During a glitzy opening ceremony for the 2024 Singapore Airshow on Monday evening, the government of Singapore announced four initiatives intended to boost the country’s aerospace industry, including its sustainability credentials.
Heng Swee Keat, Singapore's deputy prime minister and coordinating minister for economic policy, said the government is establishing the Aerospace Open Innovation Challenge to enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups based in Singapore to pitch solutions to aerospace giants for co-development.
Singapore's government also plans to complete an expansion project at the Seletar Aerospace Park in 2027, Heng said. That project will add 11,000 square meters to the industrial park and increase factory unit space by 25 percent, he explained.
On Monday, Singapore launched the Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint, which will contain the country’s decarbonization roadmap toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In the shorter term, Singapore will set a national target for 1 percent of all flights departing the country to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2026. Heng noted that Singapore is home to the world’s largest SAF production facility. Neste’s Singapore Refinery produces up to 1 million tonnes of SAF per annum.