SAF project in Thailand nears completion, grand-opening ceremony planned April 25

Chaiwat Kovavisarach, CEO, Bangchak Group

Thailand-based Bangchak Group confirmed April 4 its readiness to operate the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production project at its refinery in Phra Khanong, a district of Bangkok, in terms of raw materials, technology and supporting markets.

In September 2022, the formation of a joint venture between Bangchak, BBGI Public Co. Ltd. and Thanachok Oil Light Co. Ltd. called BSGF Co. Ltd. was announced to develop a biorefinery scaled to produce approximately 90 million gallons of SAF from used cooking oil (UCO) per year.

Bangchak Group’s SAF production unit operated by BSGF will have its grand-opening ceremony April 25.

It is considered the first pioneer in the production of 100 percent neat SAF in Thailand by using UCO and alternative raw materials such as waste from the industrial and other service sectors under a system certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification System GmbH.

Chaiwat Kovavisarach, the CEO of Bangchak Group and president of Bangchak Corp. Public Co. Ltd., said that the investment in the SAF project is an important step for Bangchak from a leader in renewable energy to a leader in energy of the future.

It builds on over 20 years of experience in collecting UCO to produce biofuel and has a cost advantage by using the resources and infrastructure of the original refinery, helping to reduce construction and operating costs.

As of April, the project has progressed more than 96 percent in construction and is preparing for the commissioning in the second quarter of 2025.

The plan starts with a plant-performance test run and will gradually ramp up production to continuous operation in accordance with the sales contract and market-demand trends.

Bangchak has signed SAF sales contracts with major customers and tolling agreements, and the company said it is in continuous negotiation with additional partners.

Although many countries do not have clear SAF mixing policies, especially in the Asian region, the demand for SAF fuel continues to grow steadily worldwide driven by net-zero goals and decarbonization in the aviation sector.

At the same time, many regions such as the European Union have started setting a minimum target of 2 percent by 2025, reflecting a clear direction and creating investment incentives.

Bangchak said although in the short term there may still be some SAF market left, in the long term, starting from 2030, there is a tendency to enter a shortage situation as mandatory requirements gradually take effect in many countries around the world.