The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group has signed a Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aether Fuels, potentially powering their aircraft for up to 10 years.
The climate tech firm plans to set up SAF production plans in the US and south-east Asia. It has a 100 gallon-per-day scale demo plant under construction with strategic partner GTI Energy and claims it can create fuel from any feedstock that can be converted to CO, CO2, CH4, and/or H2.
Source: Aether Fuels
The agreement outlines the SIA Group’s intention to procure neat SAF for five years when Aether plants begin commercial production, with an option for a five-year extension. Neat SAF will be blended with regular jet fuel before being supplied to selected airports served by Singapore Airlines and Scoot, its low-cost operation.
Aether will use waste carbon feedstock to produce the fuel, employing its proprietary Aether AuroraTMtechnology. This method reduces plant capital cost, increases production efficiency, and achieves higher SAF yields compared with existing techniques.
Lee Wen Fen, Chief Sustainability Officer, Singapore Airlines, said the partnership marks another step in the SIA Group’s journey towards its long-term decarbonisation goal of Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“By collaborating with like-minded ecosystem partners such as Aether, we aim to accelerate and scale up the adoption of SAF in our flight operations, laying the groundwork for more sustainable air travel,” she said.
Aether was incubated and funded in 2022 by Xora, a deep tech venture firm backed by Temasek.
Since then, it has grown its south-east Asia team while expanding its operations in Chicago, where its R&D hub is located. Aether’s upcoming commercial-scale production projects in the US and South East Asia will produce Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)-certified SAF.
These projects are set to achieve a minimum greenhouse gas reduction of 75%, significantly contributing to the aviation industry’s sustainability efforts.
Conor Madigan, CEO, Aether Fuels, said SIA Group’s decarbonisation goals are “catalysing ingenuity” throughout the supply chain and galvanising companies like Aether to develop production solutions that pair breakthrough technologies with next-generation feedstock strategies.
“The collaboration will deepen our understanding of the end-user customer priorities and of the SAF market, particularly in south-east Asia. These advantages will further inform our project development programmes and accelerate our path to commercialisation.”
Phil Inagaki, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Xora; Board Chair, Aether Fuels, said Singapore has built a supportive environment for deep tech innovation, empowering companies such as Aether to amplify the impact of transformative solutions to global challenges.
“Its Aurora™ breakthrough technology enables the production of SAF with the lowest green premium and most flexible, scalable feedstock,” he said. “This collaboration with the SIA Group reflects a shared focus and commitment, making it a natural fit that will undoubtedly accelerate SAF innovation and adoption.”
At the Hyvolution trade show, H2V, Hy2gen and VINCI Airports signed an agreement to study the methods of production and supply of synthetic SAF, or e-SAF, by 2030 intended for commercial airlines operating at Lyon-Saint Exupéry, Lyon Bron and Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airports.
In a second phase, this study will be extended to the Alpine airports operated by VINCI Airports (Grenoble, Annecy, and Chambéry).
Developed from low-carbon hydrogen, these e-SAFs will be produced on the site of the consortium formed between H2V and Hy2gen, under development in Fos-sur-Mer, France.
Advario Singapore has supported Neste in delivering SAF to Air Canada with blending and loading operations at its terminal in Singapore. The SAF will be delivered to Vancouver terminal, and on to Vancouver International Airport enabling the use of the blended SAF at the airport.
