Thailand’s Department of Energy Business introduced a 1% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blending mandate on 1 January, The Nation Thailand wrote.
Under the new rules, Jet A-1 fuel specifications and quality requirements at production and sales points had been classified into three categories: conventional Jet A-1; co-hydro-processing and conventional Jet A-1 blended with neat SAF, the 5 January report said.
The department also set specifications for SAF, requiring feedstocks and production to comply with ASTM D7566, with production limited at this stage to HEFA (hydro-processed esters and fatty acids).
Sarawut Kaewtathip, director-general of the Department of Energy Business, was quoted as saying the regulations supported Thailand’s goals of carbon neutrality and net zero emissions and were aimed at ensuring SAF producers met international standards, in line with the government’s policy to promote sustainable and low-carbon aviation fuels.
In addition, the policy aligned with measures by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which was pushing airlines worldwide to use SAF as a key mechanism for driving the aviation sector towards net zero, he added.
Bangchak Corporation was building a SAF plant in Thailand using HEFA technology, with used cooking oil (UCO) as the main feedstock. The facility had a capacity of 1M litres/day (about 6,289 barrels/day) and was expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2026, the report said.
PTT Global Chemical (GC) was also producing SAF using co-processing HEFA technology from UCO, with an initial capacity of 16,438 litres/day (around 103 barrels/day).
Sarawut said the two regulations marked Thailand’s initial phase of SAF adoption, which relied mainly on HEFA as alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) technology remained under development and was not fully commercialised.
The European Union (EU) had also imposed SAF blending requirements for flights departing EU airports, with a 2% blending mandate introduced last year, The Nation Thailand wrote.
