TotalEnergies and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation  have signed a Heads of Agreement  to jointly develop a Sustainable Aviation Fuel  production unit at a SINOPEC’s refinery in China.

The planned unit, jointly owned by SINOPEC and TotalEnergies, will have the capacity to produce 230,000 tons of SAF per year, and will process local waste or residues from the circular economy (cooking oils and animal fats).

SINOPEC has developed its own SAF production technology, called SRJET. TotalEnergies, already one of Europe’s leading SAF producers, will bring its experience and expertise in the technical, operational and distribution fields.

Yongsheng Ma, SINOPEC Group Chairman, said: “This milestone collaboration with TotalEnergies is in line with our strategy in the development of low carbon solutions for China and the world. SINOPEC is committed to providing green and low-carbon energy solutions while improving quality and efficiency of its asset portfolio.”

Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, stated: “We are very pleased to collaborate with SINOPEC, a major player in the global refining industry, to produce sustainable aviation fuels and structure a SAF production chain in China. The development of sustainable aviation fuels is at the heart of our company’s transition strategy, as we strive to meet the aviation industry’s demand to reduce its carbon footprint. TotalEnergies has set itself a target of 1.5 million tons of annual SAF production by 2030.”

TotalEnergies and Sustainable Aviation Fuels

TotalEnergies is developing Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). These are biofuels produced from waste and residues from the circular economy (animal fats, used cooking oils, etc.) and “e-jets”, synthetic fuels for aviation. These sustainable aviation fuels will significantly reduce CO₂ emissions from air transport.