Investors in the biofuel production sector in China are planning to invest over a billion dollars in building the country's first plants for converting used cooking oil into eco-friendly sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
According to data, China currently ranks second in the world in aviation fuel consumption, accounting for about 11%. Plans to implement a SAF policy by 2030 could lead to increased investments in this sector.
"According to information from six SAF investors quoted in a report on May 17, Chinese biofuel production companies plan to launch plants within the next 18 months to produce over one million tons of SAF annually. This volume will account for about 2.5% of China's annual aviation fuel consumption," the statement said.
It is also noted that last year China exported a record 2.05 million tons of used cooking oil (UCO), mainly to the USA and Singapore, and supplied raw materials to biofuel processing plants such as the Finnish company Neste.
"We are in talks with airlines and major oil companies on initial exports and have proposed to the Chinese government to set a clear target for SAF use," said Ison Chen, vice president of Tianzhou New Energy, which is currently building a SAF production plant in Sichuan Province with an annual capacity of 200 thousand tons.
Currently, China produces less than 100 thousand tons of SAF per year, mainly at a plant owned by EcoCeres, which will start exporting fuel in the eastern region of the country from 2022.