Ep85 Sustainable Aviation Fuel’s Supply Chain Gap with Tan Chong Yee, Flyoro

In this episode, Tan Chong Yee, Chief Financial Officer of FlyORO Technologies, joins us to unpack the critical logistics and funding mechanisms needed to scale sustainable aviation fuel across the Asia-Pacific region. We explore how innovative distributed blending infrastructure solves last-mile supply chain bottlenecks and helps bend the jet fuel cost curve. Climate finance and business professionals will gain valuable insights into derisking capital execution, navigating fragmented regional policies, and structuring bankable corporate offtake agreements. Tune in to discover how the aviation industry is transforming high-risk climate bets into essential, scalable energy infrastructure.  

Ref: FlyORO Technologies Pte Ltd

ABOUT CHONG YEE: Tan Chong Yee is the Chief Financial Officer at FlyORO Technologies, bringing over 15 years of corporate finance and leadership experience to high-growth environments. He has a track record of rolling up his sleeves across fundraising, financial planning, and operational scaling, using data to drive real decisions rather than just reports. Chong Yee holds a BEng in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and an MSc in Technopreneurship and Innovation, both from NTU. He is also a Six Sigma Green Belt certified by ASME and an Associate Chartered Valuer and Appraiser under IVAS.

RECOMENDATIONS

• Making Net-Zero Aviation Possible: A McKinsey & Company report that analyses the nature, timing, cost, and commercial scale of actions required to deliver net-zero emissions within the global aviation sector by 2050.
• The SAF Roadmap: A World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company publication that outlines cross-sector frameworks and investment pathways needed to break the commercial impasse and scale sustainable aviation fuel adoption by 2030.

HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli  |  MUSIC: Ep76 onward excerpts from Vivaldi’s La Follia, played by Luca Jacobelli.

Transcript

DISCLAIMER: THIS AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT IS PROVIDED FOR CONVENIENCE ONLY AND IS NOT THE OFFICIAL OR COMPLETE RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS. THE ORIGINAL AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING REMAINS THE SOLE AUTHORITATIVE RECORD, AND NO RELIANCE SHOULD BE PLACED ON THIS TRANSCRIPT FOR ANY LEGAL, EVIDENTIARY, OR DECISION-MAKING PURPOSES.

Ep85 Sustainable Aviation Fuel’s Supply Chain Gap with Tan Chong Yee, Flyoro

Tan Chong Yee: So what we see here is an increasing interest from both the public and private sectors because SAF is becoming structurally important for aviation, decarbonisation, and energy transition goals. Government can help through grants, mandates, or ecosystem support, while private investors typically look for a scalable infrastructure platform with recurring revenue potential. So from a financing perspective, the key is reducing execution risk, step by step.

[00:00:30] Narrator: Welcome to Asia Climate Finance, your front row seat to the policies, investments, and actors shaping climate, business, and finance across Asia Pacific. Subscribe now so others find this essential guide to Asia's Climate Economy and note the disclaimers at the end. Now over to the host, analyst, investor, and author Joseph Jacobelli.

[00:00:54] Joseph Jacobelli: Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you may be listening from. Welcome to Asia Climate Finance. Today we dive deep into one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise: aviation. We explore the massive supply chain challenges, infrastructure bottlenecks, and financing models behind scaling sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. We also look at the current price gap between SAF and conventional jet fuel and what it takes to bend the cost curve. Joining us to break down these complex dynamics is Tan Chong Yee, the Chief Financial Officer of FlyORO Technologies.

Chong Yee started his career as an engineer before moving into finance. He now sits at the intersection of engineering, infrastructure, and climate tech investment. FlyORO focuses on the critical last-mile blending and distributed logistics needed to get SAF into airports efficiently. This makes him the perfect expert to guide us through the realities of the aviation energy transition.

As always, we love to hear from you. Please send your comments or ideas to the email address mentioned at the top of the show notes, ACFpod@outlook.com. Enjoy the show. Hello, Chong Yee. Hi. How are you today?

[00:02:24] Tan Chong Yee: Hi Joseph. I'm good. Thanks for inviting me to the podcast, Asia Climate Finance.

[00:02:29] Joseph Jacobelli: Thank you so much for making it. Are you in Singapore right now?

[00:02:33] Tan Chong Yee: I'm actually travelling now in Hong Kong. Yeah.

[00:02:37] Joseph Jacobelli: Oh, you're in Hong Kong. Okay. My home.

[00:02:38] Tan Chong Yee: This is not my hometown right now.

[00:02:41] Joseph Jacobelli: Great. So maybe Chong Yee, can we first talk a little bit about you? Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Maybe something beyond your biography, which will be in the show notes.

[00:02:54] Tan Chong Yee: So, myself, I think I will just be very simple. I started off my career as an engineer and dived into finance after three years. And I also liked technology very much. And I've sort of landed in my current position as the CFO of FlyORO Technologies.

[00:03:16] Joseph Jacobelli: What made you interested in climate tech and aviation specifically? I mean, is it because of your engineering background? I'm just guessing.

[00:03:26] Tan Chong Yee: I think it is sort of relevant. So, what drew me into climate tech was actually the combination of engineering, infrastructure, and investment. I'm interested in solving large industrial problems where technology and economics need to work together. And aviation stood out because it's one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise.

Unlike passenger cars, aircraft can't simply switch to batteries at scale anytime soon. It's because the energy density has the constraint. So when you look at the realistic pathway for aviation over the next 20 to 30 years, sustainable aviation fuel, what we call SAF, becomes one of the few immediately deployable solutions that work with existing aircraft and engines.

[00:04:13] Joseph Jacobelli: Right. Yeah. I don't see tomorrow morning having aeroplanes using huge, heavy batteries. I mean, it may happen in the future, but not today.

[00:04:23] Tan Chong Yee: They are experimenting with it. Yeah.

[00:04:25] Joseph Jacobelli: I'm sorry.

[00:04:26] Tan Chong Yee: They are experimenting with it. Yeah. But not immediate.

[00:04:29] Joseph Jacobelli: It's experimenting right now. Right. You mentioned your company, so could you tell us a little bit about the company, what it does, how and when it was created, a little bit of history?

[00:04:42] Tan Chong Yee: Sure. So, FlyORO started from very practical problems observed in the energy industry. So our CEO, Jonathan, spent more than a decade in oil and gas, and together with the co-founders, Jen and Joe, they built an engineering consultancy business focused on fuel systems and operations. Through that work, the team developed proprietary precision blending technology for fuels and chemicals. So when the SAF market started accelerating globally, we realised that the technology was highly relevant to a new challenge emerging in aviation. So a lot of attention was going into SAF production, but the infrastructure for blending and delivering SAF was lagging behind. So SAF is distributed by nature. It comes from different feedstocks and producers across multiple locations. But today's aviation fuel infrastructure was designed for centralised fossil fuel supply chains.

So this creates significant logistical friction and cost in getting SAF efficiently into airports and aircraft operations. So FlyORO focuses on solving the last-mile blending and logistical gap through distributed blending infrastructure over the past four years. The team and our founders commercialised the technology from MVP into an operational pilot unit, which is now deployed in Western Australia.

[00:06:15] Joseph Jacobelli: Mm-hmm. So you mentioned a little bit about that, that FlyORO focuses on the supply chain side of SAF. Why is that piece of the puzzle so critical? And how do you work with airlines, fuel producers, and regulators to make it all connect?

[00:06:41] Tan Chong Yee: The SAF conversation is often centred around fuel production, but scaling SAF is really a supply chain challenge as well. So even though enough SAF is produced, it still needs to be blended, certified, transported, and delivered into existing aviation systems safely and efficiently. So that infrastructure gap is becoming important because SAF supply is naturally more distributed than conventional jet fuel. Many producers are smaller, geographically spread out, and operating with different feedstocks, but the existing aviation fuel network was built for a centralised, much larger volume. So we built the infrastructure to bridge the gap by integrating the SAF into the current airport and fuel operators.

So we work with the fuel producers, airport operators, and downstream partners to ensure blending accuracy, compliance, and operational compatibility with existing standards and workflows. Aviation is a highly regulated industry, so collaboration is critical. The ecosystem only works when producers, logistical providers, airlines, and regulators can connect efficiently.

[00:07:58] Joseph Jacobelli: Right. I mean, sometimes we forget that the aviation industry is incredibly complex. And thus you need a lot of regulation at a lot of levels. Can we talk, Chong Yee, a little bit about the industry in general just so that we can get a better understanding? SAF is often called the most promising near-term solution for decarbonising aviation. How does FlyORO Technologies actually work to produce or enable SAF at scale?

[00:08:32] Tan Chong Yee: So for SAF, it was recognised as the most practical near-term solution because it works with today's aircraft and aviation systems without requiring a complete redesign of the industry. It's basically a drop-in fuel. At FlyORO, we focus on enabling SAF deployment at scale through modular blending and logistical infrastructure. Our technology is designed to be scalable, flexible, and relatively modest in Capex compared to the large, centralised infrastructure projects. So this enables us to place distributed blending nodes closer to supply or demand centres to reduce lead time and logistical costs.

For example, when we deploy a unit at the airport, it can shorten the SAF purchasing lead time from months to weeks, while giving the airport operators and fuel suppliers greater inventory flexibility and purchasing optionality.

[00:09:28] Joseph Jacobelli: Got it. The aviation industry has ambitious net-zero targets, right? But SAF still makes up less than something like 1% of global jet fuel. What's the biggest bottleneck right now? Is it technology, policy, investment? What?

[00:09:54] Tan Chong Yee: I think it's really a combination of all three. But today the biggest bottleneck is scaling the overall ecosystem fast enough. So the industry already knows SAF works technically; aircraft use it today with approved blending limits. So the challenge is more about economics, infrastructure, and coordination. So the policy has created momentum through blending mandates and decarbonising targets, which is important because it gives the market long-term demand visibility. Investment into production is also growing globally, so it comes back to where the area is underestimated, which is the infrastructure and logistics.

[00:10:40] Joseph Jacobelli: Mm-hmm. Asia is a very fast-growing aviation market, right? But SAF adoption here lags behind, say, regions like Europe or North America. What's unique about the challenges or opportunities in the Asia Pacific region?

[00:11:03] Tan Chong Yee: So for Asia, as you correctly recognise, it is one of the most important regions for SAF in the long term because aviation demand here is growing very rapidly. The challenge is that the region is also highly fragmented. Different countries are moving at different speeds in terms of policy, infrastructure readiness, and SAF incentives. Europe has been more policy-driven, while the US has benefited from strong production incentives. In Asia, many markets are still balancing decarbonising goals with energy security as well as cost competitiveness.

So the adoption has been more gradual, but this also creates opportunity. Asia has strong refining capabilities, major aviation hubs, and access to diverse feedstocks across the region. So as SAF mandates begin to expand, there is an opportunity to build newer, more distributed infrastructure models rather than relying on the legacy system designed for fossil fuels. So this is where we can play a role.

[00:12:08] Joseph Jacobelli: If I were to ask you, in the Asia Pacific region, is there any particular country or set of countries which are adopting SAF slightly more rapidly than others?

[00:12:28] Tan Chong Yee: I think for example, Japan had a target of 10% in 2030. But their approach may not be like setting a mandate of a percentage as of 2025 or 2026, 1% by 2%. They're still kind of revising that. But they do have a goal to adopt it by 2030, much driven by energy security or fuel resilience. And they also have the benefit of an abundance of feedstocks. So I think this is a place where it may have a faster adoption than the rest of the market eventually.

[00:13:09] Joseph Jacobelli: So if you were to pick one country in Asia, you'd say Japan would be slightly faster-paced than other areas.

[00:13:17] Tan Chong Yee: I think it has the potential to be.

[00:13:25] Joseph Jacobelli: Let's move to talk a little bit about finance. Let's talk about economics. Now, SAF is still much more expensive than conventional jet fuel, although in recent weeks, jet fuel has been going up a lot. How do you see the cost curve bending, and what needs to happen to make SAF more price competitive? Is it simply economies of scale? Is that all it takes?

[00:13:54] Tan Chong Yee: I think we can't run away from the economy of scale, but SAF today is more expensive than conventional fuels because it is in the early scaling curve. So production volumes are relatively low, feedstock supplies are limited, and also as mentioned, the infrastructure ecosystem is still developing. If you look historically, the energy transition tends to become cheaper as scale improves. We've seen that in solar; we've seen that in batteries and other clean technologies.

For SAF, I think three things need to be in place to bend the cost curve. So, just now we mentioned economies of scale. More efficient and larger plants will reduce the unit cost over time; this is for sure. And the second thing is stable policy support because mandates and incentives give producers and investors’ confidence to commit longer-term capital. And the third part will be logistical efficiency. So these are the three things that go hand in hand that we think will bend the cost curve.

[00:15:04] Joseph Jacobelli: Got it. Climate finance is a hot topic. How does one pitch SAF projects to investors who might see them as high-risk or long-payoff bets?

[00:15:21] Tan Chong Yee: I think today investors are becoming more disciplined around climate investments. So they're not looking only at the sustainability narrative. They also want to see real commercial drivers, clear unit economics, and the critical path to scale. So for SAF, the good news is that demand is increasingly supported by policy mandates, airline decarbonisation commitments, and corporate pressure to reduce emissions. And this proves that it is not purely a voluntary market anymore.

[00:16:47] Joseph Jacobelli: Talking about Capex, I think at the beginning you did mention something about FlyORO not requiring as much upfront Capex as some other technology. So actually, SAF projects often require very significant upfront capital. So how does FlyORO structure partnerships or financing models to attract both public and private investment, especially in a market where returns may take years to actually materialise?

[00:17:20] Tan Chong Yee: Yeah. Thanks Joseph, this is a question I think of day in, day out. So, one thing you will see in climate manufacturing is that no single stakeholder can scale the ecosystem alone, right? And SAF projects often require long development cycles and meaningful upfront capital; you're entirely correct. So, partnership structures become very important. What we do here is we focus on building commercially practical models with clear operational volumes from the start. Because we are solving infrastructure and logistical bottlenecks, our deployments can often be tied to immediate industry needs rather than depending solely on long-term fuel price assumptions.

So what we see here is an increasing interest from both the public and private sectors because SAF is becoming structurally important for aviation, decarbonisation, and energy transition goals. Government can help through grants, mandates, or ecosystem support, while private investors typically look for scalable infrastructure platforms with recurring revenue potential.

[00:18:52] Joseph Jacobelli: Right. So you mentioned the financing side of things. We're seeing a mix of grants, carbon credits, and corporate sustainability budgets funding SAF initiatives. From your own experience, which financing mechanisms have been most effective in scaling SAF adoption and why?

[00:19:17] Tan Chong Yee: So, in practice there's no one mechanism that scales SAF. It is the combination. But each plays a different role at a different stage of maturity. So it depends on what stage we are looking at. In the early stage, grants and public funding are often the most effective in derisking technology and infrastructure. They help to prove feasibility, support pilots, and bridge gaps where private capital is still cautious. Then carbon credits and environmental markets help to improve the economics. However, the impact depends heavily on pricing stability and regulatory clarity, which is still evolving across regions.

They're helpful, but not always bankable as a primary financing pillar. The most structurally important drivers today actually are corporate demand, particularly the airlines and corporates using voluntary or compliance-driven sustainability budgets. These commitments create forward visibility and help anchor long-term offtake, which is critical for attracting private investment into the production and infrastructure.

[00:20:31] Joseph Jacobelli: Understood. I guess I want to move to the outlook, but before I move to the outlook, can I just ask one clarification please, Chong Yee? When it comes to SAF, and I know this is a very general question, but what is the price gap today as we speak between SAF and jet fuel?

[00:21:09] Tan Chong Yee: We are talking about like three to five x depending on which regions you're looking at. And a direct price comparison is not easy. So, there are some improvements, but there is still a big gap, I would say.

[00:21:26] Joseph Jacobelli: So, very broadly speaking, depending on the region, we're talking about three x to five x.

[00:21:33] Tan Chong Yee: Correct.

[00:21:40] Joseph Jacobelli: Good. So if I want to move to the outlook, which is the last piece of discussion: beyond SAF, what other innovations or technologies do you think will be game-changers for aviation decarbonisation over the next decade or two?

[00:21:58] Tan Chong Yee: Sure. So, beyond SAF, I think the next decade of aviation decarbonisation will be driven by a few parallel tracks rather than a single breakthrough. First, I would say efficiency improvements in aircraft and operations. Things like aerodynamic design, lighter materials, and more optimised flight routing. These are incremental individually, but collectively they meaningfully reduce the fuel burden across a global fleet. Then second, I would say electrification for short-haul aviation. The battery strategy, as mentioned earlier, still has energy density limitations. So this will likely start with smaller aircraft and regional routes where we can play a role in specific segments of the market. The third is hydrogen, but this is often discussed as a long-term option. The challenge is not just the fuel itself, but the infrastructure. Storage and aircraft redesign are required.

So in the near to mid-term, most of the decarbonisation impact will still come from making SAF work at scale. But within SAF we have a lot of innovation and pathways as well.

[00:23:13] Joseph Jacobelli: Chong Yee, if you could have a magic wand and change one thing, whether it's a policy, a mindset, or a technology, what would most accelerate the shift to sustainable aviation?

[00:23:31] Tan Chong Yee: Oh, I certainly hope so! But if I were to change one thing, it would be to align the entire ecosystem around a clear bankable pathway for scaling SAF infrastructure—not just the production targets, but also logistical, blending, and apron-level integration. So today there's really strong momentum on demand through airlines' commitment and emerging mandates, but the system is still fragmented across policy, investment, and infrastructure. This fragmentation creates hesitation in capital deployment and slows down execution.

[00:24:08] Joseph Jacobelli: So the alignment factor is quite key. Well, then just the last question of the podcast, which I've introduced this year: do you have any recommendations for Asia Climate Finance listeners? It can be books, reports, studies, films, documentaries, or anything.

[00:24:30] Tan Chong Yee: I recommend McKinsey's work on making net-zero aviation possible, and the SAF roadmap. It explains the real-world challenges behind scaling aviation decarbonisation. I also think one of the most important takeaways for listeners is that aviation decarbonisation is ultimately a system challenge. It is not only about inventing cleaner fuel, but also aligning policy, infrastructure, and investment to scale the solution commercially.

[00:25:02] Joseph Jacobelli: Understood. Well, that was a great conversation. I learned quite a lot, Chong Yee, and I really appreciate your time. I guess this is a subject that we will be revisiting again and again over the next few years. So thank you so much for all your insights.

[00:25:22] Tan Chong Yee: Thank you Joseph. Very honoured to be invited to share with you guys.

[00:25:26] Joseph Jacobelli: Thanks a lot.

[00:25:28] Narrator: Please note that the Asia Climate Finance Podcast is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Any information discussed should not be relied upon for making investment decisions. Listeners should always seek advice from a suitably qualified and authorised investment professional. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of their current or former employers, or of the podcast host or producers.

RECOMENDATIONS

·       Making Net-Zero Aviation Possible: A McKinsey & Company report that analyses the nature, timing, cost, and commercial scale of actions required to deliver net-zero emissions within the global aviation sector by 2050.

·       The SAF Roadmap: A World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company publication that outlines cross-sector frameworks and investment pathways needed to break the commercial impasse and scale sustainable aviation fuel adoption by 2030.