SAF Gains Momentum but Faces Pricing, Demand Challenges

The path to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is taking significant steps forward—with availability now at 130 FBOs—but business aviation must continue to generate demand to ensure that access continues to grow and remain patient with the time it takes to increase, said Nancy Bsales, COO for sustainability specialist 4Air.

During the Irish Business and General Aviation Association’s International Business Aviation Conference in Kildare, Ireland, last week, Bsales held a fireside chat with Smitha Hariharan, v-p and chief sustainability officer at Gulfstream Aerospace, to discuss progress on sustainability as the business aviation industry presses toward its goal of net zero by 2050. “It seems lofty,” Bsales said. “But business aviation is so innovative that I have no doubt that, as a subset of aviation, business aviation is the one piece that can meet that goal.”

The pathways include aircraft and flightpath efficiencies, technologies, market-based measures, and SAF. “We do know that SAF is the near-term solution to get us to net zero by 2050,” Bsales said.

Hariharan noted that manufacturers have already made substantial strides in efficiency. “If you compare our previous generation of aircraft to the current fleet, we are almost 30%-plus more efficient. And that’s a big number. It’s not 1% or 2%; it’s 30%, and that’s because with our experience, we have learned about the aerodynamics, we have learned about the engines, and we bring it all together.”

Bsales pointed to a client operating a Gulfstream G-V that found emissions are now about 24% less than they were in 2008, with the same amount of hours flown and better range. “OEMs are doing a phenomenal job at giving us the aircraft that gets us quite a bit of the way [to net zero],” she said.

But Gulfstream recognized early on that SAF is a critical path. The Savannah, Georgia airframer in 2011 staged a transatlantic flight using a G450 with a blend of 50% jet-A and 50% SAF. 

Over the next eight years, Gulfstream folded SAF into multiple operations, from flight test to demonstration. In 2019, the Savannah-based airframer hit 1 million nm flown using SAF blends.

In 2023, Gulfstream combined all of what it had learned and flew across the Atlantic with 100%, or neat, SAF in both engines of a G600.  “We did have to make small modifications, but nothing significant,” Hariharan said.

The net result is that Gulfstream can tell its customers: “You should find absolutely no difference between flying the 70/30 blend and the 100% jet-A,” Hariharan said. “Our pilots will tell you they feel no difference.”

The next major step, she said, is striving towards 100% jet-A. Manufacturers have banded together to work towards a drop-in standard, which they are calling Jet X. “It’s not been published, but we’re working towards it.”  

Bsales cautioned that work remains. “It takes time to create new technologies and innovations, bring in the capital, and get to the point that you actually have fuel being made. It’s a good five years from just the thought of I can make SAF out of agricultural waste in Ireland, to actually creating it. And, so, we have to be patient with that.”

Momentum started to notably build for SAF since 2020, she said. In 2020, there were only 20 FBOs worldwide that were carrying sustainable aviation fuel. “Now we’re close to 130 FBOs worldwide carrying sustainable aviation fuel. You have the opportunity to uplift almost anywhere you're going,” Bsales noted.

But challenges remain. “Price parity and supply are some things that worry me. I hope to see more and more plants come online at commercial scales. That’s going to help with price and supply and allow proliferation,” Hariharan noted.

Bsales agreed that pricing remains difficult. “Everybody has a budget.” She noted concerns that the price is seven times that of jet-A, but stressed that is not the case and that the differential is actually closer to $2 a gallon. A rule of thumb, she advised, is to pad in roughly 10% in the fuel budget for SAF.

“That’s the way to start that journey so that that price differential isn’t scary, but I would say price is probably the biggest challenge we’re seeing.” 

She also pointed out that part of the difference is that even with SAF, operators are typically using blends of 70% jet-A and 30% neat SAF. The blends are edging higher in Europe, with some as much as 42% SAF.

Operators have the right to claim that fuel, and that is becoming important as more mandates come into place, particularly in Europe. But 4Air is seeing reporting challenges, Bsales said, recommending that operators work with a partner to assist in the process. “If you have any kind of ETS [emissions trading scheme] regulations, make sure that you have all your documentation in place so that you can claim the fuel that you’re using,” she stressed. “We’ve offset over 6 million metric tons for business aviation alone. That’s almost 600,000 flight hours of business aviation that have been offset to date.”

Bsales said reporting requirements are coming from regulations and even companies’ own policies. More than 90% of Fortune 500 companies are reporting on their emissions, including their flight department activity, underscoring the importance of tracking, she said. But there are also requirements for 2% uplift in Europe and anti-tankering regulations to ensure SAF is uplifted there. However, this can be problematic in locations that do not want aircraft sitting on the ramps.

Regardless, with technologies such as hydrogen and electric off in the future and given the pressure on business aviation to become as sustainable as it can, “the thing to understand is to take action on what you can do today,” Bsales said. “You can start that demand signal for sustainable aviation fuel, start buying SAF, and understand your emissions. Understand what you’re creating so that you know what you need to do to get to net zero.”