EcoCeres keen to build green aviation fuel hub in Hong Kong ‘depending on conditions’ EcoCeres, a Hong Kong-based renewable biofuel producer, expressed strong interest in investing in a regional industry supply chain for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), contingent on the right conditions, according to the company’s CEO. In his policy address on Wednesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu outlined ambitious plans to develop an SAF supply chain in the Greater Bay Area. However, EcoCeres CEO Matti Lievonen said demand clarity, critical infrastructure, feedstock security and regulatory certainty were the key prerequisites for the company – one of the world’s major suppliers of the cleaner-burning fuel – to make a significant financial commitment. “The foremost requirement is a clear and stable local market,” Lievonen said. “The mandatory SAF usage target indicated by the Chief Executive is exactly the kind of policy signal needed.” “It creates a level playing field for all airlines, ensures long-term demand visibility for producers like us, and ultimately strengthens [Hong Kong’s] competitiveness in aviation decarbonisation.” He said securing local feedstock was crucial for Hong Kong’s SAF strategy to keep costs and pollution down, while regulatory support for domestic biofuel production was necessary to ensure a resilient supply chain. Currently, Hong Kong mostly exports its waste oil and grease collected from the catering industry, which could otherwise be prioritised for domestic biofuel production through regulatory support. In the policy address, Lee outlined plans to develop a supply chain, working with mainland China’s authorities to enable an unidentified Hong Kong firm, one of the world’s major SAF suppliers, to develop its business in the Greater Bay Area. The effort would be complemented by a specified target SAF consumption ratio for flights departing from Hong Kong International Airport by 2030, Lee added. EcoCeres’ SAF plant in eastern Jiangsu province had an output of 180,000 tonnes last year, primarily for exports, equal to 20 per cent of the global market, according to the latest annual report of founding shareholder Hong Kong and China Gas (Towngas). A second plant with an annual capacity of 300,000 tonners in Johor, Malaysia, was scheduled to begin pilot production by the end of this month. Lee said the envisioned industry chain would cover raw materials collection, large-scale SAF production and a blending facility. In his 2024 policy address, Lee committed to setting an SAF usage target for Hong Kong by the end of this year to cater to the rising demand from international airlines. Aviation accounted for 2 per cent of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency. In 2021, the 320 member airlines of the International Air Transport Association pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In his latest policy address, Lee acknowledged that major airports and airlines in Europe, America and Asia had a head start in setting SAF consumption targets or mandates. In Singapore, the government announced in February last year fuel blend targets for departing flights of at least 1 per cent SAF from next year, rising to 3 to 5 per cent by 2030. European Union regulations require airports of member countries to supply fuel containing at least 2 per cent SAF this year, rising to 6 per cent by 2030 and 70 per cent by 2050. The US government has a goal to boost national SAF use from 24.5 million gallons (93 million litres) in 2023 to 30 billion gallons annually by 2030, rising to 35 billion gallons by 2050. Besides usage targets, having a local blending facility would be essential to ensuring the efficiency and competitiveness of a proposed SAF supply chain in the GBA, according to Lievonen. “Currently, [pure] SAF must be shipped elsewhere for blending,” he said. “This adds unnecessary cost, complexity and carbon emissions from logistics.” “A local facility would unlock the efficiency and competitiveness of a truly local SAF supply chain.” https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326154/ecoceres-keen-build-green-aviation-fuel-hub-hong-kong-depending-conditions (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post