SINGAPORE (Reuters) -China National Aviation Fuel Company (CNAF) said on Monday it had agreed to acquire a stake in a sustainable aviation fuel plant controlled by private biofuel producer Henan Junheng Industry Group Biotech Co.
This marks CNAF’s second such investment in a privately-controlled “green” jet fuel maker. CNAF is China’s dominant distributor of aviation fuel.
CNAF announced the signing of the investment agreement on its official WeChat platform, but did not give any financial details.
Central China-based Junheng is one of China’s first commercial SAF refiners, processing used cooking oil (UCO) into the low-carbon fuel.
China is the world’s largest UCO producer.
Junheng is expanding its 400,000 metric ton-per-year SAF plant in the city of Puyang, Henan province, to reach one million tpy around June 2026.
Last month, CNAF became a strategic investor in an east China-based SAF plant controlled by Zhejiang Jiaao Enprotech, by agreeing to acquire a 10% stake at about 261 million yuan ($36.35 million), according to a Jiaao stock filing.
China, the world’s second-largest aviation fuel market, has yet to announce a national mandate for the use of SAF.
It began a pilot scheme last September for the first use of SAF in a dozen flights departing from domestic airports in Beijing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and Ningbo. That was expanded in March to all domestic flights departing these airports.
($1 = 7.1794 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Chen AizhuEditing by Mark Potter)
