China can spur green jet fuels just like EV market, Cathay says

China can accelerate development of sustainable aviation fuels in the same way that it’s spurred the electric vehicle and solar power sectors, according to Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

Airlines are making little progress in shifting away from traditional energy sources and the recent failure of a leading US clean jet fuel startup — backed by firms including Cathay, BP Plc and United Airlines Holdings Inc. — has highlighted the lack of momentum.

“We have really witnessed how difficult it is for the SAF industry to take off,” Grace Cheung, Cathay’s general manager of sustainability, said in an interview. The airline has held discussions with about 50 potential suppliers globally. 

Adoption of SAF has been slowed by high costs, limited feedstock and patchy policy support. Much of the small volumes currently available are being produced in the US and Europe.

The future role of cleaner fuels is likely to vary wildly depending on policy action, BloombergNEF said in its latest New Energy Outlook report. SAF would account for 5% of aviation’s total fuel demand by 2050 under an economic transition scenario — in which governments focus on technologies that are currently economically competitive — or about 71% under policies aimed at achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Cathay remains committed to a target for SAF to account for 10% of its fuel consumption by 2030, even after difficulties encountered by Pleasanton, California-based Fulcrum BioEnergy, which had agreed to sell 1.1 million tons of the fuel to the carrier over 10 years. 

“We are working hard to take the necessary action to fulfill that target,” Cathay’s Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam said in a separate interview.

The airline is working in China with authorities, academics and state-owned utility State Power Investment Corp. to explore how SAF can be manufactured at a viable cost, he said. SPIC aims to commission four plants by 2026 capable of producing between 200,000 tons and 400,000 tons a year.

With “a clear national strategy, just like for EV or for solar development,” China would stimulate global efforts to deliver cleaner jet fuels, according to Cheung. “When a supportive SAF policy is in place in China, things will happen very quickly, and have a very impactful result.”

China has lagged the United States, UK and Europe in setting mandates for the use of greener jet fuels, though recent activity suggests that’s shifting. 

State-owned Comac last month completed a maiden test flight of its C919 aircraft using SAF from Sinopec, the nation’s largest oil refiner. Earlier this year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China awarded a first airworthiness approval to an independent supplier of the fuel, according to state media.

China can win advantages from its abundance of renewable energy and the availability of feedstock required to make SAF, like used cooking oil, Cathay’s Cheung said. “We know China has really all these great conditions to thrive in this area,” she said.