Airbus, MAG tie up on boosting feedstock supply
SINGAPORE: Airbus SE is confident that Malaysia will play a major role in supplying feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as demand continues to increase.
Airbus chief sustainability officer Julie Kitcher said the company was collaborating with Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) on several areas, including analysing the increase in production capacity of feedstock as well as supporting better air traffic management.
“We’re working closely with a number of our partners in the AsiaPacific region and we’re working on the feedstock and production pathways.
“We’re looking into a number of different factors within those agreements (with MAG). We’re also confident that Malaysia will contribute to feedstock for SAF production,” she said at a media briefing on pioneering sustainable aerospace at the Singapore Airshow 2024.
Airbus and MAG signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Feb 19 to conduct comprehensive studies on the carbon emissions of the airline group for two years.
The agreement was signed by MAG group chief sustainability officer Philip See and Kitcher.
MAG said the collaboration focused on five key areas, which were SAF, carbon dioxide removal, assessment of financial implications associated with carbon dioxide reduction, forecast and scenario planning and joint advocacy and communications efforts.
Kitcher said there was an understanding across Asia Pacific countries of the importance of aviation and its necessity for “connection, trade, cultural understanding and prosperity”.
“Decarbonising aviation is imperative. It’s a question of when, not if.”
Kitcher said the potential to turn used cooking oil into fuel was significant and would help the industry to scale up SAF production in the short term.
“In the Asia Pacific, there’s a pressing need for additional SAF production capacity. The reality is that most countries in the region do not yet produce these fuels despite the considerable potential,” she added.