Policy & Compliance
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What is sustainable aviation fuel? Sustainable Aviation Fuel has the potential to reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 80%, compared with conventional aviation fuel
sustainable fuels is no longer an option for the air industry. SAF gives an impressive reduction of up to 80% in carbon emissions over the lifecycle of the fuel compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces, depending on the sustainable feedstock used, production method and the supply chain to aviation. Facts from IATA: • Over 300,000 flights have taken to the skies using SAF since 2016, • Seven technical pathways exist, • 100 million litres of SAF will be produced in 2021, • SAF can reduce emissions by up to 80% during its full lifecycle, • Around 7 billion litres of SAF are in forward purchase agreements, • More than 45 airlines now have experience with SAF. The key to greater acceptance and deployment of SAF is a reduction in costs. Over the long term, that will require investment in advanced technologies to process feedstocks more efficiently at greater scale, and investment in the development of sustainable and scalable feedstock options. However, in the short term, interim support from governments and other stakeholders through policy incentives is needed. This support needs to be part of a long-term framework to give investors the confidence to make the big investments required to grow supply.
As a day-to-day motorist you will have seen the focus on phasing out fossil-fuelled cars and the introduction, firstly of hybrid engines, and then full electric-run vehicles. But what of aviation, the global dependence on it and its future, with pressure to reduce the global carbon footprint? Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a clean substitute for fossil-based jet fuels. Rather than being refined from petroleum, SAF is produced from sustainable resources such as waste oils from a biological origin, agricultural residues, or non-fossil CO 2 . SAF is a so-called drop-in fuel, which means that it can be blended with fossil-based jet fuel and that the blended fuel requires no special infrastructure or equipment changes. Once it is blended, the fuel is fully certified and has the same characteristics and meets the same specifications as fossil-based jet fuel. Since aircraft are not able to switch to alternative energy sources (like hydrogen or electricity) in the foreseeable future, aircraft will remain reliant on liquid fuels. Therefore,
sustainable aviation fuel made from renewable feedstock is one of the most important short- term options to significantly reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and at the same time begin to reduce the dependency on the petroleum industry. Any aircraft certified to use the current specification of jet fuel can use SAF. Sustainability is most often defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It has three main pillars: economic, environmental and social. These three pillars are informally referred to as people, planet and profits. The price of SAF today is higher than traditional jet fuel, a potential major hurdle because fuel is 20%-30% of the operating cost of an airline (IATA 2018). Research and development can help bring the cost down, although to what extent is still unclear, which potentially has clear cost implications. Regardless of the financial costs involved, it is clear that failure to change to
October 2021
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