Start-ups behind sustainable aviation fuel and cricket snacks win S$1m in funding each

SINGAPORE: Plane fuel that runs on microorganisms and a meat alternative made with insects – these are the ideas that have earned two start-ups S$1 million (US$730,000) each in funding. 

Both firms beat more than 1,000 submissions across 100 countries to clinch the top awards at The Liveability Challenge 2024 – an annual sustainability innovation challenge presented by Temasek Foundation and organised by Eco-Business.

Clean aviation fuels venture GAFT, which hails from the Netherlands, produces sustainable aviation fuel from fat and sugar. It won the climate grand prize.

Vietnamese food technology start-up Cricket One, which incorporates insects in meat products as a sustainable form of low-cost protein, won the top prize in the food and nutrition category.

They were unveiled as the winners on Wednesday (Apr 17) during Ecosperity Week held at Marina Bay Sands.

The submissions were judged on the impact the project would make, and how feasible and financially viable the proposals were.

MAKING ALTERNATIVE JET FUEL

GAFT, which stands for Green Air Fuel Technology, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – a big issue in aviation – by replacing conventional jet fuel with an alternative type of fuel using carbon dioxide and renewable energy.

It does not utilise used cooking oil, which is the typical feedstock used to make sustainable aviation fuel.

“There’s not a whole lot of that stuff around,” GAFT’s vice-president of business development Martin Spencer told CNA’s Singapore Tonight.

“The product that we’re making is something that’s very similar to used cooking oil, but entirely synthetic.”

Mr Spencer said the start-up is trying to supplement demand for sustainable aviation fuel to meet a recent target set by Singapore. From 2026, all flights departing from the country will be required to use at least 1 per cent sustainable aviation fuel, with an aim of increasing it to 3 to 5 per cent by 2030.

GAFT will also look to produce its alternative fuel in Singapore, as part of The Liveability Challenge is to explore opportunities that foreign companies have in the nation.

SERVING UP CRICKET CHIPS

As for Cricket One, its co-founder Bicky Nguyen said climate change and limited resources may lead to people having to forgo the luxury of meat protein daily. 

The start-up has come up with cricket chips.

“We realised presenting the consumers a whole insect might be too hardcore for them, so what we have to do is include the nutrition extracted from crickets into the final product,” Ms Nguyen told CNA.

Cricket One’s products are already being sold in 27 countries. Ms Nguyen said her firm will focus on selling its retail items in Vietnam and Singapore. 

The Singapore Food Agency had said in April last year that 16 species of insect, including crickets and silkworms, would receive the green light for consumption in the second half of 2023. 

However, the agency has not given approval yet. It said in January that it is still finalising the implementation details and aims to introduce the regulatory framework in the first half of this year.

Ms Nguyen said: “Our goal is to diversify and reshape our food system, and the way to go for it is to harmonise what are the food options out there.

“There is a role coming in with insects because they are more sustainable and (they have) a more efficient farming process … They’re packed with minerals, vitamins, and also especially protein.”