Ethanol-to-Jet Has a New Home in Singapore

KBR has been picked to provide technology licensing and Front-End Engineering Design for what would be Asia's first commercial-scale ethanol-to-jet (AtJ) SAF plant, to be developed by Keppel's Infrastructure Division and Aster Chemicals and Energy on Jurong Island. The deal uses KBR's PureSAF technology, originally developed by Swedish Biofuels and now exclusively licensed by KBR worldwide. Keppel and Aster first announced their intent to jointly assess the facility earlier this year; this appointment moves the project from assessment into engineering.

A Feedstock Bet, Not Just a Technology Bet

The proposed plant is expected to have a planned capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes of SAF per year, subject to final investment decision and regulatory approval. What makes the project notable is the feedstock, not the volume. AtJ runs on ethanol rather than the used cooking oil and animal fats that HEFA-based SAF depends on, and that lipid feedstock pool is already tightly contested across Asia.

Ethanol can be drawn from sugar, grain, and increasingly cellulosic and waste streams, several of which are more readily available in the region. KBR describes PureSAF as a feedstock-flexible, 100% drop-in fuel, engineered to run without blending.

Singapore's Hub Ambitions, One Plant Closer

The project lands on Jurong Island, feeding directly into the world's busiest bunkering and refuelling port, and follows Singapore's 2027 SAF levy coming into effect. Once the plant reaches FID, Singapore moves closer to a diversified future fuels hub.

KBR has also signed a Memorandum of Intent with Keppel's Infrastructure Division covering decarbonisation more broadly, including waste-to-energy, plastics recycling and AI-driven digitalisation, suggesting Jurong Island's ambitions extend beyond this single plant.

Source: KBR press release, 29 June 2026.