Singapore Airlines becomes first airline to buy SAF from Aether’s Project Beacon

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has agreed to buy up to 4,800 tons of next-generation sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Aether Fuels over three years, with deliveries starting in 2028.

Announced on October 28, 2026, the agreement makes SIA the first airline to buy SAF from Project Beacon, Aether’s first commercial production facility. The plant is being developed at Aether’s refining complex on Pulau Bukom in Singapore.

It is also SIA’s first purchase of SAF made with technology that turns waste carbon into jet fuel.

Turning waste gases into jet fuel

Project Beacon will produce SAF from feedstocks such as biomethane and industrial waste gases, using Aether’s proprietary Aurora technology. The process builds on the Fischer-Tropsch method to convert waste-derived gases into liquid aviation fuel.

This gives the industry an alternative to the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway, which accounts for most SAF produced today but relies on a limited supply of lipid-based feedstocks such as used cooking oil and animal fats.

The fuel will be certified under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

Aether said it plans to scale up further. By 2031, the company aims to start operations at its first large-scale commercial plant, with a production capacity at least 10 times that of Project Beacon.

From MOU to binding agreement

The deal builds on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) the two companies signed in 2025.

“When we signed our MOU with Singapore Airlines last year, Project Beacon had not yet been announced,” said Conor Madigan, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aether Fuels. “Since then, we have selected Singapore as the home of our first commercial facility and built critical partnerships across the local value chain.”

Madigan described the binding agreement as “a strong signal of committed demand from a leading global airline,” and said this kind of collaboration is needed “to create the commercial conditions to bring new SAF pathways to scale.” He also pointed to Singapore’s refining and aviation infrastructure, investment support and sustainability policies as strengths for decarbonizing aviation.

For SIA, the agreement is part of its goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“Supporting the development and adoption of SAF, and securing future supplies, are integral to SIA’s ambition of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Lee Wen Fen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Singapore Airlines. “As the first airline to purchase SAF from Project Beacon, SIA is demonstrating demand for new lower-carbon fuel production pathways in Singapore.”

She added that the airline will continue working with partners worldwide to scale up SAF production and support the shift to more sustainable air travel.

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