JAKARTA · SUSTAINABILITY
Southeast Asian SAF projects reach financial close as feedstock economics shift [Proyek SAF Asia Tenggara mencapai penutupan keuangan]
Used cooking oil and palm residues are abundant here — the constraint is refining capacity, not raw material. [Minyak jelantah melimpah; kendalanya kapasitas kilang.]
Compiled with AI · reviewed and signed by the desk
Two Southeast Asian sustainable aviation fuel projects have reached financial close, both built around feedstocks the region has in quantity: used cooking oil, palm mill effluent and agricultural residue.
The economics work differently here than in Europe. Feedstock is cheap and local, but conversion capacity is scarce and the offtake buyers are mostly foreign airlines meeting European mandates rather than domestic carriers.
That creates an awkward dynamic — the region produces the fuel and exports the environmental benefit, while its own carriers continue burning conventional jet fuel on price.
Our read: watch domestic blending mandates. Without them the fuel keeps leaving, and the region gets the industry without the decarbonisation.