Multiple flights powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) recently took off from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, successfully operating several passenger and cargo services. This marks the official launch of the “Spark Project,” coordinated by the SAF Industry Alliance, led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s Second Research Institute and China National Aviation Fuel Group, and jointly developed by China Southern Airlines, Air China Cargo, Sichuan Airlines, Huarong Chemical, and other partners.
As the country’s first commercial demonstration project covering the entire SAF value chain, the Spark Project establishes a complete commercial closed loop encompassing production, storage and transport, refueling, combustion utilization, sustainability certification, environmental rights accounting, and registration and cancellation. The successful implementation of this project represents a critical step forward for China’s civil aviation SAF sector, transitioning from technology validation to large-scale commercial application.
To ensure the compliance and credibility of this commercial closed loop, the Spark Project leverages AnchorTrace, a Scope 3 environmental rights registration and cancellation platform jointly developed by China National Aviation Fuel Group and the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s Second Research Institute. By deeply integrating with both domestic and international general aviation fuel sustainability certification systems, the project has built a compliant and reliable traceability system spanning the entire chain “from table to wing.”
The Spark Project represents a commercial exploration in which corporate clients purchase the environmental rights associated with SAF and share in its premium costs. At the same time, it serves as a demonstration that combines independent sustainability certification pilots with green environmental rights integration.