{"id":6142,"date":"2024-10-28T15:03:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T15:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=6142"},"modified":"2025-02-17T10:16:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T10:16:21","slug":"malaysia-to-produce-saf-from-palm-oil-waste-while-thailand-pumps-first-saf-shipments-to-bangkoks-airports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=6142","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia to produce SAF from palm oil waste, while Thailand pumps first SAF shipments to Bangkok\u2019s airports \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\u2019s 2025 federal budget, is part of a broader drive to strengthen the country\u2019s 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\u2019s two main airports, while to the south, Singapore Airlines Group is preparing to receive 500 tonnes of the fuel from Neste\u2019s local refinery. Both the latter SAF consignments were produced from waste oils and fats.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The decision that Petronas would work with palm oil producers to make low emission aviation fuel was announced by Malaysia\u2019s prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, as he handed down the country\u2019s 2025 financial budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But rather than a specific sustainability initiative, the announcement was buried on page 83<\/a> of the PM\u2019s budget speech in a section dedicated to strengthening the country\u2019s palm oil sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PM also encouraged major palm oil companies to support small adjacent landholders \u201cby supplying the latest seeds and the best fertilisers, as well as helping them achieve compliance with sustainability standards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he announced an allocation of 65 million Malaysian ringgit ($15m) \u201cto counter misconceptions in Europe and enhance the sustainability of palm oil,\u201d but provided no further details of how this campaign would be delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Malaysia Aviation Group<\/a> (MAG), parent of Malaysia Airlines, has joined the national CEO Action Network \u2013 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\u2019s 25by2025 initiative aimed at improving women\u2019s representation in the aviation sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are proud to join CAN, focusing on establishing collective commitments to climate action and social stewardship,\u201d commented Datuk Captain Izham Ismail, Group Managing Director of MAG. \u201cThis initiative aligns seamlessly with our sustainability ambitions, particularly our decarbonisation goals and our commitment to creating a positive socio-economic impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across Malaysia\u2019s northern border, Thai energy company Bangchak Corporation<\/a> is delivering first supplies of blended SAF into the fuel pipeline system supplying Bangkok\u2019s two international airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBangchak has invested over 8.5 billion Thai Baht ($250m) in developing SAF production from used cooking oil through its subsidiary BSGF,\u201d reported the energy company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis initiative aims to prepare the aviation industry, both domestic and international airlines within the SAF alliance, to support the industry\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Earlier this year their parent company, Singapore Airlines Group (SIA), purchased 1,000 tonnes of the fuel from Neste\u2019s 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\u2019s fuel supply system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neste\u2019s refurbished plant, opened mid last year, is the world\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo (Martijn Gijsbertsen<\/strong>): Malaysia Airlines flew an inaugural flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in December 2021 with SAF supplied by Neste and Petronas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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