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buying carbon offsets for its domestic flights all of aviation’s SAF supply will be derived from biofuel refineries.
in 2023 and decided to focus on using SAF These refineries produce renewable biodiesel, biogas, as well as
instead. SAF and their refining capacity is set to grow by over 400 per
cent by 2025 compared to 2022. The challenge for aviation is
JetBlue considers carbon offsets as a powerful to secure its supply of SAF from this capacity. And to do that
tool that enables them to tackle emissions successfully, governments need to put in place SAF production
immediately when developing a longer-term incentives similar to what is already in place for biogas and bio-
reduction plan including SAF. diesel,” Walsh said.

Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, JetBlue
said: “At JetBlue, we’re heavily investing in Ethanol-to-Jet Process
SAF because we see it as our most promising
means of rapidly and directly reducing aircraft The successful flight of United has given Honeywell the required
emissions in the near-term.” fillip to develop a new ethanol-to-jet process to meet the growing
demand for sustainable aviation fuel with ethanol that is already
SAF Production to Peak produced at mass scale. Honeywell’s ethanol-to-jet technology
will convert ethanol (from corn, sugarcane, sorghum or other
The International Air Transport Association crops) into additional renewable jet fuel that is energy dense,
(IATA) estimates that the SAF production will stable, and compatible with existing fuelling infrastructure at
reach at least 300 million litres in 2022—a airports.
200 per cent increase on 2021 production of “It is exciting to see the level of commitment from governments,
100 million liters. More optimistic calculations airlines, passengers and businesses to decarbonizing aviation…
estimate total production in 2022 could reach We need more than one pathway to solve that problem, and
450 million liters. Both scenarios position the our technology is evolving very quickly. We’re figuring out how
SAF industry on the verge of an exponential to make mass air travel truly sustainable,” said Leigh Abrams,
capacity and production ramp-up toward an renewable fuels offering manager at Honeywell UOP.
identified tipping point of 30 billion liters by
2030, with the right supporting policies. “We’re aiming to produce sustainable fuels at the lowest overall
cost,” Abrams said, adding “The lower the cost of renewable
Having agreed to a Long Term Aspirational fuel, the easier we can make the transition to cleaner energy.”
Goal (LTAG) on climate at the 41st Assembly
of the International Civil Aviation Organization Presently, sustainable aviation fuels are mixed directly with con-
(ICAO) in October 2022, governments now ventional jet fuel up to a 50/50 blend — the maximum allowed
share the same target for aviation’s decar- under current fuel specifications. In order to meet aviation’s
bonization and interest in the success of SAF. commitment for reducing carbon emissions by 50 per cent from
2005 levels by 2050, airplanes need the capability to fly on 100
“There was at least triple the amount of SAF in per cent sustainable aviation fuels well before 2050.
the market in 2022 than in 2021. And airlines
used every drop, even at very high prices. If Promising Alternative
more was available, it would have been pur-
chased. That makes it clear that it is a supply Air-framers are working with regulators, engine companies and
issue and that market forces alone are insuffi- other key stakeholders to ensure their airplanes and eventually
cient to solve it. Governments, who now share the industry can fly entirely on sustainable jet fuels.
the same 2050 net zero goal, need to put in
place comprehensive production incentives Airbus identified hydrogen as one of the most promising alter-
for SAF. It is what they did to successfully natives to power a zero-emission aircraft, because it emits no
transition economies to renewable sources carbon dioxide when generated from renewable energy, with
of electricity. And it is what aviation needs water being its most significant by-products.
to decarbonize,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s
Director General. © CEVA Logistics
To date, over 450,000 commercial flights have
been operated using SAF, and the growing
number of airlines signing offtake agreements
with producers sends a clear signal to the
markets that SAF is needed in larger quan-
tities, and so far in 2022, around 40 offtake
agreements have been announced.

“Until we have commercialized options for
alternative power sources such as hydrogen,

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