China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) yesterday launched its first passenger flight from Taipei to Singapore using sustainable aviation fuel, as the carrier aims to reduce carbon emissions despite higher costs.
The airline said it used 10 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is made from renewable waste and residue materials such as cooking oil, and 90 percent traditional jet fuel for the flight.
As SAF generates 80 percent less carbon emissions than fossil jet fuel, CAL strategic planning department general manger James Chung (鍾人傑) said yesterday’s flight reduced carbon emissions by 8 percent.
Photo courtesy of China Airlines Ltd
The airline has used SAF for cargo flights for several years, but yesterday’s flight was its first passenger flight, as the Civil Aeronautics Administration is more cautious about airlines using the fuel than its foreign counterparts, Chung said.
The International Air Transport Association has tested a combination of 50 percent SAF and 50 percent fossil jet fuel, and found that it is safe, he said.
The European Council has mandated that all aviation fuel suppliers provide fuel containing at least 2 percent SAF by 2025, Chung said.
However, it is unlikely that the airline would use 100 percent SAF for passenger flights, as it is double the cost of traditional jet fuel and lacks sufficient domestic supply, he said.
“For a mid-haul flight from Taipei to Singapore, it costs us about US$10,000 more to use the 10 percent SAF, which is not particularly high, but if we use 100 percent SAF, the additional expense would be US$100,000,” Chung said.
The extra cost of using SAF would affect ticket prices, he said, adding that the airline would prefer to raise the proportion of SAF gradually.
The government should set up a policy to develop a domestic supply chain of SAF, and make it accessible to all airlines, he said.
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
Elon Musk’s lieutenants have reached out to chip industry suppliers, including Applied Materials Inc, Tokyo Electron Ltd and Lam Research Corp, for his envisioned Terafab, early steps in an audacious and likely arduous attempt to break into the production of cutting-edge chips. Staff working for the joint venture between Tesla Inc and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) have sought price quotes and delivery times for an array of chipmaking gear, people familiar with the matter said. In past weeks, they’ve contacted makers of photomasks, substrates, etchers, depositors, cleaning devices, testers and other tools, according to the people, who asked not to
For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
Japan approved ￥631.5 billion (US$3.97 billion) in additional subsidies to hasten Rapidus Corp’s entry into the high-stakes artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaking arena, ramping up support for a project widely regarded as a long shot. The capital is intended to bankroll Rapidus’ work for information technology firm Fujitsu Ltd, one of the initial customers that Tokyo hopes would get the signature endeavor off the ground. The new money raises the fees and investments that the government is injecting into the start-up to ￥2.6 trillion by the end of the current fiscal year to March next year, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and
RSS