Momentum is building in the Asia-Pacific region around improving the sustainability of the aviation sector and the use of sustainable aviation fuels. Major rivals Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines have signed a MoU to work together on a range of sustainability measures, while Vietnam Airlines has signed up to IATA’s CO2 Connect platform and recently conducted its first SAF flight, using a blend produced and supplied from Neste’s Singapore refinery. Dubai-based Emirates has also taken its first shipment in Singapore of SAF from Neste. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has received 500,000 litres of SAF produced in China by Hong Kong energy company EcoCeres and blended by ExxonMobil. Meanwhile, Korean Air is expanding its cargo SAF programme through a new partnership with global logistics company CEVA.

The Cathay-Singapore collaboration was agreed by their respective chief executives at IATA’s recent annual general meeting in Dubai, reiterating the commitment of both carriers to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and help drive the industry’s shift to more sustainable operations.

The two will jointly press for increased use of SAF across the APAC region and look for opportunities to jointly procure the fuel at specific locations. They will also publicly promote the fuel’s key role in cleaner aviation, advocate for Asia-Pacific governments to enact SAF-supportive policies and urge the creation of a single global accounting and reporting framework to ensure that emission reductions claimed from the use of SAF are both transparent and verified.   

Additionally, Cathay and Singapore will share best practices to reduce single-use plastics, minimise waste and improve energy efficiency in ground operations.

“As part of our collaborative ethos of ‘Greener Together’ we actively seek like-minded industry leaders for strategic partnerships in transitioning to sustainable aviation,” said Cathay’s CEO, Ronald Lam. “Our collaboration with Singapore Airlines aims to accelerate and support the development of the SAF supply chain in the region, fostering a reliable SAF ecosystem to enable the industry to achieve its long-term decarbonisation goals.”

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said his company was committed to embedding sustainable practices across all areas of the business but added the airline could not achieve all targets by acting alone. “Our partnership with Cathay signifies our mutual ambition to enhance collaboration in sustainability initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said. “Together we are helping to set the foundation for a more sustainable aviation industry and ensure that future generations continue to reap the benefits of air travel.” 

Also at the Dubai AGM, Vietnam Airlines joined IATA’s CO2 Connect project, through which airlines contribute operational data to the programme’s emissions calculator to help accurately quantify carbon emissions for each passenger by route flown and aircraft type.  Other participants in the programme include American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways, all of which are members of the oneworld global airline alliance.

“Reducing CO2 emissions and promoting sustainable development are top priorities for the global aviation industry,” explained IATA. “However, the measurement and reporting of CO2 emissions have been inconsistent due to the various methodologies used by different airlines.”

The CO2 Connect project creates a common platform for airlines to supply consistent calculation of aircraft CO2 emissions to enable both carriers and passengers to make environmentally informed decisions. The programme uses Recommended Practice Per Passenger CO2 Calculation Methodology (RP-1726), which assesses metrics including airline fuel measurement protocols, the CO2 allocation between passengers and cargo, and cabin class to help ensure the most accurate carbon footprint calculations.

“By participating in CO2 Connect,” said IATA, “Vietnam Airlines underscores its commitment to sustainable development, contributing to the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, as pledged by Vietnam at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, COP26.”

In May, Vietnam Airlines conducted its first flight to use sustainable aviation fuel, with an Airbus A321 taking on blended fuel at Singapore Changi for a return flight to Hanoi. Additionally, the airline became the first visiting carrier from the Asia-Pacific region to benefit from SAF produced at the Neste refinery in Singapore.

“We believe that the use of SAF will help create a more sustainable future for the aviation industry, providing passengers with both excellent service quality and environmental friendliness,” said Nguyen Chien Thang, EVP of Vietnam Airlines. “We are collaborating with our partners in the supply chain to expand the use of SAF in the future, thereby contributing to the successful achievement of goals related to net-zero emissions and climate change prevention.”

Emirates too has now started using Neste’s blended SAF in Singapore, produced from sustainably sourced renewable waste and residue raw materials including used cooking oil and animal fat. It is the first SAF procurement by Emirates in Asia and part of a broader global agreement with Neste.

“Emirates’ investment into Neste-produced SAF in Singapore marks a first step forward in our SAF adoption in Asia, a region that is primed to become a leading supplier of SAF, which continues to be in short supply,” said Adel Al Redha, the airline’s deputy president and COO. “While the activation of this agreement marks a milestone in our SAF journey in a new region, there’s still a lot of work to do. And as we procure SAF for the short term, we’ve got our sights set on longer-term agreements to help scale up a steady supply of SAF for our operations.”

The airline also uses SAF on flights from Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Paris, Lyon and Oslo, and late last year integrated SAF into fuelling systems at its home hub, Dubai.

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has acquired 500,000 litres of SAF produced from used cooking oil in China by Hong Kong headquartered renewable energy company EcoCeres and blended by Exxon Mobil.

The SAF was delivered to Wellington Airport for use in Air New Zealand’s fleet of ATR 72 regional airliners. The carrier says this volume of SAF is sufficient to fuel 165 Airbus A320 flights between the country’s capital, Wellington, and New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. 

“Airlines are signing supply arrangements for SAF 10 years into the future and beyond,” said Air NZ’s Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, Kiri Hannifin, “so we need to be part of the picture from the start, otherwise New Zealand may fall behind. While the volumes of SAF we are buying are very small compared to the amount of fossil jet fuel we use, they give an important signal to alternative fuel producers that we are open for business.

“We’ve seen increased international momentum around SAF in the past few months, with airlines, governments, airports and fuel companies all getting on board with alternative fuels at pace.

“From 2026, our aircraft will be required to uplift SAF when we fly home from Singapore and Vancouver. Japan has announced a SAF requirement from 2030 and other countries are also making signals that SAF will be mandated for all airlines for outbound flights including in Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.”

EcoCeres, a business unit of energy supplier Hong Kong and China Gas, operates a waste oil plant in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province in China, producing 100,000 tonnes of SAF per year and 200,000 tonnes per year of renewable diesel. The company says it is the world’s first ISCC-CORSIA Plus approved SAF processing facility. It is now planning a second plant in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, that would produce around 350,000 tonnes a year of low carbon transportation fuel.

Following a $400 million strategic investment made in EcoCeres by Bain Capital in 2023, the fast-expanding company earlier this year appointed former Neste CEO Matti Lievonen as its Executive Chairman. He has been joined by another former Neste executive, Phil Moore, who has taken up the position of Global Head of Sustainable Aviation Fuels.

Meanwhile, Korean Air is expanding its cargo SAF programme through a new partnership with global logistics company CEVA.

The logistics group will support Korean Air’s use of SAF for cargo operations, and the airline will reciprocate by sharing carbon emissions reductions with CEVA.

“One of CEVA’s key short-term levers to promote decarbonisation hinges on collaboration,” said Olivier Boccara, CEVA’s Air and Ocean Leader, APAC. “Through developing new solutions for our customers with airline partners like Korean Air we are able to contribute to meaningful change in our industry.

“Extending our SAF offering into the Asian market is a tangible step we can take now as we look ahead to more advances in fuels and other technologies to decarbonise air freight and the global supply chain.”

Photo: Emirates aircraft refuelled with Neste SAF at Singapore Changi Airport

Tony Harrington

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Hong Kong has stepped up its commitment to introduce sustainable aviation fuel with the formation of the Hong Kong Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition (HKSAFC), a multi-stakeholder group designed to progress the development, supply and use of SAF. The group unites the air transport industry, SAF producers and fuel suppliers, infrastructure providers, corporate users of SAF and policymakers. It is convened and chaired by Hong Kong’s Business Environment Council (BEC), an independent organisation established by the Hong Kong business community to promote environmentally sustainable practices, and has 13 founding partners including Cathay Pacific Airways, co-initiator of the group. The coalition’s launch coincides with Cathay and Korean Air Cargo separately adding new partners to their respective corporate sustainability programmes, through which cargo customers can offset the emissions of their shipments by contributing to the purchase of SAF.

Initially, the new coalition plans to advocate the case for SAF in Hong Kong by performing whitepaper research on developing the fuel, engaging with various stakeholders and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, and building public awareness of the benefits of SAF, along with the challenges of introducing it. Ultimately, it aims to develop Hong Kong as a regional hub for SAF, an ambition detailed by the government late last year in an economic policy address.

“The government fully endorses the direction of using SAF to decarbonise the aviation sector, which helps maintain the leading position of Hong Kong International Airport’s green and sustainable development,” said Hong Kong’s Liu Chun San, Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics. “Apart from the environmental benefits, ensuring the sufficient supply of SAF at Hong Kong International Airport would help consolidate Hong Kong’s international aviation hub status.”

As part of its commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, Cathay Group is actively supporting SAF usage through actions including offtake agreements, establishment of a SAF purchasing programme for corporate clients to productively compensate for the emissions of their flights and investment a decade ago in emerging US SAF producer Fulcrum Bioenergy. It has also committed that by 2030, 10% of the aviation fuel it uses will be SAF and is a participant in collective SAF purchasing programme by members of the global oneworld airline alliance, of which it is a prominent member.

“Sustainability is a key focus for Cathay, and we are committed to achieving our carbon net-zero goal by 2050,” said Cathay Group CEO Ronald Lam. “We believe firmly that SAF is a key enabler for the aviation industry to achieve its long-term environmental targets and to support the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

“Hong Kong has to be able to cultivate the development and use of SAF in order to retain and enhance its leading international aviation hub status. However, we cannot do this alone – it requires collaboration among all parties, and the HKSAFC is an important step in this direction.”

The chair of the new coalition, BEC’s CEO Simon Ng, added: “Aviation is widely recognised as one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise. In the foreseeable future, SAF is considered the most viable way for decarbonising the sector. Through the launch of HKSAFC, BEC will engage with multiple stakeholders to accelerate the deployment of SAF at Hong Kong International Airport, ensuring its availability and affordability.“

Other members of the new coalition include AFSC Operations, Airport Authority Hong Kong, Board of Airline Representatives Hong Kong, China Aviation Oil (Hong Kong), ECO Aviation Fuel Services, EcoCeres, PetroChina International (Hong Kong) Corporation, PwC, Shell Aviation, Sinopec (Hong Kong) Aviation, Standard Chartered Bank and Swire Pacific. 

Formation of the new SAF advocacy group coincides with the expansion by Cathay and Korean Air Cargo of their respective corporate sustainability programmes, with each securing new partners.

Cathay Pacific and Korean Air Cargo have both signed up Japan’s Yusen Logistics, a global freight forwarding company with operations in 47 countries. Cathay has also added Taipei-based global logistics company Dimerco Express Group and the Business Environment Council (BEC), while Korean has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Seoul-based logistics group LX Pantos.

In addition to cargo carried in the bellies of their passenger fleets, Korean operates 23 Boeing 777 and 747 freighters, while Cathay flies 20 B747 cargo jets, has orders for six new Airbus A350F freighters for deployment from 2027 and holds options to acquire 20 more.

Cathay launched its Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel Programme in 2022 with the joint goal of assisting cargo clients to offset the emissions created by their air freight movements, while helping to fund its own use of SAF.

The airline uses SAF on flights departing its Hong Kong hub and last year, in partnership with ExxonMobil and Shell, it used jet fuel produced from used cooking oil and animal fat to part-power commercial services from Singapore and Los Angeles. Cathay has also signed a MoU with China’s State Power Investment Corporation to help progress SAF development, a process  in which China seriously lags other markets.

The three new partner signings take to nine the number of corporate members of Cathay’s SAF programme, joining launch members AIA, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), Kintetsu World Express, PwC China, Standard Chartered and Swire Pacific.  New partner BEC is the first non-governmental organisation to sign up.

“Cathay is undertaking a multi-pronged approach to contribute to the aviation industry’s transition towards a greener future,” said Group CEO Ronald Lam. “SAF is an important facet of this approach, and we have received strong support from our corporate and cargo customers since the launch of our Corporate SAF Programme. We have also established new SAF supply partnerships in the broader Asia region to convey a clear message to the SAF supply chain that there is firm demand from this part of the world.”

Korean Air launched its corporate SAF programme for cargo customers late last year. Initially, it partnered with logistics company LX Pantos, and now, alongside Cathay, has added Yusen Logistics.

It is also working with governments, clients and oil companies to help accelerate the use of SAF and create infrastructure in South Korea for the new fuels.

Korean Air’s SVP and Head of Cargo business Division, Jaedong Eum, stated the airline was focused not only on decarbonising the airline sector but also expediting the sustainable development of the air cargo sector, and would collaborate with its customers to promote the use of SAF.

“Together, we hope to cooperate closely to expedite the commercialisation of SAF, a common goal in the aviation industry, and enhance awareness of SAF utilisation in the Korean market,” he said.

Keun Taek Oh, LX Pantos’ VP and Head of Air Freight Business Unit said: “Decarbonising the air logistics industry is a key survival factor for the future. LX Pantos will strengthen its ESG activities and take a leading role in creating a sustainable logistics environment through cooperation with Korean Air on SAF.”

Eisuke Fukagawa, Global Head of Yusen Logistics’ Airfreight Forwarding Group, added: “With this partnership with Korean Air, we are able to support our customers to decarbonise their supply chains and help stimulate larger supply for SAF.”

In addition to its cargo sustainability partnerships, Korean Air is also supporting development of SAF infrastructure for use in domestic aviation, and in 2022 signed an agreement with Shell to purchase SAF at key airports across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions from 2026 to 2031.

The company previously signed a SAF purchasing agreement with the cargo divisions of Air France KLM, the first Korean company to enter such an arrangement.

Photo below: Representatives from the partners of the Hong Kong Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition at the launch ceremony

Tony Harrington

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Last week’s Singapore Airshow reflected a growing focus of the air transport sector on decarbonisation across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Impacted by the recent eruption of Covid’s Omicron variant and onerously imposed government restrictions, the show attracted just 13,000 registered visitors, less than half the 30,000 who attended in 2019, while the number of exhibitors fell by over a third. Although there was a handful of orders for narrowbody passenger aircraft and widebody freighters, many announcements focused on sustainability partnerships and initiatives by airlines, aerospace manufacturers and fuel companies. A significant number of the declarations made at the show underscored the commitment of host nation Singapore to become a sustainable aviation hub and an APAC decarbonisation leader through measures including sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen propulsion and the use of renewable energy on the ground, reports Tony Harrington.

To guide the strategy, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said it will produce a Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint by early 2023 and has established a 20-member International advisory panel of industry and technology leaders to develop and progress the plan. Their first meeting was held on the sidelines of the show.

“While the immediate focus of the Singapore air hub is to revive air travel, we cannot lose sight of the longer-term challenge of climate change,” said Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, S. Iswaran. “This is a challenging endeavour, especially at a time when aviation companies are still dealing with the effects of the pandemic,” he said. “It will require strong public-private partnership and cross-sectoral collaboration to innovate and reinvent the aviation ecosystem.”

In the days before the air show, a 12-month pilot programme was announced by CAAS, Singapore Airlines (SIA), Exxon Mobil, waste-to-fuel producer Neste and state investment company Temasek to assess the supply, distribution and use of sustainable aviation fuels at Singapore’s Changi Airport.

During the event, SIA – together with aerospace companies Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Safran, plus the support of aerospace sustainability consultancy Roland Berger – signed the Global Sustainable Aviation Fuel Declaration, an initiative urging airlines, aerospace suppliers and fuel partners to support accelerated development, production and use of SAF. SIA was the first airline to sign, underscoring its commitment to decarbonisation, said Lee Wen Fen, the airline’s SVP Corporate Planning. “Beyond SAF, we also use multiple levers to achieve our goals, including achieving higher operational efficiency and investing in new-generation aircraft.” 

The declaration notes that to achieve a net zero target for global aviation by 2050, it is likely a production capacity in the order of 500 million tonnes of SAF would be required. “Recognising that aviation operates within a complex framework of international regulatory and safety requirements, a large-scale uptake of SAFs will require a collaborative effort from a broad range of organisations, with each playing a different role, from research, to production and logistics, to utilisation,” it says. “We will need to work progressively towards the expansion of SAF globally and regionally, with the intention of maintaining a level playing field.”

Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Rolls-Royce, added: “It is important that we combine our efforts and focus into building the momentum required to drive this forward. We are all big advocates for the development of alternative propulsion solutions including hydrogen, hybrid-electric and electric, and we also recognise that SAFs are a key building block to set us on our path towards achieving our long-term decarbonisation goals.” Airbus Chief Technical Officer Sabine Klauke urged other key aviation stakeholders to also sign the declaration. “The challenge is to further increase and encourage the uptake of SAF globally, as well as incentives and long-term policies that encourage SAF use,” she said.

Oil company Shell announced at the show that it would become the first supplier of SAF to operators in Singapore, following the upgrading of its local facility to enable blending of sustainable product with conventional aviation fuel, sourced by Shell Aviation from Neste. The first batch will be blended in Europe, before the task is transferred to Singapore. “Alongside investing in our capabilities to produce SAF, we are also focused on developing the regional infrastructure needed to get the fuel to our customers at their key locations,” said Jan Toschka, Global President, Shell Aviation. To support its aim of globally producing some two million tonnes of SAF per year by 2025, and subject to a final investment decision, Shell has proposed a biofuels facility within its Energy and Chemicals Park in Singapore, with annual capacity to produce 550,000 tonnes of low carbon fuels including SAF.

At its Singapore facility, SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) has just completed a trial of SAF in a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine, which is used to power Airbus A380 aircraft. Conducted with Singapore Aero Engine Services (SAESL), a joint venture of SIAEC and Rolls-Royce, the trial used a 38% blend of SAF, producing 32% lower carbon emissions than conventional fossil jet fuel. “As SIAEC grows its engine services business, we recognise the importance of mitigating potential impact to the environment,” said the company’s CEO, Ng Chin Hwee. “The successful trial using blended SAF at our engine test facility marks SIAEC’s capability and readiness to support the aviation industry towards the net zero carbon emissions goal.”

Dominic Horwood, Services Director of Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, said the SAF engine test was “an important milestone in accelerating the adoption of SAF in MRO services across the Asia-Pacific region, enabling our partners and customers in the transition to low carbon aviation.”

Neste and Japanese industrial partner Itochu Corporation announced plans to increase the availability of SAF in Japan by expanding a partnership they formed in 2020, through which Neste delivered its first SAF into Asia. Under the expanded agreement, Itochu will distribute Neste SAF in Japan, initially at the nation’s two largest international airports, Narita and Haneda in Tokyo. Neste is expanding its Singapore refinery, which it expects to increase SAF production from 100,000 tonnes to up to 1 million tonnes a year by the end of Q1 2023. 

Hydrogen propulsion also featured at the Singapore show. Beyond the SAF developments, CAAS, Changi Airport Group (CAG), Airbus and the energy engineering company Linde, announced a joint two-year study into developing an aviation hydrogen hub in Singapore. The partners will explore the transportation and storage of hydrogen, and its delivery to aircraft at existing and future airports. “While our immediate focus is on sustainable aviation fuel, we also need to explore longer-term alternatives such as hydrogen to better understand the potential and seize opportunities,” explained CAAS Director General Han Kok Juan.

In the lead up to the air show, Airbus partnered with Korean Air, Seoul’s Incheon international airport, and French industrial gases corporation Air Liquide to explore opportunities and infrastructure requirements for hydrogen powered regional flights in South Korea. “The Asia-Pacific region will play a key role as we work towards making climate-neutral aviation a reality,” said Sabine Klauke of Airbus. “By partnering with Changi Airport and with Incheon Airport, Airbus will leverage the operational and technical expertise of two of the world’s leading hubs. The studies we will carry out together reflect the need for a cross-sectoral approach, including manufacturers, airlines, regulators, airports, energy providers and academia. We need bold and coordinated action to achieve our goals.”   

For the first time in Asia, Boeing demonstrated its new 777X widebody jet, for which Singapore Airlines is an early customer. The airline announced at the show orders valued at $2.8 billion for 22 GE9X engines to power the 777X, which Boeing claims will deliver 10% lower fuel use and emissions than its competitors.

Embraer, Rolls Royce, and Norwegian regional operator Widerøe announced a 12-month partnership to study “a conceptual zero emission aircraft”, examining new propulsion technologies including all-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and hydrogen-fuelled gas turbine powerplants.

“Technological innovations can potentially enable clean and renewable energy to power a new era of regional aviation,” said Arjan Meijer, CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation. “The aim of our collaboration is to create new flight solutions that serve expanded market segments in a sustainable manner. I strongly believe this could lead to full sustainable connectivity, including very short haul intercity operations.”

Added Andreas Aks, CEO of Widerøe Zero, the air mobility incubator subsidiary of Widerøe: “Working with the world’s leading aerospace technology firms, our aim is to understand how a viable business can be built around zero emissions regional concepts, and to advise the manufacturers on operational requirements and customer expectations to design the best possible and sustainable air mobility service.”

Photo (Airbus): Static display at Singapore Airshow

Two major new aerospace partnerships have been launched in Asia, one in South Korea, the other in Singapore, to help progress the introduction of carbon neutral fuels for domestic and international air services, reports Tony Harrington. Hydrogen propulsion is the focus of collaboration in Korea between Korean Air, Airbus, Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) and the French industrial gases group Air Liquide, which have joined forces to investigate the infrastructure required to support future zero-emission aircraft. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Singapore Airlines (SIA), the state investment company Temasek, ExxonMobil and Finnish-based waste-to-fuel producer Neste have announced a pilot programme to introduce sustainable aviation fuel in Singapore from the end of July this year. Meanwhile, Airbus is forecasting a strong rebound in Asia-Pacific air traffic post-Covid, returning to 2019 levels between 2023 and 2025, and growth of 5.3% per annum over the next 20 years. This will be accompanied by the replacement of older aircraft to support the industry’s decarbonisation objectives, foresees the plane maker.

In Korea, the parties have signed a detailed Memorandum of Understanding through which Airbus will provide characteristics of hydrogen-powered aircraft, the expected energy volumes required to operate fleets of these new planes and the ground infrastructure they will need. Air Liquide will bring expertise in the production, liquefaction, storage and distribution of hydrogen fuels, while IIAC will provide an airport development plan, initially based on air traffic and distribution among terminals at the Incheon hub in Seoul, and Korean Air will focus on operational requirements including ground handling of hydrogen-powered aircraft, maintenance and flight operations.

“In the coming years, the Korean aerospace ecosystem will have to adapt to new fuels and new distribution channels,” said Anand Stanley, Airbus President Asia-Pacific. “Airbus and its partners need to be coordinated to ensure we will be ready. Together, we will prepare a roadmap to first develop hydrogen usages at and around Incheon Airport, and then build scenarios to support the deployment of hydrogen ecosystems connected to other Korean airports.” 

Air Liquide has already invested in two high-capacity hydrogen stations at Incheon, which started operation in August 2021, serving hydrogen fuel cell buses, cars and demonstration trucks, and is supplying hydrogen molecules to the stations under a long-term contract.

Soo Keun Lee, Korean Air EVP and Chief Safety and Operation Officer, added: “This MoU will be a starting point for the Korean domestic aviation industry to systemise a hydrogen supply chain and infrastructure development, where the introduction of hydrogen as an alternative fuel has been slow in relative comparison to other industries.”

Korean Air is also progressing a transition to sustainable aviation fuels, having last year signed an MoU with Hyundai Oilbank to produce and promote the use of SAFs, and having also partnered with SK Energy to buy carbon-neutral jet fuel for use on domestic air routes.

In Singapore, Singapore Airlines (SIA), supported by CAAS and Temasek, will source blended SAF from ExxonMobil, incorporating waste-based SAF produced by Neste, which is expanding its Singapore refinery to produce up to 1 million tonnes of SAF per year to support Asia-Pacific and global customers from early 2023. Also participating in the programme will be Scoot, the low-cost airline sibling of Singapore Airlines.

Neste will convert used cooking oils and waste fats from animals to produce 1.25 million litres of neat SAF that ExxonMobil will then blend with refined jet fuel at its Singapore refinery. The first batch of the blended fuel will be delivered to Singapore’s Changi Airport through the existing fuel hydrant system by late July, and from the third quarter will be used by Singapore Airlines and Scoot for flights from the hub. The project’s partners expect flight carbon emissions by the airlines to fall by around 2,500 tonnes during the year-long pilot programme.

“Sustainability will be a key CAAS priority in the coming years as we revive air travel and rebuild the Singapore air hub,” said CAAS Director-General Han Kok Juan. “The CAAS-SIA-Temasek SAF pilot is an important building block in our effort to develop a sustainable air hub. It will operationally validate SAF integration options in Singapore and provide insights on end-to-end cost components, potential pricing structures for cost recovery, and support future policy considerations for SAF deployment.”

Singapore Airlines’ SVP Corporate Planning, Lee Wen Fen, said SAF provided “a critical pathway for the success of the SIA Group’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. By collaborating with our partners, we can accelerate and scale up the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels in Singapore.”

Temasek’s Managing Director, Sustainable Solutions, Frederick Teo, added: “The SAF pilot marks an important step in our commitment to operationalise solutions to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors like aviation. We look forward to learning useful operational lessons from the pilot and working closely with our partners to advance the frontiers of sustainable aviation through impactful industry-wide decarbonisation strategies.”

The Airbus participation in the Korean programme is similar to a partnership it announced late last year with another Asia-Pacific airline, Air New Zealand, in which the aircraft maker committed to provide hydrogen aircraft performance details and ground operations characteristics, while the airline said it would assess the impact which hydrogen-powered aircraft might have on its network, operations and infrastructure. As well as exploring new aircraft designs, Air New Zealand has also announced that initially it wants to replace or retrofit with ‘novel propulsion systems’ its fleet of 23 Q300 turboprop aircraft from 2030, followed by its fleet of larger ATR 72-600s.

“We’ll be working closely with Airbus to understand opportunities and challenges, including achievable flying range and what ground infrastructure or logistics changes may be required to implement this technology in New Zealand,” said the airline’s Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer, Captain David Morgan. He said the MoU with Airbus also provided an opportunity for the airline to participate in the design and definition of hydrogen-powered aircraft, which the airline is actively considering alongside electric and hybrid-powered planes for domestic operations.    

Ahead of the Singapore Airshow that starts tomorrow, Airbus has released its 20-year Global Market Forecast for the region. It foresees a requirement for 17,620 new passenger and freighter aircraft, with nearly 30% of these replacing older, less fuel-efficient models.

“We are seeing a global recovery in air traffic and as travel restrictions are further eased, the Asia-Pacific region will become one of its main drivers again. With an ever-greater focus on efficiency and sustainable aviation in the region, our products are especially well positioned,” said Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International.

“Our modern portfolio offers a 20-25% fuel burn and therewith CO2 advantage over older generation aircraft and we pride ourselves that all our aircraft products are already certified to fly with a blend of 50% SAF, set to rise to 100% by 2030. In addition, our newly launched A350F offers efficiency gains of 10 to 40% compared to any other large freighter, existing or expected, both in terms of fuel consumption and in CO2 emissions.”

Globally, in the next 20 years, Airbus believes there will be a need for around 39,000 new-build passenger and freighter aircraft, of which 15,250 will be for replacement. “As a result, by 2040 the vast majority of commercial aircraft in operation will be the latest generation, up from some 13% today, considerably improving the CO2 efficiency of the world’s commercial aircraft fleets,” said the aircraft manufacturer, which pointed to a 53% decline in global aviation emissions per revenue passenger kilometre since 1990.

“In view of further ongoing innovations, product developments and operational improvements, as well as market-based options, Airbus has a clear ambition to achieve the air transport sector’s target to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

Photo: Korean Air Boeing 787