Argus Biofuels & Feedstocks Asia Conference

Registration and breakfast

Argus welcome address

Striking the balance between global policies, regulations and biofuels expansion

Focusing on RINS, IRA, LCFS, RED III, and other regulations globally

• What are the key policy drivers globally? What best practices can be taken from key biofuel countries such as the USA, Asia, and Europe?
• What do the various elections that have taken place globally mean for the industry?
• How can industry overcome the policy difference between regions that affect innovation and investment to ensure business is made easier?

What mandates and policies are in place that create growth opportunities in Asia?

New governmental policies in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, India, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

• How will the feedstock market change as a result of the various policies in Asia?
• Indonesian biofuels mandates – what are the challenges to feedstock supply in Indonesia? Particularly with regard to Indonesia’s quota to reduce export of POME.
• How will increased B40 blending in Indonesia from January 2025 affect the vegetable oil and palm oil markets?

Women in biofuels networking and coffee break

Hear leading industry women share their personal experiences regarding growth within the market and in business

The current state of play and defining role of biofuels in the upcoming years

• How are changes in the market affecting the dynamics of feedstock supply?
• Pricing Asia biofuels
• Examining recent developments in biofuels production and consumption – How are these developments influencing market dynamics?
• What direction will we see the market going in the next 6-12 months?

How are trading firms managing risks against the constantly changing environment and how is it affecting the movement of feedstocks?

• A Trump presidency – What does it mean for biofuels and feedstocks moving into the US from Asia? What changes will we see to trade policies?
• What legislations and policies are driving supply and demand globally and affecting the trade flows of feedstocks?
• The anti-dumping duties situation – What impact is it having on the market? How are flows reshaping? What does it mean for the availability of feedstocks and biofuels volumes?
• Are we seeing more protectionism around feedstocks that is becoming increasingly valuable? Are we expecting more tariffs?

Networking lunch break

How is Asia placed as a feedstock producer in 2025?

A deep dive into scaling and diversifying feedstock availability

• How will antidumping duties change the plan, and how are Asia feedstocks going to evolve?
• Will we see a shift in the region reducing dependency on importing feedstocks outside of Asia? How will conventional and waste based feedstocks interact?
• With the limited feedstocks available (for example, UCO), and significant competition between sectors – are biofuels a legitimate long term scalable pathway?
• What do countries in APAC want to see accepted globally as a feedstock?

Advanced feedstocks: what are the next generation feedstocks and emerging biofuel technologies?

Examining energy crop profiles, agriculture residues, forest biomass and animal products

• What are the developments of in new feedstocks such as algae and the emergence of new technology to deal with new feedstocks?
• What approaches can support the development of emerging technologies particularly with the different maturity levels of various feedstocks?
• Emerging economies and new types of feedstocks – What is the broader industry looking at?
• Pongamia seed oil as a feedstock for producing renewable diesel. Are these niche feedstocks economically viable in biofuels production?

Networking coffee break

Addressing ‘controversial’ feedstocks: Are vegetable oils and palm oils essential for feeding the growth of biofuels?

• With the high demand in biofuels and low feedstock availability, will we see increased blending with palm oil? What are the prospects of palm oil for use in the region? How is sustainable palm oil developing in Malaysia and Indonesia?
• Given the pushback on palm oil use as a feedstock, what are the key factors for allowing palm oil to be accepted for certification? Is there an opportunity for palm oil companies to trade with Europe in a sustainable way?
• Palm based waste oils: how do you extract it and where is it placed as a feedstock compared with others?

Asia’s sleeping giant: what is China’s position in the industry, and what fuels and feedstocks will it export?

• With the decrease in exports from China to Europe – how is China looking to adapt to other markets and regions in order to offer its products?
• Will we see a biofuels mandate in China? If so, how will it affect Asia’s supply and landscape? How much HVO, UCO and SAF will we see coming out of the country?
• How is the origination of feedstocks from China developing on the supply and buy side?
• China’s cheap renewable power – is it really the future vs other feedstocks?

Chairperson’s closing remarks

Cocktail drinks reception

Breakfast and registration

Chairperson's opening remarks

The battle between sectors and regions for biofuels

• How does demand vary between the sectors for biofuels? Does ground transportation have more options compared with SAF and marine?
• What factors will increase competition for feedstocks for the aviation, marine and road industries?
• With Asia increasingly looking at bunkering biofuels, what will it mean for Europe on the feedstock front?
• Will we see biodiesel production moving to HVO or SAF? Or will it remain to support maritime decarbonisation?

Bio-naphtha: What are the developments in the bio-naphtha market?

• Looking at the cost and price dynamics between bio-naphtha and circular naphtha – Which product is more economically viable?
• What are the expectations for bio naphtha demand in the next five years?
• What steps need to be taken to create a robust industry around bio naphtha?

What are the key bioproducts the industry see demand for in the petrochemical sector?

• What are the potential and applications of bio-naphtha? Which industries have demand for the product?
• Who are the key suppliers and buyers of bio-based petrochemicals? Will we see more Chinese bio-naphtha coming into the market?
• How can we increase the availability of feedstocks to ensure bio-naphtha takes off?
• What are the downstream applications for bio-naphtha? What technologies and strategies are available?

Networking coffee break

Marine focus: How is the bio-bunker market developing regionally and how will global policies and regulations impact the Asian market?

• What is the pricing of biodiesel bunkering in Asia
• While there are incentives in Europe to support biofuel bunkering - will we see biofuels for bunkering for ocean-going vessels subsidized in Asia?
• How will key countries like Singapore, South Korea, Japan and China will play a role in making the sector more compliant
• With biodiesel coming out of China specifically for the marine sector – how much product will we see coming online?

Identifying various biofuels as a valuable component in decarbonising the shipping sector

How are shipowners meeting stringent sustainability criteria, and what is the future production potential? Looking at the role of key stakeholders across the value chain, such as government, ports, finance, bunker suppliers, producers and shipowners.

• What are the benefits of utilising biofuels over LNG, ammonia, hydrogen and methanol?
• FAME, biomass to liquid, UCOME, cashew nutshell liquid, pyrolysis based fuels and palm – What volumes are expected and at what price? What types of biofuels for bunkering are producers able to offer shipowners?
• What is the competitiveness of UCOME in the Singapore bunker market? What is the outlook for HSFO blended biofuel in the region?
• While B24 is the focus now – what fuels will replace it in the future given the availability of feedstocks? Looking at B100.

Networking lunch break

The new wave of biofuel technologies. How will they transform the biofuels sector?

• What production technologies are available in enhancing sustainability, efficiency and the cost effectiveness of biofuels?
• What are the challenges and opportunities in scaling up carbon capture technologies, such as CCUS and BECCS?
• Looking at developments in biotechnology, nanotechnology, AI and synthetic biology as a way to move the biofuels industry forward.
• How is financial technology helping the industry scale up and grow? How can it help customers handle profitability, margins, volatility, distribution and hedging?

Is ethanol the superior biofuel for blending markets in APAC?

• What new ethanol mandates are emerging and what countries in APAC are backing them?
• Ethanol usage for blending, on-road, and marine – What are the new developments in ethanol in Asia?
• Is bio-ethanol a cheaper alternative to green methanol and other fuels for marine? Could higher ethanol blends offer a solution to support faster decarbonisation of existing fleets?
• Analysing the traceability, BECCS and carbon intensity of ethanol compared with other fuels.

Networking coffee break

Does APAC have the required infrastructure and storage to handle the growth of biofuels?

• Examining logistical hurdles in transporting and storing high volumes of feedstocks
• Will new tank storage be needed for biofuels or only switching existing tanks of fossil fuels?
• How will biofuels overcome the logistical and availability challenges needed to scale up globally?
• Investing in storage facilities for renewable raw materials connecting the plant

Certification, sustainability and traceability of biofuels and feedstocks

• What is the importance of aligning international sustainability criteria and certification to facilitate global trade and use of biofuels?
• How to avoid fraudulent behaviours through proper certification. With the market being fragmented, how can the industry tackle fraud through traceability, testing and inspection?
• With each country having its own specific regulations for different feedstocks, it is more challenging to advance biofuels. How can the industry overcome the risk of different regional sustainability standards for different feedstocks and establish a more standardised requirement to enhance the implementation of biofuels?
• With the definition of sustainability varying across regions, what feedstocks will be deemed sustainable for biofuels production?

Analysing the lifecycle analysis (LCA) and carbon intensity (CI) of different feedstocks in the region. Which ones will be awarded as a ‘green’ product?

A deep dive into LCA models, GHG calculation requirements, differences in GREET, Corsia, and RED calculations.

• What are the carbon intensity and LCA of the different feedstocks/biofuels available today?
• How will the carbon intensity of feedstocks be measured, and what models will be used?
• Investigating how regional differences in feedstocks, energy sources and infrastructure influence global usage and LCA results.

Chairperson's closing remarks