A decade ago, the Paris Agreement set out an ambitious and vital goal: to limit the rise in average global temperature by 1.5°C. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are contributing to this shared objective with plans to significantly reduce emissions by 2025 and achieve net zero or carbon neutrality by 2050. Meeting these goals is especially challenging for APAC countries, which experienced a 151% rise in energy-related emissions from 2000 to 2023 due to economic, industrial and population growth.¹ This fast-developing region embodies the world’s constant appetite for energy, and the necessity of expanding the availability of renewable fuel sources.

To meet the world’s 2050 climate-change goals, we need more renewable, clean sources of energy, delivered in ways that are practical, affordable and scalable. That means speeding up transformation across sectors, with a focus on those areas where energy conversion can make the biggest impact, such as transportation.

Reducing emissions and increasing renewables

With its sheer size and economic power, the APAC region will have an outsized influence on decarbonization and the transition to renewable fuels. One of the greatest opportunities for the region will come from the transformation of aviation fuel.

The world used about 12.7 billion metric tonnes of aviation fuel in 2024,² and demand is expected to rise by more than 50% by 2050.³ Geographically, APAC is well-situated to serve the aviation industry’s renewable fuel demands, with more and more flights traversing Europe and Asia, and airlines that need to meet new emissions standards. To realize these opportunities will require maximizing production of sustainable aviation fuel by leading in processes that offer the greatest returns.

Pathways to progress with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is produced from waste and agriculture feedstocks, making it less carbon intensive than traditional jet fuel. SAF is blended with petroleum jet fuel, and it is replacing an increasing percentage of what’s in a plane’s fuel tank. SAF is immediately viable and adoption is growing rapidly, offsetting fossil fuel use in aviation. By 2035, SAF is expected to displace 11% of worldwide jet fuel demand.⁴ To meet that demand, the world will need to produce over 25 times more SAF in the next decade than was produced in 2024.⁵

SAF is produced through four major pathways, each of which relies on different types of feedstocks.

• HEFA stands for hydrotreated esters and fatty acids. This process uses vegetable oils, waste oils and fats and is the approach used to deliver SAF to the market over the last decade. However, limited feedstock will cap how much SAF can be produced from this process.
• Ethanol to jet (ETJ) leverages ethanol derived from agricultural waste or grain, corn, sugarcane or other ethanol-producing plants.
• Methanol to jet (MTJ) uses methanol as a marketable, transportable intermediate for jet fuel production. When the methanol is derived from organic waste sources like biomass, biogas, or municipal solid waste (MSW), it can be further refined into SAF. Alternatively, a combination of green hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide can be used to synthesize electro-methanol, which can be upgraded to electro-SAF (eSAF).
• Fischer-Tropsch is the first ASTM-approved pathway for producing SAF. It uses waste biomass, biogas, MSW, or green hydrogen combined with carbon dioxide to produce liquids and waxes which are then further refined for use as SAF or eSAF.

Market opportunities for SAF 

Honeywell UOP leads in innovation and productivity across all four SAF pathways to expand feedstock accessibility and give producers diverse options to meet the needs of their operations, customers and global climate compliance regulations. 

Across the APAC region, governments are setting policies favorable to SAF production and consumption, leading to development opportunities. Australia, Singapore, Japan and China are among the countries with active initiatives to reduce reliance on fossil-based jet fuel and increase adoption of SAF.⁶ Airlines, airports, investors and fuel producers see tremendous opportunity for the region to be a hub for SAF.

However, to meet this promise, producers in the region will need to access multiple pathways of production, which will allow for the use of different feedstocks. As HEFA-based feedstocks become more limited, the other three pathways open up more ways to increase the global SAF supply, helping to facilitate adoption around the world.

Capitalizing on options and opportunities

The APAC region is pivotal to global decarbonization efforts, and ideally situated to help accelerate SAF adoption for the world. By leveraging multiple available pathways for SAF production that are both practical and profitable, this bustling region can uncover another avenue for economic development while ushering in an era of 100% renewable jet fuel.

References:

¹ GenZero. (2024, October 16). Asia Pacific’s Energy Transition Outlook.  https://genzero.co/apac-energy-transition-outlook/

² Statista. (n.d.). Commercial Airlines: Worldwide fuel consumption 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/655057/fuel-consumption-of-airlines-worldwide/

³ S&P Global Commodity Insights. (2024, August 7). Infographic: Jet fuel demand soars as SAF takes flight. Commodity Insights Live. https://cilive.com/commodities/agriculture/news-and-insight/080724-infographic-jet-fuel-demand-soars-saf-flight-summer-travel-aviation-pandemic-kerosene-cargo-decarbonization

⁴ Boubin, M. (2024, October 14). The importance of U.S. ethanol engagement within a competitive global SAF Market. Ethanol Producer Magazine. https://ethanolproducer.com/articles/the-importance-of-us-ethanol-engagement-within-a-competitive-global-saf-market

⁵ International Air Transport Association (IATA). (2023, December 6). SAF Volumes Growing but Still Missing Opportunities. Retrieved from https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2023-releases/2023-12-06-02/.

⁶ Bentley, J. (2024, October 29). Ambitions for Sustainable Aviation from across the Asia Pacific: Perspectives on SAF, Aviation Decarbonisation Technologies and policies. Sustainable Aviation Futures. https://www.sustainableaviationfutures.com/saf-spotlight/apac-saf-report