Singapore Airlines Is Buying Jet Fuel From a Plant That Does Not Exist Yet

Singapore Airlines has signed a binding agreement to buy up to 4,800 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel over three years, starting in 2028. The seller is Aether Beacon, part of Aether Fuels, and the deal was signed on 23 October and announced on 28 October. The price was not disclosed. The airline and Aether had previously signed a memorandum of understanding in 2025.

The unusual part is where the fuel will come from. Project Beacon is planned for Aster’s refining complex on Pulau Bukom in Singapore and is not yet in commercial operation. Instead of the used cooking oils and fats behind most of today’s sustainable fuel, it is designed to use biomethane and industrial waste gases, converted into liquid jet fuel with Aether’s adaptation of the Fischer–Tropsch process.

Aether’s September update projects about 2,000 tonnes a year from 2028 and lifecycle emissions more than 70 percent below conventional jet fuel, though those are the developer’s expectations rather than measured results. The fuel is intended to be certified under CORSIA, the international aviation offsetting scheme. Aether also says it aims to start a first large-scale plant by 2031 with at least ten times Beacon’s capacity.

For the airline, the purchase supports its stated ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in the words of its chief sustainability officer, Lee Wen Fen. For passengers, the effect is invisible today, since the volumes are small next to a global carrier’s total fuel burn. The real test will be whether a waste-gas route can scale after a first plant proves it works.

Sources: Travel PR News, Aether Fuels