PARIS—In its goal of relying massively on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to meet decarbonization targets, the aviation industry has yet to get over the basic difficulties of ramping up production, panelists said June 13 at the Paris Air Forum, on the eve of the Paris Air Show.
They were supposed to discuss Europe’s sovereignty in SAF production—sovereignty is a growing concern in the EU and neighboring, strategically close countries such as the UK. But the exchanges quickly showed more pressing issues are higher on the agenda for SAF to be used at scale. Solving the chicken-and-egg conundrum of investors waiting for carriers to order SAF, and carriers waiting for SAF availability is still the main one.
Nevertheless, the recent increase in production, and experience from renewable energy production since the 2010s, are glimmers of hope for the air transport sector.
SAF still accounts for less than 1% of fuel usage in aviation, Julie Kitcher, Airbus’ chief sustainability officer, said. But she noted the doubling in global output over the last 12 months and the reasonable hope that, at the EU level, the 6% SAF incorporation mandate in 2030 can be met for biomass-based SAF.
The problem of capital expenditures should not be overestimated.
“To increase SAF production, capital expenditures will decrease over time so the cost will go down eventually,” Sylvain Cabalery, SVP of sustainable fuels for fuel technology expert Technip Energies, said. “So now is the right time to do it. Look at the decreased cost of renewable energies, where the bulk of investments dates back 15 years ago.”
“The issue is about getting SAF projects off the ground to a risk profile that unlock those investments from the private sector,” Lahiru Ranasinghe, easyJet’s director of sustainability, said. That is where timelines conflict between suppliers and users. The producer needs long-term guarantees before the final investment decision, while carriers buy in much shorter-term time frames. “We need an intermediary to support the investment and catch the timeline between the long-term development cycle and spot-price purchases,” Kitcher said.
Could Europe follow Singapore’s example? The island levies a small fee on passengers and uses it to buy SAF. Depending on the amount collected, authorities can adjust the fee in a pragmatic way, Brian Moran, Boeing’s chief sustainability officer, pointed out. A similar arrangement could be found in the EU, based on the Emissions Trading Scheme, Kitcher asserted.
The EU has taken steps to ensure the actual sustainability of SAF feedstock and some players complain the rules have created red tape, impeding SAF’s emergence. A jet fuel producer in India would like to invest in SAF, Cabalery said, but has given up so far because of the difficulty to understand the certification and traceability standards to sell in Europe.
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