MAIRE, Samruk-Kazyna join to develop Kazakhstan SAF platform
MAIRE, Samruk-Kazyna and ACIK opened talks on a Kazakhstan SAF platform, but the MoU left capacity, financing and first-fuel timing unstated.
MAIRE on June 24 signed a memorandum with Samruk-Kazyna and ACIK to study a Kazakhstan SAF platform based on HEFA feedstocks. The work will look at infrastructure options, stakeholder engagement and an investment framework, including a possible structure inside the Astana International Financial Centre.
The agreement stops short of naming a plant site, production capacity, capex, offtake partners or a date for first fuel. MAIRE said Nextchem will use its technology portfolio and execution capabilities to identify and advance the main process routes while assessing technical, commercial and financial feasibility. Alessandro Bernini, MAIRE chief executive, called the deal “a meaningful step” and said Kazakhstan’s position between Europe and Asia could support SAF supply chains.
The sovereign wealth fund was founded in 2008 by decree of the president of Kazakhstan and is owned by the government. Its 2023-2032 development plan, approved in 2023, targets doubling net asset value by 2032 versus 2021 and says the fund should act as a strategic holding and co-investor in critical projects. ACIK, the Italo-Kazakh Trade Association, was founded in 2016 and promotes the internationalization of companies and commercial exchange between Italy and Kazakhstan.
KazMunayGas-Aero LLP and BioOperations LLP signed a framework agreement on November 8, 2024, to jointly implement a SAF project after ICF recommended alcohol-to-jet because of available bioethanol feedstock. On October 31, 2025, KazFoodProducts signed a separate framework agreement with IFC on a SAF project, and the company said its BioOperations subsidiary is Kazakhstan’s only bioethanol producer through deep wheat processing and that a new Qostanay Grain Industry plant is planned at 430,000 tons of wheat a year.
ICAO has a long-term net-zero target for 2050. SAF could deliver up to 65% of the emissions reductions needed for aviation to reach net zero by 2050, according to IATA. Kazakhstan’s aviation officials have already discussed SAF in Almaty with ICAO and ACI Europe.
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