Hong Kong and China Gas, part of billionaire Lee Shau Kee’s business empire, is accelerating an expansion of biofuel firm EcoCeres in foreign markets on bets the global decarbonization push will boost demand for sustainable aviation fuel.
EcoCeres, one of Asia’s largest producers of green jet fuel, is exploring the possibility of expanding into new markets like the U.S. and the Middle East, helped by a significant investment from major shareholder Bain Capital, said Alan Chan, chief investment officer of Hong Kong and China Gas, known locally as Towngas. The biofuel-maker is also opening a new sales office in Switzerland and hiring staff for an office in Singapore, he said.
The firm, which produces biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel from waste vegetable oils and animal fats, already has a plant in mainland China and is building another in Malaysia. When the latter is completed in two years, the company will have total annual production capacity of 650,000 tons, and Chan said it may look to further expand the facilities in the future. As of the end of 2022, the mainland plant had produced about 40,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel.