Urgent Action Required to Develop SAF?

Has enough progress been made on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)? Unfortunately, a new report from Transport & Environment (T&E) suggests not.

In quite a negative report, T&E reviewed the actions and commitments of 77 airlines, focusing on the amount and type of SAF currently being used. While some airlines, such as the Air France-KLM group, showed promising progress, SAF still made up less than 0.15% of total jet fuel consumption. Further, most of the airlines seem to have only secured enough SAF to account for a 1.3% share of their fuel consumption in 2030. This contrasts significantly with legislative targets, for example the UK's SAF mandate that requires 10% of jet fuel be SAF by the same date.

The report also suggests that the SAF that is being used is the wrong kind of SAF. The report suggests that too much emphasis is being placed on biofuels, and in particular biofuels derived from food crops and vegetable oils. These are considered the least sustainable form of SAF with concerns over deforestation and competition with food supply. As a result, the report raises concerns over the long term sustainability of the SAF market and highlights the need to increase the production of e-kerosene (kerosene produced from renewable hydrogen and carbon using renewable electricity).

However, to achieve the required levels of SAF production, while also shifting to more sustainable production methods, will be a mammoth task. As a result, there is an urgent need to invest in the field, and develop both existing and new technologies to ensure we can arrive at a balanced strategy. I am therefore hopeful that we will see lots of innovation in the field in the near future.

The full report can be downloaded from the following address: 

https://www.transportenvironment.org/topics/planes/saf-observatory