Cathay Pacific and Airbus have signed an agreement to jointly invest up to $70 million in a series of projects to ramp up the development and production of sustainable aviation fuels.
The agreement – signed in Hong Kong on the sidelines of the IATA World Sustainability Symposium – will see both companies collaborate to “identify, evaluate and invest” in projects which will “support the scaling” of SAF production by 2030. These projects will not be limited to Hong Kong or Asia, but also the rest of the world.
“Projects will be assessed based on their commercial viability, technological maturity and potential for long-term off-take,” the two companies state.
The partnership will also see Cathay and Airbus collaborate to push for more supportive SAF policies in Asia.
They add: “With the region’s strong potential in feedstock supply, production capacity, and its vibrant aviation market, Cathay and Airbus aim to leverage their global experience to help shape policies that make SAF more accessible and affordable in this part of the world.”
The investment agreement announced on 21 October will help address the “short-term” requirement to ramp-up SAF production, says Cathay general manager for sustainability Grace Cheung.
Cheung, who was speaking at the briefing, says the SAF produced by projects under the investment will not entirely be for Cathay’s usage.
“We expect that our investment will serve as a catalyst [for scaled-up production]. It will not be that the investors will take 100% [of the SAF produced].
Cathay’s latest signing comes months after it joined other Oneworld alliance carriers like American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Japan Airlines – as well as Singapore Airlines – to invest in next-generation SAF production, as well as the growth of “alternative fuel markets”.
Cathay’s Cheung says that investment has a “different” timeframe, and will look at projects through the 2040s and beyond.
Cheung adds: “We are working…with different partners, looking at different time horizons, different technology solutions, to make sure as an industry, we are better prepared to to this decarbonisation challenge.”
