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Thai energy company Bangchak Corporation has announced it has formed a joint venture with vegetable oil collection company Thanachok Oil Light and biofuel producer/distributor BBGI to produce and supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from used cooking oil (UCO) in Thailand.

The companies signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the joint venture company, BSGF, which would be 51% owned by Bangchak, 29% by Thanachok Oil Light and 20% by BBGI, Bangchak Corporation said on 1 September,

Bangchak Company is the operator of Bangchak Oil Refinery, which produces biodiesel from UCO.

The new joint venture would build a facility to produce SAF from UCO near the Bangchak refinery which was due to become operational by the end of 2024 with an initial production capacity of 1M litres/day.

Aimed at domestic and international markets, the use of the SAF produced would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 80,000 tonnes/year compared to the use of conventional aviation fuel, Bangchak Company said.

“BSGF is ready to expand production capacity in line with global demand for SAF… to enable the global aviation industry to achieve [its] Net Zero goals in 2050,” Chaiwat Kovavisarat, Bangchak Group CEO and president of Bangchak Corporation Public Company, said.

Thanachok Group operates a UCO collection network covering 77 provinces in Thailand, with the capacity to store and collect approximately 17M litres/month of UCO.

“Thanachoke Oil Light will focus on developing methods and procuring used oil to be used as raw materials for SAF production… to raise the standard of used oil storage and collection… to meet the needs of the [aviation] industry,” Thanachok Oil Light managing director Thanawat Linjongsubongkot said.