Green aviation fuel project kicks off in Heilongjiang

The world's first 100,000 metric ton integrated wind, solar, hydrogen and biomass green aviation fuel project began construction on Monday, in Heilongjiang province, the operator China Energy Engineering Group Co Ltd (Energy China) said.

As the world's first 100,000 ton level sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) initiative and China's first demonstration of second-generation sustainable aviation fuel, the project aims to integrate wind, solar, hydrogen and biomass technologies, with an estimated total investment of 20.8 billion yuan ($2.93 billion), the company said.

The project is expected to produce 200,000 tons of green methanol and 300,000 tons of SAF per year with the first phase, which includes 6 billion yuan of investment to produce 100,000 tons of green aviation fuel, expected to be operational by 2027.

The project uses cutting-edge technology with independent intellectual property to produce fuel, and will promote high-value conversion of biomass and renewable energy, accelerate large-scale renewable energy development, thus playing a crucial role in ensuring a secure supply of green jet fuel for China’s aviation sector, it said.