Shandong Haike Chemical Co. Ltd, a Chinese refining and petrochemical company, has selected Axens’ Vegan® technology to produce low carbon, cost competitive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by retrofitting its existing assets.
Vegan technology is a second-generation hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) solution which processes up to 100% of any kind of lipid, including wastes from agriculture and food industry to produce renewable fuels that are able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared with a conventional jet fuel production scheme.
This new contract with Haike Chemicals is Axens’ first reference for its Vegan technology in Asia and represents a major opportunity to scale up production of SAF in line with recognised international standards (ASTM D7566) and able to meet growing demand from the European and North American markets.
Haike Chemicals aims to have its first SAF-only unit on stream with high yield on-specification production within 12 months before rolling out the process to other units to become a competitive world-leading supplier of high-quality SAF.
Jacques Rault, Axens’ Executive VP Technology and Technical Support, said: “SAF will play a key role for the aviation industry as we transition to a low carbon world, but it requires immediate action to scale up production in cost competitive quantities and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Our new contract with Haike Chemicals allows us to take our Vegan technology to the next level, paving the way for industrial development of the latest generation of SAF, not only in China but also in the rest of the world.”