Finnish renewable fuels producer Neste has completed the expansion of its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in Singapore.
Completed in mid-April, the €1.6bn (US$1.72bn) refinery opened on 17 May, the company announced on the same day.
Neste said the expansion doubled its production capacity in Singapore, bringing the refinery’s total capacity to 2.6M tonnes/year, of which up to 1M tonnes could comprise SAF.
“Singapore has world-class logistics connectivity enabling efficient transportation of renewable raw materials as well as final products globally,” Neste president and CEO Matti Lehmus said.
The project also established a SAF supply chain to Changi Airport, the company said.
“Singapore is a leading aviation hub in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to being a global hub for Neste’s SAF production, we have established an integrated SAF supply chain to Singapore Changi Airport to make our product available to an increasing number of regional and international airlines,” Sami Jauhiainen, acting executive vice president for Neste’s renewable aviation business unit, said.
Produced at Neste’s refinery in the Tuas area of Singapore, the “neat” SAF was blended with conventional fossil jet fuel and certified to meet jet fuel specifications at the blending terminal in Singapore, and then delivered to the company’s customers at Changi Airport, Jauhiainen added.
Neste has acquired a stake and become a minority shareholder in Changi Airport Fuel Hydrant Installation Company Pte Ltd (CAFHI), the fuel storage and infrastructure joint venture at Changi Airport, so that it could offer blended Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel directly to airlines there.
The transaction was subject to customary closing conditions, the company said.
In addition, Neste said it was developing a global network of airports to supply SAF directly into aircraft. Singapore’s Changi airport extends this network of airports, which includes San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX) in the USA, Amsterdam (AMS) in the Netherlands, and Helsinki Airport (HEL) in Finland. The company also supplies SAF to a number of fuel marketing companies.
Neste’s total SAF production capability would be 1.5M tonnes/year by the end of this year, the company said, following the completion of modifications at its Rotterdam refinery, and 2.2M tonnes by the first half of 2026 following the expansion of its Rotterdam refinery.
