How should sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) be deployed? An exclusive interview with a world-leading licensor!

Reporter: In your view, what are the greatest advantages and the biggest challenges respectively in transforming existing refining and petrochemical assets toward biofuels? Sun Jianneng: The '15th Five-Year Plan for Building a New Energy System' explicitly calls for vigorously advancing petroleum consumption substitution and promoting—based on local conditions—the deployment of green fuel production capacity, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This policy orientation is accelerating the shift of China’s existing refining capacity into the biofuel sector. Such transformation carries notable inherent advantages: First, existing refining facilities possess mature hardware infrastructure, enabling effective control over capital expenditure and shortening project construction timelines; second, refining enterprises have accumulated extensive expertise in large-scale plant operation and maintenance, as well as safety and quality management. Leveraging this established industrial foundation represents one feasible pathway for refining companies to achieve green upgrading. At the same time, transitioning existing refining assets to biofuels faces multiple practical challenges. First is feedstock supply constraints: Used cooking oil (UCO), various biomass feedstocks, and other raw materials for biofuels are widely dispersed in origin, and China’s collection and storage system remains under development. Establishing a long-term, stable, and cost-effective feedstock supply security system thus constitutes the foremost challenge for such transitions. Second is process compatibility: Existing refining processes and catalysts were designed specifically for fossil feedstocks; biomass feedstocks differ significantly in composition from petroleum-based ones—and their composition itself fluctuates considerably—making technical retrofitting highly complex. Third is economic viability: Currently, biofuel production costs remain substantially higher than those of conventional petrochemical products. Although China has eliminated export tax rebates on used cooking oil and introduced a dedicated tariff code for SAF, long-term subsidy mechanisms and carbon market incentives still require further refinement and implementation. Balancing retrofitting costs, feedstock costs, and product revenues—and achieving a commercially viable closed loop—remains the core challenge confronting the entire industry. China possesses strong potential for SAF industrial development, thanks to its feedstock opportunities, robust industrial base, growing aviation demand, and favorable policy momentum. Yet it still requires clearer long-term demand signals—such as mandatory blending mandates and internationally recognized certification systems—to enhance long-term investment certainty for industry players. For existing refining enterprises, a pragmatic transition path involves fully leveraging their current equipment and operational strengths, partnering with proven technology service providers, prioritizing adaptive assessments of existing units, and planning projects based on locally available feedstock resources. Simultaneously, deep participation in industrial chain collaboration—including co-building stable feedstock supply systems—is essential to jointly overcome commercialization hurdles. Reporter: Regarding certification standards for green fuels, how would you assess the alignment between Chinese standards and international benchmarks (e.g., ISCC, RSB)? Where do Chinese enterprises face the greatest difficulties in obtaining international certification? Sun Jianneng: At present, individual projects still require enterprises to independently complete audits and certification based on their own operations. However, judging from our domestically commissioned projects already in operation, Chinese enterprises can fully adopt globally accepted technical pathways to obtain international certification. For example, the HEFA route (Ecofining™ process) is the world’s first commercially validated SAF production pathway—and currently the most mature. Jia’ao Environmental Protection, utilizing Honeywell UOP’s Ecofining™ technology, has successfully produced certified, compliant SAF.

What are mainland China, Hong Kong, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s perspectives on the long-term development of SAF? How will policy signals, regulatory frameworks, and certification standards influence the market? Which projects, technology platforms, and industrial clusters are most likely to achieve commercialization within the next five years?

Airlines’ practical choices will also be placed squarely on the table on Day One. The special session 'Airline Sustainability Focus' will center on SAF procurement, cost considerations, and sustainability strategies—examining how airlines navigate real-world constraints such as cost, supply availability, and airport access, as well as long-term offtake agreements, collaborative mechanisms, Scope 3 emissions, and continuous procurement. Representatives from Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and SF Express will participate. In the afternoon, the perspective broadens further—to the global stage. ReFuelEU Aviation, CORSIA, and emerging policy frameworks across the Asia-Pacific region; Book & Claim mechanisms, Scope 3 accounting, and SAF registry systems; SAF pricing and tradability; as well as airport readiness, blending capabilities, and fuel logistics—all will feature on the day’s agenda. Policy, demand, supply, infrastructure, and market mechanisms—the full value chain that SAF must traverse to achieve scale—will gradually unfold through the day’s discussions. Day Two: Technology, Feedstocks, and Financing—Mapping the Next Phase of Growth If Day One focuses more on how markets are built, discussions on September 22nd delve deeper into supply, demand, and technological pathways. A noteworthy session in the morning will be the launch of Hong Kong’s updated SAF Strategic Policy White Paper for 2026. Subsequently, the discussion turns to next-generation aviation fuels. Electro-fuel (eSAF), Power-to-Liquid (PtL), methanol-to-jet, hydrogen-powered aviation fuels… Where do these different technological routes stand today? Which hold the greatest promise for achieving scale before 2030? And how might China’s industrial foundations in renewable energy, hydrogen, and methanol create new opportunities for future aviation fuels? Beyond technology, financing remains equally critical. On financing for China’s SAF and e-fuel projects, the conference will further explore the prerequisites for reaching Final Investment Decision (FID), as well as the potential roles of long-term offtake agreements, structured supply contracts, green funds, and blended finance models. Feedstock pathways will also take center stage. Used cooking oil (UCO), Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), general biomass—as well as alcohols, lignocellulosic materials, municipal solid waste, and biomethane—will all be examined as potential feedstock routes.

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