Asia SAF Association, World Bioenergy Association forge strategic partnership

Photo: Asia SAF Association

The Asia Sustainable Aviation Fuel Association announced April 2 a new strategic partnership with the World Bioenergy Association, a globally recognized authority in promoting the sustainable use of bioenergy.

This collaboration marks a pivotal step forward in accelerating the deployment and adoption of SAF and broader bioenergy solutions across the Asia-Pacific region.

With the aviation sector under increasing pressure to decarbonize and align with net-zero targets by 2050, biobased SAF represents a critical near-term solution—offering up to an 80 percent reduction in lifecycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional fossil jet fuel.

By combining WBA’s global network and technical leadership in bioenergy with ASAFA’s regional expertise and stakeholder engagement, this partnership aims to significantly scale SAF adoption and foster innovation across Asia’s aviation ecosystem.

Strategic objectives of the partnership include:

• Advance regional collaboration to accelerate SAF and sustainable bioenergy deployment in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Facilitate technical exchange through joint workshops, policy dialogues and best-practice sharing on feedstock diversification, biomass supply chains and SAF-production technologies.

• Promote enabling policy frameworks to drive investment, derisk projects and bring SAF technologies to commercial scale.

• Strengthen stakeholder linkages, connecting airlines, fuel producers, governments, researchers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and financiers across the global bioenergy and aviation sectors.

“WBA is excited to partner with ASAFA to leverage our collective knowledge and resources to foster sustainable bioenergy solutions for the aviation sector in Asia,” said Bharadwaj Kummamuru, WBA’s executive director. “The deployment of SAF derived from sustainable biomass is critical to achieving the aviation industry’s ambitious decarbonization targets and strengthening regional bioeconomies.”

Gabriel Ho, ASAFA’s chief sustainability officer, added, “Joining forces with WBA enhances our collective capability to drive forward the deployment of biobased SAF. By aligning our efforts with global bioenergy best practices and standards, we aim to catalyze transformative change within Asia’s aviation industry, delivering meaningful reductions in emissions and a sustainable pathway toward net-zero aviation.”

ASAFA said this partnership underscores its commitment to international collaboration, technology innovation and policy leadership in enabling a low-carbon future for aviation and advancing Asia’s sustainable bioeconomy.