MAY 22 was a momentous day for Malaysian science and technology.
On that day an Airbus A220 — a popular narrow-body jet designed for regional and short-haul flights — flew from Kuching to Langkawi loaded with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
This was the result of a collaboration between Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre, National Aerospace Industry Corporation and the Sarawak government via SEDC Energy.
It was a great honour to be aboard that aircraft, and a lasting source of pride that SAF development in Malaysia has kicked off.
Sarawak and the country have reached a major milestone as development of SAF from seeds grown and processed locally is underway.
Not only did we slightly reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions through the A220 flight, but we also demonstrated to the world in powerful fashion our commitment to helping the aviation industry reach net zero by 2050.
SAF is a hot topic across the aerospace industry, which accounts for between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent of man-made Co2, and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.
SAF has the potential to reduce GHG emissions by up to 80 per cent.
What is also interesting for biologically megadiverse Malaysia is the abundance of feedstocks, such as microalgae, for these new fuels.
Microalgae biofuel is devoid of the major drawbacks associated with oil crops and other biofuels.
Algae-based biofuels can technically and economically be viable and cost-effective, when managed well to produce multiple products, or co-products.
Microalgae have the highest productivity of oil per unit of area/land, require minimal use of water with good management strategy, and have high photosynthetic efficiency for Co2 absorption.
Large-scale and successful commercial production still requires a lot of work due to the instability of biomass concentration at scale and costly downstream processes. But we are determined to change that.
Airbus is one of the most ardent proponents of SAF. One of its top goals is 100 per cent-SAF capability by 2030 throughout its portfolio of commercial and military aircraft.
A leading competitor, Boeing, is less enthusiastic. Chief executive officer (CEO) David Calhoun predicted last week that "climate-friendly biofuels will never achieve the price of jet fuel", pouring unwelcome cold water on the aviation sector's strategy to slash emissions.
I was on a special mission of sorts, together with Malaysian Industry-Government Group on High Technology CEO Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, and Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC) CEO Dr Liew Kan Ern.
We accompanied Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg on that historic journey from Kuching to Langkawi on a Latvian airBaltic Airbus A220-300.
The premier attended the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima '23) to demonstrate his commitment to SAF.
He commented that the success that day would pave the way for other areas in Sarawak to venture into SAF production.
AMIC is proud to be part of this endeavour. It started the SAF journey in 2013, when Airbus funded four projects in Malaysia to test the potential of our rich biodiversity, the potential of waste transformation, and to study the lifecycle of a SAF economy.
The findings encouraged and fostered greater effort in the region.
AMIC went to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam — even to Japan and South Korea — to promote the work underway here and to discover what else Malaysia could do to develop SAF.
Sarawak is ahead of the curve compared with others in the federation in meeting the three-pronged objectives of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity that was signed by Malaysia and other UN member states at the Earth Summit in 1992. These are the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources.
It established the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre in 1997 to explore intensive biotech-based research and development.
Earlier this year, SEDC Energy, a subsidiary of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation, signed an agreement with PETRONAS Research Sdn Bhd to develop algae production technology, which includes cultivation, harvesting and extraction of crude algae oil, that is later refined to produce SAF.
The collaboration was taken a step further during Lima. SEDC Energy, PETRONAS Research Sdn Bhd and AMIC signed an agreement to complement technology developments in microalgae, SAF ecosystem and commercial-scale plant exploration.
This is a fine example of how ambition supported by science and technology can shake up the status-quo, leading to better innovation and solid entry to market.
Ultimately, it needs sustained political commitment and support from the state's numero uno. And with Abang Johari, Sarawak has a formidable champion.
Congratulations to everyone who was involved, and to all Malaysians. May our SAF industry accelerate into the future sustainably!
The writer is the Fifth Holder of the Tun Hussein Onn Chair at ISIS, Malaysia, distinguished professor at UCSI University and joint chairman of AMIC
