Chile has achieved a significant milestone in its sustainable energy efforts with the production of its first liter of aviation fuel synthesized from plastic waste. This groundbreaking achievement, which occurred on August 13, 2025, was led by the Technological Development Unit (UDT) of the University of Concepción. The project, officially titled "Aviation Fuel from Synthetic Hydrocarbons Derived from Residual Plastics," received crucial financial support from the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) and involved collaboration with ENAP and Nutra Trade, with backing from the Ministry of Energy and the Clean Flight program under the Energy Sustainability Agency.
Undersecretary of Energy, Luis Felipe Ramos Barrera, stated that this initiative aligns with Chile's Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) roadmap, contributing to the decarbonization of the aviation sector. Andrea Catalán Lobos, Director of the Technology Transfer and Licensing Office (OTL) at the University of Concepción, highlighted the UDT's role in reducing the carbon footprint of air travel. The university is also part of the 2024 Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Public-Private Agreement, comprising 48 institutions. Rosa Riquelme Hermosilla, Executive Director of the Energy Sustainability Agency, emphasized the project's dual impact on energy challenges and plastic waste management, stressing the importance of circular economy principles. Project director Cristina Segura explained that the fuel is produced through a sophisticated process transforming various plastic wastes into hydrocarbons, which are then refined to meet stringent aviation technical specifications.
While the fuel awaits official SAF certification, it marks a substantial step towards Chile's SAF 2050 roadmap, which aims for the first certified liter of SAF within three years and the establishment of a pilot SAF refinery by 2030. Chile's broader SAF roadmap targets meeting 50% of its aviation fuel needs with SAF by 2050, exploring various feedstocks such as used cooking oil and forest biomass. The University of Concepción's UDT is recognized as a key R&D center for scaling bioeconomy innovations, and the Chilean government, through ANID, actively supports research and development in sustainable energy solutions for aviation.