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SAF takes flight in the region: eyes on Singapore, opportunities for the Philippines
Updated: Oct 1
If SAF has at least a 200% price premium, yet SAF reduces at least 65% of carbon emissions per liter, how can a SAF ecosystem work towards lessening the substantial price gap versus conventional aviation fuel?
All eyes will be on Singapore as it steps up with a bold answer. Set to begin October 1st, is a centralized procurement program that will support an aggregated demand mechanism. Its experience can provide a timely reference as the Philippines considers approaches to developing its own SAF ecosystem.
To explore regional breakthroughs like this, the Asia Pacific Sustainable Aviation Center (APSAC) recently presented Singapore’s framework at an Island Skies Alliance (ISA) SAF Knowledge Sharing Session (KSS) in Taguig City, Metro Manila. The event featured expert insights from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company (SAFCO).
APSAC CEO Philip Goh reaffirmed the center’s commitment to driving sustainable aviation across the Asia Pacific. CAAS Director of Sustainability Christopher Tan outlined the evolution of Singapore’s SAF Framework, while SAFCo CEO Seow Hui Tan highlighted scalable and integrated SAF ecosystem with centralized procurement and demand aggregation as its main engine.
Symposium participants gained insights into Singapore’s approach. A central takeaway was that SAF adoption in the Philippines can require both:
✈️ Strong Supply Development: expanding local feedstock and SAF refining capabilities.
🌱 Predictable Demand: establishing clear and even aggregated demand signals to de-risk investments in local production.
For the Philippines, this highlights the importance of examining practical support mechanisms that can help reduce SAF’s current price premium, strengthen market certainty, and support local production and adoption. By studying coordinated approaches and targeted policy frameworks, the Philippines can build a resilient, level playing field for sustainable aviation.
The event brought together over 50 key leaders from across the Philippine public and private sectors. These included the CAAP, DOE, DOTr, PCA, BOI, CAB, PNOC and SCAD from the government. The private-sector was represented by the airlines (ACAP, BAR, IATA, PAL, Cebu Pacific, Philippines AirAsia, and DHL), fuel producers (Petron, PTT) and fuel project developer SAFAsia.
For ISA, the KSS is part of its continuing effort to convene stakeholders, facilitate knowledge-sharing, and build a common understanding of the work needed on feedstock availability and sustainability, technological infrastructure, policy & regulatory environment, investment and funding opportunities, market demand and airlines engagement, and human and technical capabilities for a functional Philippine SAF ecosystem.
