PTT, Thai Airways join hands for SAF in Thailand
Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (GC), PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR) and Thai Airways today announced a strategic partnership to promote the adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the country.
The three firms agreed to collaborate on various aspects of SAF, including research and development, production, quality inspection, sales, and carbon offsetting. The companies plan to utilise agricultural waste as raw materials towards production of SAF.
GC is the first Thai company to produce SAF from used cooking oil (UCO) through its biorefinery project with initial SAF production capacity of 5,000 tons per year. The company plans to expand this to 25,000 tons per year in the future.
“GC is proud to be the pioneer of SAF production using the conversion of used cooking oil (UCO) with crude oil under the biorefinery project, the first in the country. With its modern infrastructure and expertise in biorefinery development, GC is able to apply the technology to commercial-scale SAF production without having to build a new plant,” said Tossaporn Boonyapipat, President of GC.
“In the first phase, the production capacity is 5,000 tons or 6m liters per year, and will be expanded to 25,000 tons or 24m liters per year in the future, which will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15,000 tons per year in the first phase and 60,000 tons per year in the second phase.”
OR, as the leading aviation fuel distributor in Thailand, will leverage its extensive network to deliver SAF to airports nationwide. This will ensure widespread availability and facilitate the integration of SAF into the aviation fuel supply chain.
Thai Airways will incorporate SAF into its domestic and international flights to reduce its carbon footprint.
This initiative aligns with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) global standards and supports Thailand’s goal of becoming a low-carbon country.
Beyond SAF, the three companies plan to explore and develop other alternative energy projects related to the aviation industry, such as innovative technologies and energy solutions. This long-term vision demonstrates their leadership in driving sustainable change in the region.