Singapore Airlines, Temasek partner with Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore to advance SAF

Singapore Changi Airport

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, in partnership with Singapore Airlines and Singapore-headquartered global investment company Temasek, will pilot the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Singapore. A request for proposal was called Nov. 10 to invite select SAF producers and fuel suppliers to develop and execute plans to deliver blended SAF to the Singapore Changi Airport. The pilot will commence in 2022 and is expected to run for a year. The pilot is a follow-up to an earlier study conducted by the Singapore government and industry players on the operational and commercial viability of using SAF at Changi Airport.

“Sustainability will be a key priority of the aviation sector as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and SAF will be a critical enabler in the sector’s decarbonization efforts,” said Han Kok Juan, CAAS director-general. “The pilot, which will incorporate the blending of neat SAF in local facilities, certification of blended SAF, and delivery to Changi Airport, is a significant step to operationally validate SAF integration options in Singapore. It will provide insights on end-to-end cost components, potential pricing structures for cost recovery, and support future policy considerations for SAF deployment.”

Lee Wen Fen, senior vice president of corporate planning with Singapore Airlines, said, “Sustainable fuels will be one of the key decarbonization levers in the aviation sector, and we are pleased to partner with CAAS and Temasek on this pilot in Singapore. This will support [the airline’s] commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, reinforcing our long-standing strategy of working towards decarbonization and environmental sustainability across our operations.”

Frederick Teo, Temasek’s managing director of sustainable solutions, added, “Tackling the climate emergency requires the acceleration of decarbonization strategies, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation and transport. This pilot project will trial the production and deployment of low-carbon fuels, with potential outcomes that could put the aviation sector on a path towards net zero. We look forward to working closely with CAAS and Singapore Airlines to collate real-world data on the practical benefits that sustainable aviation fuel can bring. This partnership underscores Temasek’s commitment to a net-zero carbon-emissions portfolio by 2050, as we seek to catalyze industry-wide decarbonization efforts to address today’s carbon challenges.”

The launch of the SAF pilot at the Singapore Changi Airport follows the unveiling of the SAF Policy Toolkit at the side-lines of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the same day. The SAF Policy Toolkit is developed by the World Economic Forum Clean Skies for Tomorrow SAF Ambassadors Group of which Singapore is a member. Other participating governments include Costa Rica, Kenya, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.K. The toolkit provides a menu of options to help policymakers around the world grow a sustainable SAF supply, stimulate SAF demand, and enable a healthy SAF ecosystem.

The Clean Skies for Tomorrow initiative provides a global mechanism for top executives and public leaders to align on a transition to SAF as part of a meaningful and proactive pathway for the industry to achieve carbon-neutral flying. The SAF Ambassadors Group comprises various governments working together to develop SAF policy proposals that may be implemented by industry and states to support SAF deployment. The SAF Policy Toolkit developed by the Ambassadors Group may be accessed here.