Cathay Pacific: China could accelerate adoption of sustainable jet fuels

According to what a senior Cathay Pacific executive told Bloomberg, since China has succeeded in developing solar power generation and popularizing electric vehicles, there is a possibility that it will become a major catalyst for widely popularizing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Cathay Pacific is cooperating with the Chinese authorities, state-owned power company State Power Investment Corp, and academics to consider ways to produce sustainable fuel at an affordable cost, the airline's Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lamb (CEO) told Bloomberg in an interview published on Tuesday.

According to Grace Chang, general manager in charge of sustainability at Cathay, if China has a national strategy for clean aviation fuels, such as EVs and solar power, it can accelerate ongoing global efforts for SAF production.

“If SAF policies are implemented in China, things will happen very quickly and have very impactful results,” Chang told Bloomberg.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), sustainable aviation fuels have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80%.

Despite numerous statements of support for SAF production by airlines and governments, analysts say that petroleum-based jet fuel alternatives are facing supply, cost, and feedstock issues.

Last year, IATA Executive Director Willie Walsh said the aviation industry is prepared to accept the fact that SAF is always more expensive than petroleum-based jet fuel.

Last month, China Commercial Aircraft Corporation (COMAC) announced that regional aircraft and airliners had successfully completed their first demonstration flight using SAF.

“So far, many Chinese airlines have conducted commercial test flights using Chinese-made SAF, and more than a dozen domestic companies and research institutes are working on SAF research, development and production,” COMAC said.

SAF manufactured by COMAC obtained an airworthiness certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in February this year.