At the 15th International Roundtable of Multinational Corporation Leaders held in Beijing, Honeywell China President Yu Feng highlighted that sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) demand remains strong globally, while feedstock such as waste cooking oil is in short supply in China and worldwide.

Yu noted that waste cooking oil, once a public concern in China, has now become a highly sought-after industrial raw material. Its price has surged significantly over the past two years, reflecting intense competition for SAF feedstocks across global markets. He added that SAF prices have exceeded $2,000 per ton, driven by constrained supply and rising demand.

SAF is produced from waste oils, biomass, and other non-fossil feedstocks. It has a molecular structure similar to conventional jet fuel, allowing it to be directly blended and used in existing aircraft and airport infrastructure without modification. Waste cooking oil is one of the key feedstocks used in SAF production.

Honeywell Energy and Sustainability Solutions China Vice President and General Manager Sun Jianneng explained that Honeywell’s Ecofining™ technology has enabled early commercialization of SAF in China, working with multiple partners to scale production and deployment.

A major example is a large SAF facility in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, developed with Zhejiang Jiaao Enprotech Stock Co., Ltd. The plant, which began operations on December 8, 2025, can convert approximately 10,000 barrels of used cooking oil per day (around 500,000 tons annually) into SAF, making it one of the largest Ecofining™-based SAF production units in China. Localized cooperation in process technology and catalysts has helped improve yield and reduce production costs.

Another project in Suining, Sichuan Province, developed with Sichuan Jinshang Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., is designed for an annual SAF output of 500,000 tons and is expected to become one of the largest SAF facilities in western China.

Sun Jianneng emphasized that high SAF costs are primarily driven by the industry’s early development stage, limited production scale, constrained feedstock supply, and high upfront investment requirements for advanced technologies and infrastructure. He also noted that stable and long-term policy support is essential to reduce investment risk and support market expansion.

To address these challenges, Honeywell is advancing multiple technological pathways. Its Fischer-Tropsch Unicracking™ technology can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 90% and increase SAF yields by 3%–5% compared with conventional hydroprocessing methods, while also lowering overall production costs by up to 20%.

In addition, Honeywell is expanding feedstock flexibility through its ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) technology, enabling SAF production from corn-based, cellulosic, or sugar-based ethanol. This provides ethanol producers with new revenue streams and helps diversify SAF supply chains.

Sun concluded that reducing SAF costs requires coordinated progress across technology innovation, scale expansion, and supply chain integration. Honeywell will continue working with Chinese partners to accelerate SAF commercialization and large-scale deployment.

SAF can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80%, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects that it could account for up to 65% of aviation’s carbon reduction pathway by 2050, making it a critical solution for achieving net-zero aviation.