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Decarbonising Process Steam Generation in Food Production
Discovery TrackGreener IndustriesSATS
Headquartered in Singapore,
SATS Ltd.
is one of the world’s largest providers of air cargo handling services and Asia’s leading airline caterer. SATS Food Solutions serves airlines and institutions, and operates central kitchens with large-scale food production and distribution capabilities for a wide range of cuisines. SATS is present in the Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, powering an interconnected world of trade, travel and taste.
Two of SATS Food Solutions’ catering facilities in Singapore currently operate seven gas-fired boilers that generate steam for cooking and cleaning. The boilers are based in SATS Inflight Catering Centre 1 (ICC1) and SATS Inflight Catering Centre 2 (ICC2), which consume approximately 21,475 MWh and 13,188 MWh of town gas annually for their boilers, producing 3,437 tCO₂e and 2,111 tCO₂e of emissions respectively.
To meet its ambition to halve Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, SATS is exploring low-carbon alternatives for process steam generation, which represents a significant portion of its on-site energy use.
Process steam is critical to SATS’ large-scale food production, ensuring reliable, high-temperature heat for cooking, sterilisation, and cleaning. Current gas boiler systems, while dependable, are carbon-intensive and constrained by the availability of cleaner fuel options such as biogas or hydrogen.
No low-carbon alternative has yet been trialled at SATS’ facilities. Solutions will need to meet stringent food-safety and operational reliability requirements, while fitting within existing infrastructure and site constraints.
How might we lower the carbon footprint of SATS’ steam generation while matching the performance and reliability of existing gas boilers, whether through retrofits or alternative low-carbon systems?
Considerations
Proposed solutions should, at a minimum, meet SATS' current boiler performance requirements while achieving measurable emissions reductions. They should be technically sound, operationally feasible, and scalable for wider deployment across SATS' facilities.
Requirements:
- Deliver steam at equivalent temperature, pressure, and flow as existing systems. The four boilers in ICC1 have a steam output of 3,920 kg/hr each, and the three boilers in ICC2 with a steam output of 3,300 kg/hr each.
- Demonstrate food-safe and compliant operation, meeting relevant Singapore standards.
- Integrate with existing infrastructure without major operational disruption or provide a clear retrofit plan.
- Consider downstream maintenance requirements in the design.
- Be technically and economically viable for deployment within SATS’ Singapore facilities and scalable to other regions.
Potential Sustainability Impact:
- Significant reduction in Scope 1 emissions from fossil gas combustion and meaningful GHG reduction per MWh of steam generated relative to the baseline (21,475 MWh and 13,188 MWh)
- Improved energy efficiency and system monitoring
- Potential to scale in food manufacturing facilities in Singapore and abroad
POC / Pilot
POC / Pilot and Support:
- SATS is open to exploring a POC / pilot if the solution shows a strong alignment with its above requirements and sustainability outcomes.
Info Session
Check out the recording from our Info Session, where Lidl & Kaufland Asia shared more about their challenge statement.
RESOURCES
Info Session Recording
Revisit the detailed presentation on this challenge statement from our virtual Info Session.
Next Steps
Still have questions?
- Write to us at info@padang.co with any questions.
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