Aster, Aether Fuels to build renewable fuel plant in Singapore's Bukom Island

By Trixie Yap

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Aster Chemicals and Energy has tied up with technology firm Aether Fuels to build a renewable fuels facility in Singapore's Bukom Island, which will start operations in 2028, the companies said on Tuesday.

Construction on the 2,000 metric ton-per-year (50 barrels per day) project is expected to begin in the second half of next year and commercial production could begin in the first half of 2028, Aether Fuels' CEO Conor Madigan told reporters.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is estimated at around 1,600 tons per year (tpy), while bionaphtha output will be at 400 tpy when the plant is completed, Madigan said.

The project will convert industrial waste gas and biomethane into sustainable aviation fuel using a technology being developed by Aether Fuels, the companies said in a statement.

Aster will provide renewable power, waste carbon feedstock, utilities, and support at the site where the company operates the Bukom refinery.

The companies declined to comment on the project's investment value.

Currently, Finnish firm Neste is the sole producer of renewable fuels in Singapore, operating a 1 million tpy plant in Tuas.

Singapore is adopting 1% SAF usage on all departing flights starting next year, with the tax levy on consumers to be applicable on tickets and services sold from April 1 next year, the country's civil aviation authority said in a press release on Monday.