IATA: SAF Production Volumes Still Disappointing

A new report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that this year’s production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will reach 2.4 million tonnes, an amount that still represents just 0.8% of aviation fuel use.

Presently, the vast majority of SAF produced comes from used cooking oils, fats, and greases via the HEFA process, but those feedstocks are limited. Next-generation SAFs use large amounts of renewable energy to convert green hydrogen, water, and CO2 into jet fuel using a power-to-liquid process.

IATA noted that recent mandates in the EU and UK call for e-SAF production of around 0.6 million tonnes by 2030. However, global production capacity currently operating and under construction stands at around 0.02 million tonnes, with only one production site in operation. The organization estimates that it would take approximately 20 commercial-scale refineries to achieve the mandated volume. However, no new final investment decisions for e-SAF facilities have been made over the past year.

“It looks to be another disappointing year for SAF production,” said IATA director general Willie Walsh. “The path to meeting 65% of our needs in 2050 is growing more difficult with each year of ineffectively sequenced government policies and oil companies’ manifest lack of interest.”

Walsh added that the current bottleneck in petroleum due to the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, and the resulting price spikes, should add even more urgency to the development of renewables, including SAF. “But we have yet to see either the energy shock, the need to develop energy independence and jobs, or the urgency to mitigate climate change materialize in the incentives needed to create a viable SAF market.”