SAF China — 21–22 September 2026, Hong Kong
Conference Agenda
Two days of market-led content, structured 1-2-1 networking, and curated sessions across SAF, eFuels, feedstocks and cross-border trade — shaping China's role in global aviation decarbonisation.
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Full Programme & Sessions
Market-led content delivered by senior voices from across China's aviation and energy value chain.
8:00 AM
Registration & Coffee — Networking Zone opens
Keynotes
9:00 AM
Opening
Welcome Address & Opening Remarks
Government officials, Official Airline Partner Cathay, organisers and chair
- Key government officials from the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, and the Greater Bay Area
- Official Airline Partner Cathay
- Welcome from the organisers and chair
Speakers
Xu Chen, Standing Deputy Director, Guangdong Development & Reform Commission
Eason Chen, Chief Operating Officer, SAF Center — Civil Aviation Authority of China
Simon Ng, CEO, Business Environment Council
9:30 AM
Presentations & Panel · Mandarin
China's SAF Policy Outlook
National ambition, regional alignment and market signals
- How are the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area positioning SAF within wider national priorities around aviation decarbonisation, energy transition, industrial policy and international competitiveness?
- Exploring policy signals, targets or regulatory frameworks to give the market confidence in the region's long-term SAF direction
- Where could government support, incentives, pilot schemes, public procurement or mandate design play the greatest role in accelerating early SAF adoption?
- The role of certification, lifecycle emissions accounting, sustainability criteria and global standards in shaping a credible Chinese SAF policy framework
Speakers
Merlin Lao, Head — Policy & Research, Business Environment Council Moderator
Pang Guanglian, Executive Board Member, Vice Secretary General, China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation
Grace Cheung, General Manager, Sustainability, Cathay
Alan Chan, Co-Chairman, EcoCeres
Yong Qu, Head of Energy Division, Guangdong Development & Reform Commission
10:20 AM
Official Government Photo Call — Supporting the future of SAF scale-up
10:40 AM
Presentation
Industry Insight Presentation
Reserved
- Gain market intelligence and hear about new technologies from global leaders in the SAF and aviation decarbonisation space
11:00 AM
Extended Structured Meetings & Dedicated 1-2-1 Networking Activities
11:40 AM
Power Panel
Mapping China's Emerging SAF, eFuels & Feedstock Market Opportunity
- Exploring where the region's competitive advantage will actually sit across production, feedstocks, refining, logistics, and finance
- Which projects, platforms, and industrial clusters are most likely to shape the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong SAF market over the next five years?
- How Hong Kong can create distinctive value as a gateway, financing platform and international connector, even as most production capacity sits in the Chinese Mainland
- What still needs to be built for the Greater Bay Area to function as a credible future-fuels ecosystem rather than a collection of disconnected assets
Speakers
Clarence Woo, Managing Director, Global Center for Green Fuels
Matthew Viergutz, CEO, Velocys
12:20 PM
Power Panel
Airline Sustainability Focus
SAF procurement, cost and sustainability strategies
- How airlines in China, Hong Kong and the wider region are balancing sustainability goals with cost, supply and airport access realities
- What kinds of offtake structures, partnerships and registry-based mechanisms are most likely to enable airlines in supporting SAF scale-up
- How airline strategies connect with cargo customers, corporate buyers and Scope 3 pressure
- What it will take for airlines to move from SAF commitments toward repeat procurement at meaningful scale?
Speakers
Kristof Van Passel, Head of Procurement Operations & Sustainability, Cathay
Senior Representative, Japan Airlines
Pierre-Yves Buysschaert, General Manager Hong Kong, South China and Macao, Lufthansa Group
1:00 PM
Extended Networking Lunch, Technology Showcase & 1-2-1 Meetings
Afternoon Sessions
2:15 PM
Power Panel
International Policy Landscape
Unpacking global mandates, incentives and levies, and their impact on the China SAF market
- How ReFuelEU Aviation, CORSIA, Singapore's SAF levy model and emerging APAC policies are influencing China and Hong Kong's SAF strategy, even without a domestic mandate equivalent
- As demand rises globally, how could competition for UCO and other strategic feedstocks reshape China's export strategy, domestic availability and value capture?
- How should the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong position themselves: as compliance-market suppliers, regional aviation hubs, domestic market-makers, or a combination of all three?
- What policy alignment, certification recognition and lifecycle accounting clarity will be needed for Chinese SAF supply to compete credibly in international markets?
Speakers
Shahana McKenzie, CEO, BioEnergies Australia
David Ma, Senior Advisor for Energy Transition, Energy Transition Program / ECP
Eric Cheung, Associate Director, UK Department for Business and Trade
3:00 PM
Power Panel
Trust, Traceability and Market Access
Certification, chain of custody and system integrity for global standards
- How producers can meet both local requirements and international buyer expectations across ISCC, RSB, CORSIA-linked requirements and airworthiness pathways
- The role of digital traceability, mass balance, and registry-based systems in making claims auditable and scalable
- Why UCO credibility, chain-of-custody robustness and anti-fraud systems are becoming central to China's global SAF market access
Speakers
Henry Leung, Senior Airworthiness Officer (Certification), Civil Aviation Department, Hong Kong SAR
Arnaud Brolly, Founder & CEO, EC-Impact
Yuanrong Zhou, Senior Researcher, ICCT
3:40 PM
Extended Structured Meetings & Dedicated 1-2-1 Networking Activities
4:20 PM
Presentation
Building a SAF Market
Pricing, tradability and the path to commoditisation
- What needs to happen for SAF to move beyond bespoke offtake agreements toward more standardised, liquid, and financeable market structures?
- How pricing, certification, book-and-claim systems, and contract design shape SAF's potential to function more like a traded product
- What role the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong could play in building transparent SAF trade flows, market confidence, and regional pricing signals
4:40 PM
Fireside Chat
Making SAF Deliverable
Airport readiness, blending capacity and fuel logistics in China
- Where the biggest operational gaps sit today: blending capacity, segregated storage, fuel quality assurance, and airport distribution systems
- How can infrastructure planning evolve alongside demand signals, mandates and book-and-claim systems?
- Drawing on international airport experience to understand how blending strategies, fuel-system upgrades and operational readiness can be phased in ahead of large-scale SAF demand
Speakers
Prof. Cheng Song, Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
5:20 PM
End of Main Conference Day 1
7:30 AM
Registration & Coffee — Networking Zone opens
Keynotes
9:00 AM
Opening
Welcome Address & Opening Remarks from the Chair
- Opening Day 2 and setting the agenda for supply, demand and the role of pathway development
9:10 AM
Power Panel
China's Next Wave of Aviation Fuels
eSAF, PtL, methanol-to-jet and hydrogen scale-up
- Comparing the maturity gap between HEFA, ATJ, gasification-FT, MtJ, PtL and hydrogen-enabled routes through the lens of TRL, ASTM approval, bankability and project execution risk
- Exploring how China's scale in renewables, hydrogen and methanol is creating a strategic advantage in next-generation aviation fuels
- Which pathways look most credible pre-2030 versus post-2030, and where the biggest technology and cost gaps remain
- How producers and policymakers should think about pathway diversity to ensure future supply volumes
- What does China's progress in eMethanol and green hydrogen mean for aviation fuel strategy over the next decade?
- Unpacking the competition for power from data centers — how can future fuels secure their green electric requirements?
Speakers
Natalie Chan, Specialist, Renewable Fuels, BloombergNEF Moderator
Zhe Wang, Principal, Transportation, Hydrogen and Technology Innovation Initiative, RMI China
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner, Head of Institute, Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental Safety
Chang Shiyan, Research Associate Professor, Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University
9:55 AM
Presentation
Scaling SAF — Why the Right Choice Matters
Speaker
Richard Pearson, Offering Manager, Johnson Matthey
10:15 AM
Power Panel
From Green Premium to Bankable Market
Financing China's SAF and eFuels scale-up
- What separates bankable SAF and eFuel projects from stranded announcements in today's market
- Unpacking what lenders and investors need to see before projects move toward FID: policy durability, feedstock confidence, offtake quality, and certification clarity
- How project developers can structure risk-sharing across airlines, producers, traders, technology licensors and government-backed institutions
- Which financing models are most likely to unlock the next wave of projects: long-term offtakes, structured supply agreements, green funds, blended finance, or new market-based value mechanisms?
Speakers
Richard Pearson, Offering Manager, Johnson Matthey
Jeanne Wang, Investment Director, Austrade Hong Kong & Macau
Luying Gan, EVP / MD, Head of Sustainable Finance, HKGFA / Standard Chartered
11:00 AM
Extended Structured Meetings & Dedicated 1-2-1 Networking Activities
11:40 AM
Power Panel
Feedstock Stock Take: UCO, HEFA & Biomass
- How UCO policy, export changes and tightening global waste-oil competition are reshaping economics, and the impact on SAF
- Which non-lipid pathways deserve attention next: alcohol routes, lignocellulosics, municipal waste, biomethane and PtL hybrids
- How should producers think more strategically about feedstock portfolios?
- What sustainability, certification and commercial hurdles still need to be solved before new feedstock routes can scale credibly?
- Exploring feedstock flow: competition and opportunities for collaboration with the maritime sector
Speakers
Jim Stonecipher, Managing Director, EdyMac
Yiru Ding, Director of Scientific Research and Foreign Affairs, Peking University Institute of Energy
12:25 PM
Power Panel
ReFuelEU, CORSIA & Global SAF Policy in Practice
Industry perspectives on market impact
- How airlines, producers, fuel suppliers and corporate buyers are adapting procurement, investment and compliance strategies in response to ReFuelEU Aviation, CORSIA and other international SAF frameworks
- Where does the industry see the biggest practical challenges around certification, claims, lifecycle emissions accounting, feedstock eligibility and cross-border compliance?
- How international rules are influencing long-term offtake, project finance, feedstock sourcing and decisions on where new SAF production capacity is built
Speakers
Pierre-Yves Buysschaert, General Manager Hong Kong, South China and Macao, Lufthansa Group
Yuanrong Zhou, Senior Researcher, ICCT
1:10 PM
Extended Networking Lunch, Technology Showcase & 1-2-1 Meetings
Afternoon Sessions
2:20 PM
Power Panel
Driving Cost Down
Process innovation, integration and the next efficiency gains in SAF production
- Examples of how lower-cost renewable power, hydrogen and carbon sources could shift the economics of eSAF and PtL pathways
- Exploring the impact of additional cost for next-gen routes in logistics, certification, contracting and market access
- Which innovation levers are most likely to close the gap between technically viable fuels and commercially competitive products?
3:00 PM
Presentation
Industry Insight Presentation
Reserved
- Gain market intelligence and hear about new technologies from global leaders in the SAF and aviation decarbonisation space
3:30 PM
Extended Structured Meetings & Dedicated 1-2-1 Networking Activities
4:00 PM
Power Panel
Book & Claim, Digital Certification & SAF Registries
Building a demand system that works for the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong
- How book and claim can support industry scale-up when physical blending, airport infrastructure and direct SAF access remain constrained
- What still needs to be resolved around registry interoperability, chain-of-custody models, buyer requirements and practical implementation in Asian markets?
- How digital MRV, AI-enabled verification, traceability tools and data platforms could strengthen confidence in SAF certificates, lifecycle emissions and sustainability claims
- How can digital assurance systems reduce greenwashing risk while supporting credible Scope 3 reporting across complex, cross-border aviation value chains?
4:40 PM
Power Panel
The Corporate Market-Maker
Turning Scope 3 ambition into SAF demand
- How corporate travel buyers, freight customers and global brands are approaching SAF procurement, book-and-claim participation and aviation-related Scope 3 reductions
- What corporates need from airlines, logistics providers, registries and certifiers to trust SAF claims, manage greenwashing risk and report emissions reductions with confidence
- How voluntary demand can send stronger market signals for SAF production, infrastructure investment and future offtake beyond regulatory mandates
Speaker
Erik-Jan Ossewaarde, SVP Global Sourcing Fuel, Aviation & Innovation, DHL Group
5:10 PM
Closing
Closing Remarks from Government Officials
- Closing reflections from senior government officials on China's role in global SAF scale-up
5:20 PM
End of SAF China 2026
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Secure Your Place at SAF China
Join senior leaders from across the aviation and energy value chain in Hong Kong this September.