MEI 2023
Premier Makes Historic Flight On SAF-Powered Airbus
KUCHING (May 22): Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg today made history when he took a flight onboard a Latvian airBaltic Airbus A220-300 that was the first aircraft to be fuelled up with Sarawak-made algae sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The plane that flew in this afternoon from Bangkok took off from Kuching International Airport at 2 pm bound for Langkawi.
The plane touched down at Langkawi International Airport at 5.15 pm where the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2023) is being held.
The SAF used to power the aircraft is produced at a facility operated by Petronas and SDEC Energy in Demak Laut near here.
Upon arrival at Langkawi the Premier and members of his entourage proceeded to a local hotel to witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Petronas, SEDC Energy and AMIC (Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre) to pave the way for the development of algae as a source of sustainable aviation fuel.
After the initial success at Demak Laut the Premier said the next step was to scale-up the cultivation of algae to 1,000 acres in a site in Bintulu that can produce about 500,000 tons per annum of crude algae oil, the Premier told reporters during a press conference at KIA.
That can be equated to about 10,000 barrels of oil per day with about 37% extraction rate of crude algae oil from the algae, he said.
Accompanying him on the flight were State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, his deputy Datu Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) general manager Datu Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir, Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia Sarawak regional director Petrus Coupon Lim, MIGHT joint chairman Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid, MIGHT president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman and Airbus/Amic unit head and chief executive officer Kan Ern Liew and SEDC Energy chief executive officer Robert Hardin.
Robert as reported by Borneo Post explained that Airbus Corporation had recommended the airBaltic aircraft for the launch here today, as Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia do not have this particular model.
“The aircraft was provided by Airbus because none of them (Malaysian airline companies) have this particular model. This is the first time that an Airbus A220 has touched down in Southeast Asia – that is why we collaborated with Airbus for the SAF,” he said.
The Petronas and SEDC Energy facility is the second facility here to cultivate algae to produce biomass for the production of SAF and other algae-based products.
The other facility funded by the Japanese Government and launched by the Premier recently is a collaboration between Sarawak Energy, Sarawak Biodiversity Centre, Eneos Corporation and the Chitose Group, both from Japan.
Sumber dari : Sarawakku