SK Energy, First Domestic Refinery to Export Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Europe...

Entering Mandatory SAF Use in European Market
Global Value Chain Completed in 4 Months of Commercial Production
"We Will Expand SAF Production and Exports"

SK Energy became the first domestic oil refiner to export Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to Europe.

On the 5th, SK Energy announced that it exported SAF produced through the Co-Processing method, which processes bio raw materials such as waste cooking oil and animal fats, to Europe.

SK Energy officials are posing for a commemorative photo after loading sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for export to Europe onto a ship at the SK Innovation Ulsan Complex dock on the 4th. Photo by SK Innovation

Starting this month, European countries have implemented a regulation requiring at least 2% SAF blending in aviation fuel. Currently, Europe is the only global market where SAF usage is mandatory. SK Energy, which has pioneered a large-scale SAF production system domestically, is evaluated to have succeeded in securing the largest SAF market in Europe.

Previously, in September last year, SK Energy established a production line using the Co-Processing method and began commercial production of SAF. Co-Processing is a method that connects a separate bio raw material supply pipeline to the existing petroleum product production process line to produce low-carbon products such as SAF and bio naphtha. SK Energy has established a large-scale production system for low-carbon products including SAF with an annual capacity of about 100,000 tons.

An SK Energy official said, "The establishment of a mass production system and operation of the commercial production line, based on the research and development (R&D) capabilities of the Environmental Science and Technology Institute and the engineering capabilities of SK Innovation’s Ulsan Complex (Ulsan CLX), were instrumental in the export."

Earlier, SK On Trading International, a subsidiary of SK Innovation, invested in a waste-based raw material company, and with SK Energy’s recent success in SAF production and export, the global value chain from raw material procurement to production and sales has been completed.

Lee Chun-gil, head of SK Energy’s Ulsan CLX, stated, "We plan to closely monitor market conditions such as domestic and international SAF policy changes and demand fluctuations, and to promote the expansion of SAF production and exports."