China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) and TotalEnergies have announced a new Heads of Agreement (HoA).
The HoA will see the companies cooperate in setting up a new unit to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at one of SINOPEC’s Chinese refineries.
While SINOPEC has already developed its own SRJET technology for producing SAF, TotalEnergies, the maker of the Total metalworking range, will bring additional expertise and experience as one of the leading European producers of SAF.
The two companies will jointly own the planned unit. Once operational, it will take residue and waste from the local circular economy, such as animal fats and cooking oils, and process them into 230,000 tons of SAF each year.
TotalEnergies’ CEO and Chairman, Patrick Pouyanné, said the company was delighted to be working with a major refinery player like SINOPEC to develop a production chain for SAF in China. He added:
“The development of sustainable aviation fuels is at the heart of our company’s transition strategy, as we strive to meet the aviation industry’s demand to reduce its carbon footprint. TotalEnergies has set itself a target of 1.5 million tons of annual SAF production by 2030.”
SAF has considerably lower lifecycle emissions when compared to traditional aviation fuel. What’s more, in can be blended up to 50% with conventional aviation fuel for use in today’s aircraft, so it offers airlines a pathway to reduce their carbon emissions with their current fleets.
In future, technology may also enable the affordable production of e-fuels from renewable electricity and captured carbon dioxide.
