On 4 July 2025, GIZ Thailand, through the International Hydrogen Ramp-Up Programme (H2Uppp), in cooperation with the National Energy Technology Centre (ENTEC) and the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce (GTCC), organised ‘From Waste to Wings: Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Thailand and Southeast Asia’ at Asia Sustainable Energy Week 2025 (ASEW 2025). The forum brought together policymakers, industry representatives and academics from the aviation and SAF industry to exchange insights and perspectives on the role and potential of SAF in creating a cleaner and more sustainable future for aviation, focusing on Thailand and Southeast Asia (SEA).

Dr Dominika Kalinowska, Transport Projects Director from GIZ Thailand, emphasised GIZ’s commitment to sustainable aviation, supported by a series of events organised under the H2Uppp SAF Working Group, as well as further GIZ initiatives assisting public stakeholders in developing an SAF roadmap for Thailand.

“The forum theme ‘From Waste to Wings’ reflects our vision to transform waste and renewable resources into low-carbon fuels, supporting decarbonisation of the aviation sector while enhancing energy security, economic value creation and regional cooperation. This forum aims to scale up ambition, align regional efforts, and chart a practical roadmap for Thailand and ASEAN to move from vision to action.”

The plenary sessions of the forum featured an array of distinguished speakers, who shared insights on a variety of SAF topics – from the SAF value chain, policies and regulations to production and trade.

• Beginning the session was Air Chief Marshal Manat Chavanaprayoon, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), who spoke about SAF integration prospects in Thailand, emphasising aligning airline companies’ policies with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), advancing the SAF value chain in the country, and CAAT’s own SAF expansion framework.
• Sutharee Kiatman from the Biofuel Development Division, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE), Ministry of Energy (MoE), provided an overview of Thailand’s national SAF policy and strategic approaches, underpinning the commitment reflected in the Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) 2024 and the Oil Plan 2025.
• Ketsada Sutthiumporn from the Department of Energy Business (DoEB) presented fuel regulations and standards related to SAF in Thailand, highlighting inspection and laboratory processes as key in ensuring biofuel standards.
• Pahoong Thammaratdumrong from Energy Absolute (E@) shared insights into different SAF production methods, together with challenges and potential solutions through the company’s insights and experience in the field.
• Finally, a presentation by Scott Turn, a professor from the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), University of Hawaii at Manoa, offered an in-depth observation of SAF development in Southeast Asia over the years, highlighting initiatives and progress from different countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Following the plenary session, a panel discussion was held to exchange expert perspectives on aligning SAF to transport decarbonisation in Thailand and Southeast Asia through the perspectives of experts and project developers in relevant sectors. Focusing on the topic of SAF production, the panel suggested that, while feedstocks are abundant in countries such as Thailand, alternative feedstocks such as biomass-to-fuels and other pathways based on SAF demand-supply should be explored to ensure sustainability and environmental impact reduction from the production chain. With technologies and policy frameworks currently in place to support SAF in Thailand, the challenges now lie in aligning its implementation to meet decarbonisation and climate targets in the transport sector.

(From left) Scott Turn, Dr Pramote Puengjinda, Senior Advisor from the H2Uppp project, GIZ Thailand; Papondhanai Nanthachatchavankul, Senior Advisor from the Transport project cluster, GIZ Thailand; Nupat Khusribanchong, Sustainability Manager from the German Thai Chamber of Commerce (GTCC); and Dr Visarn Lilawiwat Researcher from ENTEC

In the closing speech, Tim Nees, H2Uppp Project Manager, expressed his appreciation to the forum speakers and participants for fostering discussion and cooperation on SAF in the region. He also invited interested parties on SAF topics (as well as hydrogen and other PtX products) to further collaborate through networking opportunities and activities from the H2Uppp programme.

Additionally, H2Uppp also joined the Future Move Forum at ASEW 2025, where Dr Pramote Puengjinda introduced the project and shared insights into SAF feasibility and application potential, especially for decarbonising the transport sector. The project also organised an exhibition booth to offer information on the global H2Uppp project and engage with interested visitors around green hydrogen and PtX topics.

The H2Uppp programme, financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), is implemented globally. In Thailand, GIZ implements the project together with the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce (GTCC), with the aim of supporting policy and market development for green hydrogen and Power-to-X through expert networking, knowledge dissemination and public-private partnerships (PPP).

More information about the H2Uppp programme: https://www.thai-german-cooperation.info/en-us/international-hydrogen-ramp-up-programme-h2-uppp/