Wizz Air, Airbus to begin SAF trial ahead of EU mandates

Wizz Air announced Oct. 21 that it will trial operations using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in collaboration with Airbus. 

Wizz Air said this positions the airline at the forefront of compliance with the EU’s forthcoming RefuelEU aviation regulations, which are set to take effect in 2025.

As part of the EU’s Fit for 55 package, the RefuelEU aviation regulation requires aviation-fuel suppliers to ensure that fuel made available at select EU airports contains a minimum share of SAF with increasing blends over time.

It will also require airlines operating in the EU to refuel with 90 percent of fuel needs from those airports.

With this project, Wizz Air is taking steps to incorporate SAF into its operations, on top of leveraging the fuel efficiency of the Airbus A321neo aircraft, testing the alignment with regulatory frameworks ahead of schedule and working to understand passengers’ awareness of SAF and surrounding policies.

Julius Baer partners with Cathay Pacific to promote use of SAF

On 23 October, Julius Baer has partnered with Cathay Pacific to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel as part of the airline’s corporate sustainable aviation fuel programme.

The collaboration is part of Julius Baer’s decarbonisation efforts and climate goals, which include targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 and a 30% reduction in air travel by 2025 compared to 2019, as air travel accounts for a significant portion of its operational emissions, it said.In 2022, the bank introduced an internal carbon price for air travel, with the proceeds used to purchase sustainable aviation fuels from global airline partners such as Cathay Pacific, Swiss The proceeds from the introduction of an internal carbon price for air travel in 2022 will be used to purchase sustainable aviation fuel from global aviation partners such as Cathay Pacific, Swiss International Air Lines and Lufthansa Group.

Biodiesel sea trial to be conducted on harbour craft in Singapore

Pinnacle Marine, NTU MESD, Weichai Singapore and China Classification Society will conduct a 1000-hour continuous run of pure FAME biodiesel in a newly built harbour craft in Singapore.

Shipbuilder Pinnacle Marine (Singapore) recently signed a Research Collaboration Agreement with NTU Maritime Energy & Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence (MESD), Weichai Singapore Pte Ltd, and the China Classification Society Singapore. 

Pinnacle Marine said the agreement focuses on a 1000-hour continuous run of pure FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) biodiesel, known as B100, in a newly built 16-metre aluminium hulled harbour craft within Singapore Port Limits.

Neste Singapore refinery equipment failure shuts down renewable diesel line

Recently, Neste Corporation disclosed in a statement that its renewable diesel production line in Singapore has been temporarily shut down due to an unforeseen equipment failure, affecting the company’s supply to the U.S. market.

Neste explained that the first production line in Singapore, which had completed planned maintenance in the third quarter and resumed operations in October, was forced to stop production due to the equipment failure. This halted production line primarily produces renewable diesel that meets U.S. market standards, directly impacting Neste’s supply to its American customers. The company has notified its U.S. customers that deliveries for the rest of the year will be affected.

Nevertheless, Neste emphasized that deliveries of renewable diesel to markets outside the U.S. have not been disrupted. The company’s renewable diesel production continues as planned at its biorefineries in Finland and the Netherlands, as well as at its joint venture plant with Marathon Petroleum in California, ensuring stable supply to other markets.

Additionally, Neste confirmed that the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on the new production line at the Singapore refinery has not been impacted by the equipment failure.

Currently, Neste has begun repair work on the affected renewable diesel production line, although the company has not yet provided a specific timeline for when the repairs will be completed.

Norwegian Air will use a 15 per cent blend of biofuels on more than 1 million trips by 2028

Norwegian Air says it is using biofuels for the first time in business travel in the defence sector at Oresund Vigra Airport.

By 2028, it will use a 15 per cent blend of biofuels on more than one million business trips. The airline said it was the largest agreement of its kind in Norwegian history and likely the first under the NATO framework.

Currently, Norwegian Air has delivered one million litres of biofuel to Ålesund Airport with the help of Finnish energy group St1 and fuel supplier AFSN. By 2024, these biofuels will meet 15 per cent of the total consumption of more than 250,000 business trips in the defence sector and will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 2,000 tonnes this year.

Norway has chosen to purchase short-haul biofuels from the new biorefinery at St1 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Four years of EU litigation over tariffs on Indonesian biodiesel ends

On 17 October, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) secured a favourable judgement from the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which rejected the appeals of two Indonesian exporters against a previous judgement of the European General Court of December 2022, which rejected all requests to annul the countervailing duty imposed in November 2019 on biodiesel imports into Indonesia. The General Court’s 2022 judgement was fully upheld, ending four years of litigation.

Xavier Noyon, Secretary General of the European Biodiesel Agency (EBA), said: this ruling marks a new milestone in the EBA’s long and relentless fight against unfair biodiesel imports and the restoration of a level playing field in the European Union; it comes at an opportune time as the countervailing duty will soon expire unless the expiry review investigation concludes that it is necessary to extend the countervailing duty for a further five years.

In this case, the European Commission found that the export duties imposed by the Government of Indonesia were countervailing as defined in the basic countervailing regulation.

Malaysia plans to launch UCO futures

Malaysia is set to launch Used Cooking Oil (UCO) futures, reinforcing its commitment to the sustainability of the palm oil industry.

Industry expert David Ng of IcebergX Sdn Bhd highlighted that Malaysia generates around 540,000 tonnes of used cooking oil annually from palm oil and animal fats, which are the main feedstock for biodiesel production.

With increasing regulations such as the B20 standard and the upcoming B30 standard, which aim to promote renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, demand for UCO is expected to surge, which is likely to drive up its price.

As the world’s leading producer of gross palm oil, the launch of UCO futures in Malaysia will strengthen its role in the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market and support the development of the local palm oil industry. Bursa Malaysia is currently seeking approval from industry stakeholders and regulators to finalise the new UCO futures contract in response to the growing demand for biofuel feedstock.

Argentina’s first SAF plant to invest $200m

The Bahia Energy group will invest around US$200 million in Buenos Aires to build the country’s first bioethanol plant and the first Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plant, according to Argentina’s El Nacional newspaper.

The project will be carried out by its company Biosanfe, which will build an industrial complex to produce biofuels (ethanol, SAF and bio-methanol) from corn. The project is expected to create 600 construction jobs, followed by some 180 qualified jobs.

Japan may import large quantities of UCO for SAF

According news，Japan’s largest oil company, ENEOS, has struck a deal with a major local Chinese catering company to recycle waste cooking oil to produce sustainable aviation fuel, according to news. Another oil giant, Cosmo, also debuted its first mass production site for sustainable aviation fuel in Japan in September, and it is expected to be officially completed within the year.

Japan’s three major oil companies have said that in order to ensure future production, in addition to recycling domestic waste cooking oil, they also plan to import from overseas, such as importing large quantities of gutter oil from China. In addition, the United States is also actively competing for gutter oil resources. According to experts, the United States imports large quantities of meal waste grease from China, mainly for the production of advanced biofuels.

DB Schenker’s membership in corporate SAF program

Cathay Cargo and DB Schenker jointly held a signing ceremony Oct. 8 at the airline’s Cathay City headquarters to mark the global forwarder’s membership of Cathay’s corporate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) program.

Attended by Tom Owen, Cathay’s director of cargo, and Susanne Stemmer, DB Schenker’s vice president of global carrier relations, the ceremony marked DB Schenker’s stride forward in July to become the biggest contributor to the program, underscoring both parties’ commitment to reducing carbon emissions.