On June 25-27, the 15th World Economic Forum Summer Davos Forum was held in Dalian. With the theme of 'New Frontiers of Future Growth,' more than 1,600 representatives from nearly 80 countries and regions attended the conference.

After the opening ceremony of the forum, Honeywell China President Yu Feng accepted an interview with Cailian Press, stating that sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is an important way to reduce carbon emissions in the aviation industry, and currently there are two customer factories in China using Honeywell technology under construction.

Multinational companies and local enterprises compete on the same stage.

Cailian Press: What issues do you focus on at this year's Davos?

Yu Feng: I mainly focus on two directions. First, Honeywell is a foreign-funded enterprise, so it is particularly concerned about the Chinese government's attitude towards foreign companies and China's business environment. The Premier made it clear in his speech that 'multinational companies and local enterprises compete on a level playing field and engage in exchanges and cooperation.' I think this is a healthy and positive signal. Second, we are concerned about the next focus of the Chinese economy. Honeywell's global business is clearly focused on the three major trends of future aviation, energy transformation, and automation. The Premier mentioned energy technology and green energy several times in his speech. I think this means that the green economy is full of technological innovation and business expansion opportunities, and can make greater contributions to society.

Cailian Press: What business layout will Honeywell carry out in China? Which regions will be considered?

Yu Feng: We are developing our business around the three major trends of future aviation, energy transformation, and automation. In terms of aviation, we will continue to work with Chinese airlines. First, we hope that they will consider Honeywell's advanced products and technologies as much as possible when selecting equipment. Second, we will continue to provide services for aircraft that use Honeywell's technology and products. In addition, we have been actively participating in the C919 project. With the development of the entire Chinese aviation industry, I believe that Honeywell can continue to provide technology, products, and services, and make important contributions to the aviation industry. In terms of industrial automation, we provide service solutions to improve automation and management levels, helping the industry solve various challenges in the process of digital transformation. In the digital age, customers and consumers have greatly increased their demands for speed and quality, and their patience has decreased. Automation and intelligence can effectively assist in meeting this demand. Intelligent buildings are one of the key directions of energy transformation. As China has undergone more than 40 years of reform and opening up, a large number of buildings have been built, including airports, subways, hospitals, and hotels. There are many opportunities for retrofitting existing buildings in terms of intelligence and low-carbon. Helping customers achieve green, low-carbon, and energy-saving technical transformation through small investments without affecting comfort and availability is the work of our own team and partners.

Cailian Press: What specific topics related to energy and technology does Honeywell explore?

Yu Feng: Our global business is clearly focused on the three major trends of future aviation, energy transformation, and automation. In terms of industrial automation, we provide service solutions to improve automation and management levels, helping the industry solve various challenges in the process of digital transformation. In the digital age, customers and consumers have greatly increased their demands for speed and quality, and their patience has decreased. Automation and intelligence can effectively assist in meeting this demand.

Intelligent buildings are one of the key directions of energy transformation. As China has undergone more than 40 years of reform and opening up, a large number of buildings have been built, including airports, subways, hospitals, and hotels. There are many opportunities for retrofitting existing buildings in terms of intelligence and low-carbon. Helping customers achieve green, low-carbon, and energy-saving technical transformation through small investments without affecting comfort and availability is the work of our own team and partners.

With the deepening of the 'dual-carbon' target, energy transformation has become a common trend for various industries in China to achieve sustainable development. One dimension of energy transformation is to replace existing chemical products with more advanced ones. Taking automotive refrigerants as an example, although the third-generation refrigerants currently used are effective, their greenhouse gas emissions are relatively high. Honeywell foresaw the market's need for solutions with lower global warming potential more than ten years ago to help the world deal with climate change. We invested heavily in the development of the fourth-generation refrigerant, which has extremely low global warming potential while achieving the same cooling effect, and is an important technology for addressing climate change.

We are also bullish on the high-speed development of the aviation industry in the coming decades. However, as other industries reduce carbon, the proportion of carbon emissions in the aircraft aviation industry will increase significantly. Currently, about 3% of the world's carbon emissions come from the aviation industry. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization's forecast, if no additional emission reduction efforts are made, 25% of the world's carbon emissions will come from the aviation industry by 2050 with the continued development of the aviation industry, making the carbon reduction demand for the aviation industry increasingly urgent. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a good solution.

From 6,000 yuan of waste oil to 18,000 yuan of sustainable aviation fuel.

Cailian Press: Can you introduce SAF in more detail?

Yu Feng: There are several different technical pathways for SAF.

There are two kinds of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production technologies. Honeywell Ecofining is a mature technology that has been used all over the world to produce SAF. Compared with fossil fuels, using this technology can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80%. Considering that the current price of waste cooking oil is about 6,000 yuan per ton, and sustainable aviation fuel is about 18,000 yuan per ton, this technology has a high economic benefit. The second technology route is to produce sustainable aviation fuel using ethanol. For example, after sugarcane is pressed for sugar, the remaining bagasse used to be burned or disposed of. Now we have the technology to turn bagasse into ethanol, which can then be turned into aviation fuel. In addition, we also have the technology to produce sustainable aviation fuel from methanol, which is made from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and then converted into SAF. Ethanol and methanol cost several thousand yuan per ton, and have good economic benefits compared to the price of finished SAF.

The high-quality development of the Chinese economy requires new productive forces. I understand 'new quality' to mean the use of breakthrough technologies to bring significant benefits to enterprises, consumers, and society, realizing benefits for all three parties. SAF is a representative example of new productive forces.

Cailian Press: What is the ROI of the SAF project? Yu Feng: Short-term projects require a two to three-year return cycle, and long-term projects only need five to six years. Currently, Honeywell has joined hands with partners to build large-scale sustainable aviation fuel production bases in Lianyungang Port, Jiangsu Province, and Suining City, Sichuan Province. Both projects use Honeywell's Ecofining technology, catalysts, and equipment, and produce sustainable aviation fuel from waste cooking oil and animal fat.

Cailian Press: What is the ROI of the SAF project? Yu Feng: Short-term projects require a two to three-year return cycle, and long-term projects only need five to six years. Currently, Honeywell has joined hands with partners to build large-scale sustainable aviation fuel production bases in Lianyungang Port, Jiangsu Province, and Suining City, Sichuan Province. Both projects use Honeywell's Ecofining technology, catalysts, and equipment, and produce sustainable aviation fuel from waste cooking oil and animal fat.