Sustainable aviation fuel: The fuel of the future?

The Tata group on May 4 initiated the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), as Vistara became the first airline in India to successfully operate a wide-body commercial domestic flight from Delhi to Mumbai using a blend of 17 per centSAFto 83 per cent conventional jet fuel.

AirAsia India, a low-cost subsidiary of Air India, followed suit, operating the Pune-Delhi sector on May 19 using an indigenously-manufacturedSAFblend.

Upon receiving the AirAsia flight at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, Hardeep Singh Puri, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, said, “This would be the first domestic commercial passenger flight withSAFblending of up to one per cent in demonstration mode.”

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What isSAF?

SAFis a type of biofuel that is used to power aircraft. Its chemical and physical properties are identical to that of conventional jet fuel, albeit with a significantly lower carbon footprint.SAFis made by using feedstocks consisting of various material such as cooking oil, municipal waste, agricultural residue, plants, and waste gasses.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the use ofSAFcan significantly bring down carbon dioxide emissions by about 80 per cent. Additionally,SAFcould potentially stabilise fuel prices in the aviation sector, making it easier for airlines to budget and predict their operating expenses.

Targets set by aviation regulators

As aviation regulatory bodies push forth their sustainability goals to lower emissions, Puri said that one per centSAFwill be mandatory for domestic airlines by 2025. He further added that 140 million litres of biofuels are required to produce one per centSAFmixed with jet fuel. If there are greater volumes of biofuels available, the mandate forSAFmight increase to four or five per cent.

Meanwhile in the US, the Biden administration is targeting 100 per cent use ofSAFby 2050. The EU on the other hand, instructs fuel suppliers to ensure that fuel with two per centSAFin 2025 is supplied to all European Union (EU) airports. Subsequently, the supply is to increase to six per cent in 2030, 20 per cent in 2035 and steadily to 70 per cent in 2050.

Current landscape and the future

According to a report by the European Union AviationSafety Agency (EASA), with a supply of less than 0.05 per cent of the overall jet fuel demand in 2020, theSAFindustry is still in its early stages of development.

Currently, the EU’s greatest possibleSAFproduction capacity is only 0.24 million tonnes, or 10 per cent of theSAFneeded to fulfil the proposed mandate by 2030. The 2030 mandate level is high but achievable given the announcements of major capacity additions from these currentSAFproviders and the production from new market entrants.

In the Indian context, a press release from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said, “India has feedstock for potential production of 19 to 24 million tons ofSAFper year, whereas the estimated maximum requirement ofSAFin India, considering 50 per cent blend, is around eight to ten million tons per year by 2030”.

What are aircraft manufacturers doing?

According to multiple reports by aviation news website Simple Flying, major aircraft manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing have aircraft that can fly with a 50 per cent blend ofSAFand conventional jet fuel. Presently, aircraft flying with 100 per centSAFare in the testing phase with Airbus conducting such tests on their A350 and A321 aircraft.

At the Airbus Summit, Chief Technical Officer, Sabine Klauke was quoted as saying, “All Airbus aircraft today are certified to fly with a 50 per centSAFblend. We have a clear ambition to achieve certification for 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel for our fleets by 2030. So, if we look, what is used today,SAFrepresents maybe 0.03 per cent of the fuel which is used in civil aviation, and that's for sure. We have a clear plan leading to 2030.”

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