Energy China breaks ground on SAF project in Heilongjiang

State-owned energy conglomerate China Energy Engineering Group Co Ltd (Energy China) announced that it has started  construction on 100,000-ton sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in Heilongjiang province.

The project will use wind, solar, hydrogen, and biomass to produce SAF.

The project aims to integrate renewable energy sources with biomass technologies. With an estimated total investment of 20.8bn yuan ($2.93bn), the project is expected to produce 200,000 tons of green methanol and 300,000 tons of SAF per year.

The first phase of the project, which includes a 6bn yuan investment to produce 100,000 tons of SAF, is slated to be operational by 2027. The company said that it aims to utilise cutting-edge technology with independent intellectual property to ensure high-value conversion of biomass and renewable energy, accelerating large-scale renewable energy development.

Chinese producers are making significant investments in developing domestic SAF production capacity. At present around two SAF projects are operational in the country with cumulative production capacity of 368,000 tons per annum.

Meanwhile, another eight SAF projects are currently under development. All of these projects, with a combined SAF production capacity of more than 1.5m MT per annum, are expected to come online either this year or the next.