Temasek-owned investor GenZero eyes sustainable aviation fuels

Investment company GenZero, which is wholly owned by Singapore's Temasek, is looking to developments in green energy such as sustainable aviation fuels for its potential bets, as demand surges for cleaner ways to drive economies in Asia and beyond in the face of climate change. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, GenZero CEO Frederick Teo highlighted sustainable aviation fuels and hydrogen power as promising sectors for growth. "When it comes to aviation, maritime, I think the next generation of biofuels -- advanced biofuels like sustainable aviation fuels and all that, would be quite important," said the head of the company, founded last year by state investor Temasek. "Some of these things already exist, but to be able to bring the cost curves down to an extent to which [they] can be deployed more readily, I think it's going to make a big difference," Teo continued. GenZero is an advocate of greener energy sources in flying. It last year backed a program involving the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Singapore Airlines, which also has Temasek as a major shareholder, to supply sustainable aviation fuel to the carrier's jets. Under the program, 1,000 tonnes of the product will be provided by Finnish biofuel producer Neste and blended with refined jet fuel at American oil major ExxonMobil's facilities in Singapore. According to GenZero, this is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 2,500 tonnes for the amount of Neste's product earmarked for the program. Neste makes sustainable aviation fuel from renewable waste and residue raw materials such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste. "Some of these processes can actually take municipal waste and convert it into fuel," said Teo. "This particular use of the feedstock means that you are not throwing trash, say, in particular countries, into open landfills that then create methane emissions, and therefore the carbon abatement is very significant."<br/>