In recent months, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) initiatives have gained momentum across Asia Pacific as governments, airlines, and industry players step up efforts to promote SAF adoption. Exhibit 1 highlights the SAF mandates announced in different countries, along with recent announcements of airlines securing offtake agreements and SAF plants coming online.
Exhibit 1. SAF targets and recent initiatives in several Asia Pacific countries.
At the same time, several new SAF initiatives are also emerging in countries without clear policy frameworks, such as Australia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Some of these were highlighted in past editions of ADI’s SAF Tracker, such as:
- Australia: HAMR Energy and its engineering partner, Thyssenkrupp Uhde, completed pre-FEED for the Portland Renewable Fuels Project in Victoria (67th edition).
- Thailand: Bangchak Corporation invested ~$288 million in a SAF production facility in Bangkok (59th edition).
- Malaysia: FatHopes Energy partnered with AmSpec Group, a testing, inspection, and certification services provider, to enhance the efficiency and scalability of SAF production across the Asia Pacific (59th edition).
However, SAF deployment still faces several challenges. The lack of widespread mandates and incentives means SAF use remains largely voluntary. Additionally, SAF production capacity is limited due to constrained feedstocks and insufficient refining infrastructure, especially in smaller countries. As a result, these obstacles slow the development of new projects and delay mandated timelines, prompting producers to urge governments to strengthen SAF policies. Some recent news, which was also featured in ADI’s bi-weekly sustainable aviation fuels newsletter, reflects these issues and is listed below:
1. South Korea: The government postponed the launch of its SAF mandate from June 2025 to 2027 because of insufficient domestic production capacity (64th edition).
2. Thailand: TTCL, a local engineering firm, canceled its EPC contract with Bangchak Corporation for a planned SAF plant in Bangkok due to weak policy support and incentives (64th edition).
3. Malaysia: Gamalux Oils urged the government to introduce SAF purchase mandates for domestic airlines to accelerate the expansion of SAF production (63rd edition).
Looking ahead, the Asia Pacific presents a strong long-term SAF opportunity, especially given that jet fuel demand will grow the fastest in the region. Countries such as Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia have abundant feedstocks like agricultural residues, waste oils, and forestry by-products to support SAF production. Therefore, to unlock these opportunities, governments will need to establish stronger regulatory frameworks with clear investment signals and expand infrastructure to enable large-scale SAF production. Additionally, countries like Singapore, Japan, and South Korea have robust airline sectors that will drive SAF demand. Without these actions, SAF adoption will remain limited, leaving airlines in a highly competitive market with a fragmented regulatory landscape.
– Christine Ho
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