Vietnam’s feedstock supply potential for sustainable aviation fuel HVO/SAF
Abstract
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is advancing the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to mitigate CO2 emissions through the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), targeting a start to emissions reductions by 2027. Among SAF production technologies, hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), which refines vegetable oils, waste oils, and fats via hydrodeoxygenation, has been commercialized worldwide. This approach uses by-products as feedstock, achieving up to an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions without altering land use for feedstock cultivation.
Vietnam has potential to sustainably supply feedstock for SAF production, primarily from fish fat - a by-product of pangasius export, and used cooking oil (UCO) - a by-product of food processing. This potential can be further enhanced with improvements in collection efficiency. In 2023, Vietnam exported approximately 120,000 tons of fish fat and 50,000 tons of used cooking oil to SAF producers such as Neste and Diamond Green Diesel.
This paper introduces SAF production technologies and analyzes the factors indicating Vietnam’s feedstock supply potential for the international market in sustainable aviation fuel production using HVO technology.
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