In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific has teamed up with the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) to drive the further development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) supply chain in China. SPIC is one of the largest state-owned energy companies in the Chinese Mainland and a company with the world’s largest solar power installed capacity.
SPIC and Cathay Pacific have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering four SAF plants under SPIC.
The four SAF plants are expected to be commissioned between 2024 and 2026, and each will have the capacity to produce 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes of SAF annually. The plants will use a pathway similar to “Power-to-Liquids” (PtL) to generate the SAF, converting renewable electricity into liquid fuels.
Cathay Pacific is committed to pioneering the aviation industry’s move towards more substantial use of SAF, especially in Asia. In 2014, it was the first airline investor in Fulcrum BioEnergy, from which the airline has already committed to purchasing 1.1 million tonnes of SAF over 10 years, which covers around 2% of its pre-COVID-19 fuel requirements on an annual basis.
