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.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have signed a landmark agreement to increase access to finance for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and other cleaner aviation energy projects, a key step towards achieving the aviation industry’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The agreement will explore avenues to implement the ICAO Financial Investment Centre (FIC), facilitating the identification of financial resources for the expansion of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), low-carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) and other cleaner energy solutions.

The ICAO LTAG report estimates that cleaner aviation fuel production alone will require an investment of approximately US$3.2 trillion.

ICAO will continue its advocacy and outreach efforts and organise dialogue with States and stakeholders to address financing needs, support project implementation and identify opportunities to increase access to public and private capital for aviation decarbonisation projects.

The Philippines Department of Transportation welcomed Oct. 3 the support of aerospace company Airbus in the development of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) ecosystem through the Philippine SAF Feasibility Study.

In a statement, Roberto Lim, the department’s undersecretary for aviation and airports, said the study will help develop relevant policies, regulations and programs to advance economically viable SAF production in the Philippines.

As a member of ICAO, the Philippines committed to achieving a net-zero carbon-emission target in the aviation sector by 2050.

Dutch technology company GAFT has signed a formal agreement with the Singapore-based philanthropic organisation Temasek Foundation to secure €750,000 as one of the two grand winners of The Liveability Challenge 2024.

The catalytic funding will help accelerate GAFT’s technology readiness to produce formic acid using its patented electrolyser unit in Europe, before shipping this to Singapore for fermentation into fatty acids suitable for SAF production.

GAFT is using novel technology, with conventional fermentation to rapidly scale and go-to-market ahead of the impending 2030 HEFA feedstock squeeze. 100% of SAF produced in 2023 was derived from HEFA – UCO are vital in SAF but there is a global shortage on the horizon and security of supply risk. Increased demand for SAF has seen 80% of EU’s used cooking oils imported from Asia.