Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that it has signed an agreement with Aether Fuels to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from waste carbon feedstock, produced at a new Singapore-based SAF plant.

The airline said that the purchase will support its efforts to develop new lower-carbon fuel production capabilities.

Founded in 2022, Singapore-based Aether develops technology to produce sustainable liquid fuels for the aviation and maritime industries. The company’s technology creates fuel from any feedstock that can be converted to CO, CO2, CH4, or H2, such as captured carbon dioxide, industrial waste gases, biogas, gasified municipal solid waste and waste biomass.

Under the new agreement, Singapore Airlines will purchase up to 4,800 tonnes of SAF over three years, with deliveries beginning in 2028.

The SAF will be produced at Project Beacon, Aether’s planned commercial production facility at energy and chemicals company Aster’s refining complex on Pulau Bukom in Singapore. The facility will use convert biomethane and industrial waste gases into SAF, providing an alternative to the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway, which relies on lipid-based feedstocks.

Conor Madigan, Co-Founder and CEO of Aether Fuels, said:

“When we signed our MOU with Singapore Airlines last year, Project Beacon had not yet been announced. Since then, we have selected Singapore as the home of our first commercial facility and built critical partnerships across the local value chain…This binding agreement is an important next step and a strong signal of committed demand from a leading global airline – exactly the type of collaboration needed to create the commercial conditions to bring new SAF pathways to scale.”

The agreement marks the first airline to purchase SAF produced at Project Beacon, and also represents Singapore Airline’s first purchase of SAF produced using new technology that converts waste carbon feedstocks into aviation fuel.

Lee Wen Fen, Chief Sustainability Officer, Singapore Airlines, said:

“Supporting the development and adoption of SAF, and securing future supplies, are integral to SIA’s ambition of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. As the first airline to purchase SAF from Project Beacon, SIA is demonstrating demand for new lower-carbon fuel production pathways in Singapore.”