Executive Summary
A first commercial eSAF module that can establish the Philippines as an early Asian platform for synthetic aviation fuel.
From fuel importer to advanced aviation-fuel producer
DM‑XTechPhil proposes to develop a 500 bbl/day electro‑Sustainable Aviation Fuel facility in the Philippines as the first module of a broader national eSAF hub. The project is designed to convert captured CO₂ and renewable hydrogen into synthetic petroleum and jet-range molecules suitable for upgrading into a drop-in SAF blending component.
The project directly addresses three strategic priorities: aviation decarbonization, energy-security industrialization, and the creation of a Philippine export platform for high-value low-carbon fuels. It uses the Philippines not merely as a project location, but as a production base for an Asian SAF supply chain serving domestic airlines, regional carriers, cargo operators, fuel suppliers, and future compliance markets.
The initial module is intentionally sized at 500 bbl/day: large enough to be material to airline offtake and bankability, but still small enough to manage first-of-kind integration risk before expansion to larger capacity.
| Parameter | Base Case |
|---|---|
| Production module | 500 bbl/day |
| Nominal annual eSAF output | ~25,000 tpa |
| CO₂ source | Controlled point-source capture from existing 20 MW CO₂-concentrating platform, with future transition to qualifying carbon sources |
| Renewable power platform | ~500 MWp solar target |
| BESS firming basis | ~200 MW / ~2,000 MWh |
| Supplemental supply | 20–40 MW firm green-power PPA / wheeling option |
| Conversion base case | CO₂ capture → SOEC H₂ → RWGS/syngas conditioning → FT or MtJ → upgrading |
| Technology upside | Direct CO₂ hydrogenation pilot for synthetic petroleum and jet-range hydrocarbons |
Investment conclusion
The project is most bankable when structured as two coordinated infrastructure layers: the eSAF process island, financed against offtake and product revenue, and the renewable power island, financed as long-life energy infrastructure supported by solar generation, BESS, grid services, and firm renewable supply agreements. This structure improves debt-service capacity, reduces technology-risk concentration, and aligns the project with multilateral, sovereign, and strategic-infrastructure capital.
BOI incentive strategy: the project should be developed as a BOI-registered strategic investment package, with the eSAF process island, renewable power platform, BESS, hydrogen system, carbon capture, and export-support components mapped to the applicable SIPP activities. Income tax holiday, SCIT/EDR election, VAT and duty incentives, and power-expense deductions materially improve the pre-tax-to-after-tax conversion and should be included in the financing model from the outset.
Decision Package
Priority actions requested from government, development-finance, strategic, and private-sector counterparties.
Recommended near-term approvals and support
Designate the project for inter-agency coordination because it combines aviation, energy, climate, industrial policy, export strategy, and infrastructure finance.
Move into pre-FEED validation, grid interconnection screening, environmental and social scoping, project-site due diligence, and preliminary lender technical review.
Facilitate renewable supply arrangements, grid access, wheeling, BESS permitting, and green-power certification to support continuous SOEC operation.
Support engagement with Philippine airlines, fuel suppliers, airports, defense and emergency-service aviation users, and regional export counterparties.
Position the project for ADB, sovereign, climate, export-credit, strategic-investor, and commercial bank financing, with the power island and process island treated as financeable sub-packages.
Why this matters for the Philippines
The project should be treated as strategic energy-industrial infrastructure. The fuel molecule is the marketable output; the larger national value is the creation of a Philippine platform for renewable power, hydrogen, carbon utilization, fuel certification, advanced manufacturing, and aviation decarbonization.
National Strategic Rationale
The Philippines can build a differentiated role in Asian aviation decarbonization by moving early into eSAF.
Aviation decarbonization
International aviation is entering a compliance-driven SAF transition. eSAF is strategically important because it can scale from renewable electricity and captured carbon rather than relying only on limited lipid feedstocks.
Renewable industrialization
The project creates a bankable demand sink for large renewable electricity and BESS investment, converting intermittent green power into a globally traded liquid fuel.
Asian hub strategy
The Philippines can serve domestic and regional aviation demand, with future exports into Japan, Singapore, UK/EU-linked supply chains, and voluntary corporate decarbonization markets.
Policy-market context
European policy has already created hard long-term demand signals for SAF and synthetic aviation fuels. ReFuelEU Aviation requires SAF at EU airports beginning at 2% in 2025 and rising to 70% by 2050, with a synthetic aviation fuel sub-target starting in 2030 and rising to 35% by 2050. The UK SAF Mandate began in 2025 and is paired with a revenue-certainty policy effort to de-risk first-of-kind commercial production. CORSIA and ASTM qualification rules create the international certification architecture for eligible fuels and conversion pathways.
The strategic implication is straightforward: Asian economies that wait until mandates become acute may become buyers of expensive imported eSAF. Countries that develop production capacity early can become suppliers into a constrained market.
Project Design Basis
A realistic first commercial module, with enough scale to matter and a credible path to later expansion.
Core assumptions
| Category | Pre-FEED planning assumption |
|---|---|
| Annual output | 25,000 tonnes/year eSAF / synthetic aviation fuel component |
| eSAF price | Base: USD 8,000/t; Bear: USD 7,000/t; Bull: USD 9,500/t |
| Electric intensity | Base: 28 MWh/t product; range: 25–32 MWh/t |
| CO₂ requirement | ~3.1 t CO₂/t fuel; ~77,500 tpa base demand |
| H₂ requirement | ~0.46 t H₂/t fuel; ~11,500 tpa base demand |
| Water requirement | ~9 t deionized water/t H₂ before recycle credit; ~100,000–110,000 tpa gross |
| Asset life | 20-year operating model after 3-year construction and commissioning period |
| Discount rate | 10% nominal unlevered project discount rate for base screening |
Pre-FEED boundary conditions
Commercial boundary. Product revenue must be anchored by one or more 10–15 year contingent product offtake agreements, with price floors, take-or-pay or take-and-pay protections, certification conditions, and bankable delivery terms.
Technical boundary. The base-case technology should remain anchored in routes that can be connected to existing ASTM D7566 qualification logic, with direct CO₂ hydrogenation treated as a technology-upside pilot until long-duration operating and fuel-quality data are available.
Power boundary. The 500 MWp solar farm and 2 GWh BESS are not optional accessories; they are central infrastructure for continuous hydrogen production and stable synthetic-fuel operations.
Carbon boundary. The pre-2035 case uses controlled recycled carbon to enter the market early. The long-life asset strategy requires transition capacity toward qualifying non-fossil carbon sources as regulation tightens.
Renewable Power Island and BESS
The eSAF plant is fundamentally an energy-conversion project. Power availability determines hydrogen cost, utilization, and bankability.
Power-island design basis
| Component | Base design | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Solar farm | ~500 MWp | Primary renewable energy source |
| BESS | ~200 MW / ~2,000 MWh | Diurnal firming, ramp control, SOEC stability, reserve |
| Firm green-power PPA | 20–40 MW | Wet-season, cloudy-day, maintenance, and lender reliability coverage |
| Continuous eSAF load | 75–90 MW | SOEC, CO₂ capture, synthesis, upgrading, utilities |
| Design firm supply | ~100 MW | Electrical margin for dynamic operation and auxiliaries |
| Annual energy demand | ~700 GWh | Base case at 28 MWh/t and 25,000 tpa |
The BESS is sized primarily for day-night shifting and plant stability. Multi-day autonomy should be provided by firm renewable supply and grid arrangements rather than batteries alone.
Illustrative daily dispatch
Indicative normalized daily profile: solar generation charges BESS and serves the plant during daytime; BESS and contracted green power support evening, night, and morning operation.
Power and production simulator
This simulator is an energy-balance screen, not a substitute for an hourly dispatch model. FEED should use at least 10 years of irradiance data, grid constraints, BESS degradation, SOEC turndown limits, outage assumptions, and certification requirements for renewable electricity.
Technology Architecture
Bankable Power-to-Liquid conversion first; direct CO₂ hydrogenation as a parallel development option.
Base-case process flow
Base case: CO₂ capture → SOEC H₂ → RWGS/syngas → FT or MtJ → upgrading
The base case uses a conservative Power-to-Liquid architecture. It is more complex than direct CO₂ hydrogenation, but it is easier to present to lenders, EPC contractors, aviation-fuel certification bodies, and strategic offtakers because each major unit operation is known in adjacent hydrogen, refining, petrochemical, or synthetic-fuels industries.
The bankability logic is not that the route is risk-free; it is that the technical risks are identifiable, diligenceable, and contractable. FEED can define process guarantees, catalyst supply, performance tests, product quality criteria, acceptance tests, availability targets, and liquidated-damages regimes around a recognizable PtL process chain.
Technology optionality: FT and MtJ should remain open through pre-FEED
The pre-FEED stage should preserve optionality between Fischer‑Tropsch and methanol-to-jet pathways until vendor data, product slate, CAPEX, lifecycle emissions, ASTM pathway, and offtake specifications are compared on a like-for-like basis.
| Route | Strength | Primary diligence issue |
|---|---|---|
| RWGS → FT → upgrading | Strong synthetic-fuel logic and established aviation relevance | CAPEX, heat management, product distribution, wax/upgrading balance |
| RWGS → methanol → MtJ | Potentially modular, methanol intermediate optionality | Aviation qualification, catalyst selectivity, methanol supply-chain integration |
| Integrated RWGS/FT | Process intensification potential | Technology-provider guarantees and long-run catalyst stability |
Technology upside: direct CO₂ hydrogenation to synthetic petroleum
Direct CO₂ hydrogenation is a promising process-intensification route. In concept, CO₂ and green H₂ are converted in a single catalytic system into synthetic petroleum, including jet-range hydrocarbons. This can simplify the visible process train by integrating CO₂ activation, carbon-chain growth, hydrogenation, and hydrocarbon-range selectivity within one reactor system.
For the first 500 bbl/day module, direct CO₂ hydrogenation should be developed as a parallel pilot rather than the sole financing basis. The reason is investment discipline: a 500 bbl/day project must be financed on technology that has sufficient operating data, catalyst-life evidence, product-quality consistency, and certification pathway clarity.
Pilot objectives
- Validate CO₂ conversion, carbon efficiency, methane suppression, and C₈–C₁₆ selectivity.
- Generate 1,000–5,000+ hours of catalyst-life and water-tolerance data.
- Produce sufficient product for GCxGC, ASTM property testing, blending studies, and lifecycle analysis.
- Define whether direct hydrogenation can become the Phase‑2 preferred route or a parallel route for synthetic crude production.
nCO₂ + (3n+1)H₂ → CₙH₂ₙ₊₂ + 2nH₂O
Planning ratios:
• CO₂: ~3.1 t/t fuel
• H₂: ~0.43–0.50 t/t fuel
• Water produced: ~2.5–2.6 t/t fuel
Aviation-fuel certification logic
The fuel must be certified and accepted through the aviation-fuel qualification system before it becomes a commercially deliverable SAF blending component. The project should therefore be designed from the beginning around product properties, ASTM qualification evidence, blend limits, sustainability certification, chain of custody, fuel-handling compatibility, and offtaker acceptance.
FT-derived SAF pathways are already recognized in the ASTM D7566 architecture. New or less conventional pathways may require additional ASTM D4054 evaluation and industry engagement. For bankability, the base case should therefore remain anchored to a route with the clearest certification pathway, while direct CO₂ hydrogenation is advanced as a technology-upside route after product and catalyst data are generated.
Mass and Energy Balance
Preliminary balances for a 500 bbl/day / 25,000 tpa eSAF module.
Annual material balance
| Stream | Planning ratio | Annual quantity |
|---|---|---|
| eSAF / synthetic aviation fuel component | 1.00 t/t | 25,000 tpa |
| Captured CO₂ feed | ~3.1 t/t product | ~77,500 tpa |
| Green H₂ feed | ~0.46 t/t product | ~11,500 tpa |
| Gross deionized water to electrolysis | ~9 t/t H₂ | ~103,500 tpa |
| Water generated in synthesis | ~2.5 t/t product | ~62,500 tpa |
| Oxygen co-product | ~8 t/t H₂ | ~92,000 tpa |
Water recycle and oxygen monetization are not credited in the base financial model. They are upside items subject to water-quality design, offsite demand, compression cost, and offtake logistics.
Energy balance
| Load block | Continuous MW range | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| SOEC hydrogen production | 55–65 MW | Dominant electrical load |
| CO₂ capture and compression | 3–6 MW | Amine regeneration heat integration required |
| RWGS / syngas conditioning | 3–8 MW | Heat and recycle-gas compression dependent |
| FT/MtJ synthesis island | 5–10 MW | Route-specific |
| Upgrading and fractionation | 3–6 MW | Hydroprocessing and product finishing |
| Utilities and offsites | 5–8 MW | Cooling, pumps, controls, water, storage |
| Total continuous load | 75–90 MW | ~100 MW design firm supply basis |
Thermodynamic efficiency
The project converts renewable electricity into chemical energy stored in hydrocarbons. The energy-efficiency objective is to maximize SOEC utilization, integrate process heat, recycle unconverted gases, and minimize curtailment.
Carbon efficiency
Carbon efficiency depends on CO₂ conversion, recycle design, methane/light-gas suppression, product distribution, and upgrading strategy. FEED should define carbon loss limits and recycle configuration.
Hydrogen intensity
Hydrogen intensity is the dominant cost and power driver. Direct hydrogenation may simplify the reactor train, but it does not materially eliminate the stoichiometric hydrogen requirement.
Preliminary Equipment Sizing
Indicative equipment blocks for FEED scoping, vendor engagement, and EPC packaging.
| Area | Indicative sizing basis | FEED diligence focus |
|---|---|---|
| CO₂ capture and purification | ~80,000–90,000 tpa capture capacity with purification, dehydration, compression, buffer storage | Amine selection, heat integration, impurities, solvent losses, emissions, capture availability |
| SOEC electrolyzer system | ~60 MW effective hydrogen-production load; modular design with redundancy | Stack degradation, turndown, hot standby, steam supply, water treatment, vendor guarantees |
| Hydrogen handling | Daily H₂ demand ~31–34 t/day; buffer storage sized for dynamic operation | Safety distances, compression, storage pressure, HAZOP, code compliance |
| RWGS / syngas island | CO₂/H₂ conditioning and H₂/CO ratio control for FT or methanol synthesis | Conversion, catalyst life, heat balance, recycle compression, water removal |
| FT or MtJ synthesis | Hydrocarbon synthesis sized for 500 bbl/day nominal output plus recycle | Product selectivity, catalyst cycle, heat removal, reactor train redundancy |
| Upgrading and fractionation | Hydrocracking, hydroisomerization, stabilization, fractionation, storage | Jet-range yield, freeze point, aromatics, smoke point, density, blend properties |
| Power island | ~500 MWp solar, ~200 MW/2 GWh BESS, grid tie, EMS, PPA integration | Hourly dispatch, interconnection, curtailment, BESS degradation, RE certification |
| Water and wastewater | DI water plant, condensate recovery, wastewater treatment, stormwater controls | Water sourcing, discharge permits, recycle, produced-water treatment |
Financial Model
Interactive screening model for project economics, financing perimeter, and sensitivity analysis.
Two financeable perimeters
Process-island financing treats the eSAF plant as the revenue-generating fuel project and purchases green power under a long-term renewable PPA from an affiliated or third-party power island. This is typically more bankable for fuel offtake financing.
Integrated-platform financing includes the eSAF plant, 500 MW solar farm, 2 GWh BESS, grid connection, and energy-management infrastructure in one project company. This creates greater asset control but materially increases CAPEX and lowers unlevered returns unless supported by concessional capital, grants, tax incentives, or infrastructure-style financing.
Base CAPEX assumptions
| Package | Process-island model | Integrated model |
|---|---|---|
| CO₂ capture and compression | $45M | $45M |
| SOEC, H₂ handling, water systems | $180M | $180M |
| RWGS/FT or MtJ, upgrading, storage | $210M | $210M |
| Utilities, EPCM, contingency | $85M | $85M |
| eSAF process island | $520M | $520M |
| 500 MWp solar farm | PPA-backed | $400M |
| 200 MW / 2 GWh BESS | PPA-backed | $420M |
| Grid, EMS, interconnection, land works | PPA-backed | $70M |
| Total investment perimeter | $520M | $1.41B |
The project should preserve the option to split the power island into a regulated or contracted infrastructure SPV. This may improve financing capacity and align better with development-finance and infrastructure investors.
Interactive NPV / IRR calculator
Scenario table
| Case | Price | Output | Power cost | Process IRR | Integrated IRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear | $7,000/t | 22,000 tpa | $70/MWh | — | — |
| Base | $8,000/t | 25,000 tpa | $55/MWh | — | — |
| Bull | $9,500/t | 28,000 tpa | $42/MWh | — | — |
The process-island case assumes the power island is financed separately and sells green power under PPA. Scenario IRRs use the target BOI incentive case. The integrated case includes solar+BESS CAPEX in the project perimeter.
Sensitivity analysis
BOI Tax Incentive Strategy
CREATE MORE and the Strategic Investment Priority Plan should be treated as part of the project-finance architecture, not as an afterthought.
Registration thesis
The project should be positioned for registration with the Board of Investments as a strategic, high-value, low-carbon industrial project combining sustainable aviation fuel production, renewable energy, battery energy storage, green hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization, advanced fuel manufacturing, and export-support infrastructure.
The 2026 SIPP policy direction is particularly relevant because BOI identifies sustainable aviation fuel under Tier II strategic industries, carbon capture and circular-economy projects under Tier I climate-related initiatives, and hydrogen under Tier III frontier technologies. The eSAF Hub therefore has a credible basis for a structured BOI engagement that maps each project package to the appropriate activity classification.
Because the first module exceeds normal project scale and supports national industrial policy, energy security, aviation decarbonization, export development, and skilled employment, the BOI application should be prepared as a coordinated incentive package rather than as a narrow fuel-plant registration.
Incentives to be modelled
| Incentive | Relevance to eSAF Hub |
|---|---|
| Income Tax Holiday | Protects the early ramp-up years when SOEC, synthesis, product certification, and offtake logistics are being stabilized. |
| 5% SCIT for export enterprises | Potentially valuable if a material portion of eSAF output is sold into regional or compliance-linked export markets. |
| Enhanced Deductions Regime | Highly relevant because power, training, R&D, domestic inputs, labor, and depreciation are significant cost components. |
| 100% additional deduction on power expense | Strategically important because electricity is the dominant variable cost in SOEC-based eSAF production. |
| VAT exemption / zero-rating | Improves cash flow for eligible imported equipment and local purchases directly attributable to registered export activities. |
| Customs duty exemption | Reduces installed cost for SOEC modules, compressors, reactors, catalysts, control systems, and specialized BESS or power equipment. |
6-year ITH + 10-year SCIT/EDR
A conservative case for early modelling where the project is treated as a qualifying registered activity outside NCR but without assuming special treatment. This is useful as the downside incentive case.
7-year ITH + 10-year SCIT/EDR
The recommended base-case assumption for a Tier II/Tier III-aligned project outside NCR, subject to final BOI/FIRB confirmation, location, registered activity classification, export profile, and SIPP guidelines.
8-year ITH + longer incentive window
A policy-support case where the project is treated as highly desirable due to scale, innovation, export potential, strategic energy-security value, and climate-industrial impact. This should be presented as an upside case, not as an entitlement.
Illustrative financial impact
In the interactive model, BOI incentives are represented by an ITH period followed by an optimized SCIT/EDR election. The model applies the lower of a simplified 5% SCIT proxy and an EDR proxy using a 20% corporate income tax rate after an additional 100% power-expense deduction. This is a screening assumption only; the actual treatment must be confirmed by Philippine tax counsel, BOI/FIRB guidance, the registered activity certificate, export profile, and final project-entity structure.
| Model case | Tax treatment | Indicative investment effect |
|---|---|---|
| No incentives | Regular 25% corporate income tax after depreciation | Baseline case for lender downside testing. |
| BOI base case | 6-year ITH, then 10-year optimized SCIT/EDR | Improves early free cash flow, debt-service capacity, and equity IRR. |
| BOI target case | 7-year ITH, then 10-year optimized SCIT/EDR | Recommended model case for decision-maker presentation, subject to confirmation. |
| Highly desirable case | 8-year ITH plus extended incentive support where approved | Upside case for sovereign/ADB/strategic-investor structuring. |
Pre-FEED implication: the BOI application workstream should run in parallel with FEED, ESIA, offtake negotiation, grid studies, and lender due diligence. Incentive timing affects financial close, DSCR sizing, tariff negotiation, tax-equity value, and government-support discussions.
Market and Offtake Strategy
Bankability depends on securing long-term demand, not relying on spot SAF pricing.
Target demand pools
| Demand pool | Strategic value | Commercial instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Philippine domestic aviation | National decarbonization, local market validation | cPOA, SAF blending agreement, airline supply MOU |
| Regional carriers and cargo | Asia hub positioning, cargo-customer Scope 3 demand | Long-term offtake with index-linked premium |
| Fuel suppliers / traders | Liquidity, logistics, credit support | Take-and-pay offtake, resale rights, storage agreement |
| Japan / Singapore-linked buyers | Regional compliance and corporate decarbonization demand | Export offtake, book-and-claim, mass-balance structures |
| Government and strategic users | Early demand signal and policy proof point | Pilot procurement, strategic reserve, demonstration use |
Offtake bankability requirements
- 10–15 year tenor aligned with debt maturity and infrastructure payback.
- Defined price formula: fixed floor plus indexation or SAF-premium sharing.
- Certification conditions: ASTM, CORSIA or equivalent sustainability certification, lifecycle-emissions methodology.
- Creditworthy buyer or credit enhancement: letter of credit, parent guarantee, sovereign support, or fuel-supplier credit support.
- Clear delivery point, storage responsibility, transfer of title, quality rejection protocol, and force-majeure provisions.
- Step-in rights for lenders and cure periods for project delays.
A contingent Product Offtake Agreement is the appropriate instrument before FID: obligations become effective after FEED, financing close, commissioning, certification, and product-quality confirmation.
Regulatory and Policy Framework
The project must be designed to satisfy aviation fuel standards, sustainability certification, renewable-power traceability, and lifecycle carbon rules.
ASTM pathway
Fuel must meet the relevant ASTM D7566 annex or complete ASTM D4054 evaluation. The project should begin certification planning during pre-FEED, not after construction.
CORSIA / SCS
Eligible fuel claims require approved sustainability certification, lifecycle GHG documentation, chain-of-custody controls, feedstock traceability, and auditability.
EU / UK demand signals
EU and UK mandates create long-term demand visibility for SAF and synthetic aviation fuel. They also establish strict eligibility and documentation standards for export-oriented supply chains.
Philippine policy opportunity
The project can serve as a practical anchor for a Philippine SAF and eSAF policy framework. A national policy package could include SAF definitions, eligible-carbon rules, green-hydrogen certification, renewable-power traceability, aviation-fuel handling rules, airport blending protocols, BOI registration, CREATE MORE tax incentives, accelerated permitting, and eligibility for blended finance.
The policy objective should not be limited to one plant. The objective should be the creation of a Philippine eSAF ecosystem: renewable generation, storage, hydrogen, carbon capture, synthetic-fuel conversion, fuel certification, port and airport logistics, export documentation, and skilled technical employment.
Risk Assessment
Key risks, bankability implications, and mitigation measures for government and lender review.
Risk matrix
Routine O&M
Indicative qualitative matrix for pre-FEED screening. Formal risk quantification should be completed during FEED.
Mitigation strategy
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| Renewable intermittency | 500 MWp solar, 2 GWh BESS, firm green-power PPA, hourly dispatch model, SOEC operating envelope |
| Technology scale-up | Use bankable PtL base case, select warranted vendors, require performance guarantees, stage direct hydrogenation as pilot |
| Certification delay | Engage ASTM/aviation fuel specialists early; build fuel-testing workplan into FEED |
| CAPEX overrun | Open-book FEED, EPC packaging, contingency, fixed-price components, lender technical advisor |
| Offtake risk | Secure cPOA before FID; price floor; credit support; diversified buyers |
| Carbon eligibility | Develop transition plan to qualifying carbon sources and maintain full chain-of-custody documentation |
ESG and National Impact
Beyond fuel production, the project creates a platform for renewable power, hydrogen, carbon utilization, and skilled employment.
Environmental and social management priorities
Pre-FEED should initiate a full environmental and social scoping process covering land use, biodiversity, water sourcing, wastewater treatment, community consultation, occupational safety, hydrogen safety, ammonia-free design philosophy, battery fire risk, grid impacts, traffic, construction workforce, and decommissioning obligations. For ADB or other development-finance participation, the project should be structured from the outset around international environmental and social safeguards.
Implementation Roadmap
A staged route from decision-maker endorsement to FEED, FID, construction, commissioning, and hub expansion.
Confirm national flagship status, inter-agency working group, site and grid screening, offtaker engagement, and development-finance approach.
Solar/BESS dispatch model, CO₂ capture testing, technology-provider shortlist, certification workplan, E&S scoping, preliminary financial model.
FEED package, EPC terms, lender technical review, cPOA negotiation, PPA and grid arrangements, permit applications, final product route selection.
Debt and equity commitments, EPC notice to proceed, offtake effectiveness, insurance, government support instruments, construction readiness.
Solar and BESS works, process plant construction, SOEC installation, CO₂ capture integration, product testing, aviation-fuel qualification activities.
500 bbl/day operations, regional offtake, direct CO₂ hydrogenation pilot scale-up, additional renewable power, transition-carbon pathway, 1,000–2,000 bbl/day hub planning.
Indicative Gantt chart
Timeline is indicative and depends on site control, permitting, grid interconnection, FEED progress, technology-provider commitments, offtake, financing, and certification workstreams.
Governance and Institutional Structure
Decision makers and financiers will require clear accountability, transparency, and execution discipline.
Proposed project structure
- Project sponsor: DM‑XTechPhil / project SPV.
- Process-island SPV: owns CO₂ capture integration, SOEC, conversion, upgrading, storage, and product sales.
- Power-island SPV: owns or contracts solar, BESS, grid interface, green-power PPA, and energy-management systems.
- Government interface: inter-agency facilitation for energy, aviation, investment, environment, finance, and infrastructure matters.
- Lender oversight: lender technical advisor, insurance advisor, legal due diligence, environmental and social advisor, market consultant.
Pre-FEED deliverables
| Deliverable | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Preliminary design package | Confirms capacity, battery, solar, process blocks, utilities, tie-ins |
| Class 4 / Class 3 CAPEX range | Supports investment committee and public-sector review |
| Hourly power dispatch model | Validates SOEC utilization and PPA/BESS sizing |
| Route-selection report | Compares FT, MtJ, integrated routes, and direct hydrogenation pilot |
| Certification roadmap | Defines ASTM/CORSIA/SAF qualification path and test budget |
| ESIA scoping note | Aligns with Philippine and development-finance requirements |
| Bankable financial model | Supports offtake, equity, debt, and blended-finance discussions |
Reference Framework
Public policy and standards reference points used for decision-maker orientation.
1. ReFuelEU Aviation. European Commission states that SAF supply at EU airports starts at 2% in 2025 and rises to 70% in 2050, with synthetic aviation fuel share starting in 2030 and rising to 35% by 2050. Source: European Commission, ReFuelEU Aviation.
2. UK SAF Mandate and revenue certainty. UK Government policy materials state that the SAF Mandate began in 2025 and is supported by a revenue-certainty mechanism policy process. Source: UK Department for Transport SAF Mandate collection.
3. ICAO / ASTM SAF conversion pathways. ICAO identifies approved SAF conversion processes under ASTM D7566 annexes. Source: ICAO SAF Conversion Processes.
4. CORSIA eligible fuels. CORSIA eligible fuel must satisfy ICAO-approved sustainability certification requirements and lifecycle criteria. Sources: ICAO CORSIA Eligible Fuels and ICAO Sustainability Criteria, June 2025.
5. Hydrogen and electrolyzer cost context. The IEA Global Hydrogen Review 2025 identifies current cost and scale-up issues for low-emissions hydrogen and electrolyzers. Sources: IEA Global Hydrogen Review 2025 and IEA Executive Summary.
6. Philippine energy-policy alignment. The Philippine Department of Energy states its mandate to support stable, adequate, reliable, and sustainable energy supply. Source: Philippine Energy Plan / DOE Planning Materials.
7. BOI / FIRB incentive framework. FIRB identifies the CREATE incentive menu including income tax holiday, SCIT, enhanced deductions, customs duty exemption, VAT exemption and zero-rating. Source: FIRB Incentives Available.
8. CREATE MORE and 2026 SIPP. The Department of Finance describes CREATE MORE as expanding incentive availability and increasing the additional deduction on power expense to 100%. BOI states that the 2026 SIPP includes sustainable aviation fuel under Tier II, hydrogen under Tier III, and carbon-capture/circular-economy initiatives under Tier I. Sources: Department of Finance, CREATE MORE; BOI, 2026 SIPP.
Important limitation. This Pre-FEED study is not a final investment memorandum, securities offering document, lender term sheet, tax opinion, environmental permit, or ASTM fuel qualification. All estimates require confirmation by FEED, vendor proposals, lender technical diligence, legal review, certification engagement, environmental and social impact assessment, and commercial negotiation.