the founder and CEO of Aemetis, the company’s new plant is designed to deliver direct social benefits, cutting air pollution in disadvantaged local communities by reducing orchard wood burning in fields, and creating more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs in a lower-income agricultural area.

On the opposite side of the Pacific, oneworld member Malaysia Airlines Group (MAG) has signed Memoranda of Understanding with Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB) and Petronas Research Sdn Bhd (PRSB) to help decarbonise air transport through the use of low carbon and sustainable fuels, innovation and technologies for carbon reduction, carbon offset and waste management, research and development for low carbon applications, and a combined advocacy campaign. As well, the companies will explore carbon capture technologies and potential uses for robotics, remotely operated infrastructure, machine learning and augmented reality in their collaboration to help decarbonise air transport. The company’s five airline divisions, led by Malaysia Airlines, operate more than 100 aircraft, ranging from regional DHC-6 Twin Otters to long haul Airbus A350s.

“MAG is committed and will continue to play an active role towards achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said the Group’s CEO, Captain Izham Ismail. “We believe SAF is one of the most significant components for aviation and we are proud to announce this landmark collaboration with one of our top suppliers, underlining Petronas’ support towards this goal.  We also look forward to the support from all stakeholders including key suppliers across the ecosystem, the government and customers.” 

The California and Malaysia deals closely follow the collective decision of oneworld’s members that by 2030, SAF will comprise 10% of the fuel they use to power their flights. The initiatives also coincided with an agreement by British Airways to introduce, potentially within months, SAF produced in the UK by oil refiner Phillips 66 (see article), and an announcement by Qantas that it was finalising its first major order for SAF, and discussing with manufacturers Airbus, Boeing and Embraer ways to expedite the development of SAF-compatible aircraft, ahead of an order for 100-plus narrowbody jets.

Photo: Qatar Airways