KUCHING, June 7 — Sarawak will explore the possibility of cooperation with Brunei and Indonesia to develop Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from algae.
Premier of Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said Sarawak and the Borneo archipelago as a whole are rich in algae that can be used for the purpose.
For a start, he said the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) will set up a laboratory to conduct further research on the matter.
“Just imagine the population of algae in this archipelago and with the cooperation of Brunei and Indonesia, we can be the producer of SAF,” he said in his speech at the International Symposium on Digital Industry Transformation 2022 here today.
Elaborating, Abang Johari said Sarawak could also utilise the ecosystem of its coastal area for algae cultivation.
“Once we are ready, maybe we can look into how we can cultivate algae throughout our coastal area with mangroves.
“We also need to find out how many tonnes of algae are needed to produce a gallon of fuel. We have to study this first,” he said.
In his keynote address at the World Hydrogen 2022 Summit and Exhibition in Rotterdam, Netherlands on May 9, Abang Johari said SEDC Sarawak is collaborating with the Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC) in the development of biofuels, green hydrogen and fuel cells for aviation.
He said alternative aviation fuels such as SAF could be the key to sustainable air travel, contributing hugely to the industry’s emissions-reduction strategy and net-zero emissions goal. — Bernama
