Catalyzing The Development & Supply Of SAF In The US
As Simple Flying recently reported, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Airlines for America (A4A), which represents all the large US airlines, recently announced an agreement to increase production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the state to reduce aviation-related greenhouse gases. California aims to increase SAF availability to 200 million gallons by 2035, translating to 40% of its aviation fuel needs for air travel within the state.
While this is commendable, it is just a drop in the barrel required to reach the US goal of producing sufficient SAF to meet 100% of aviation fuel demand by 2050, and there are some significant challenges to be overcome. So, how are major stakeholders in the US looking to catalyze the development and supply of SAF?
SAF: What are the benefits and challenges?
Biomass and waste-derived SAFs, sourced from waste oils, crops, and other non-food crops, offer an emission reduction of up to 80% over conventional jet fuel. Since worldwide aviation accounts for 2% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 12% of all CO2 emissions from transportation, SAF offers a genuine pathway for commercial aviation to reduce its carbon footprint and meet international goals.
However, SAF is still in its infancy, and there are some significant challenges to its widespread usage by US airlines. These include:
The current insufficient supply of SAF
The biggest challenge in the US is creating a sufficient supply of SAF. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the US consumed approximately 1.6 million barrels per day (b/d) of jet fuel last year. At the same time, production of SAF was just 2,000 b/d, or 0.1% of total demand.
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Reducing the current high cost of SAF
High demand for SAF and constrained supply equal higher costs. Simple Flying has noted that SAF currently costs 2.5 times more than conventional jet fuel, disincentivizing crucial industry stakeholders like airlines from making a more significant commitment to SAF.
Creating a consistent regulatory framework
While the US government has made some substantial regulatory and financial investments in SAF production in recent years, much work remains, including standardizing protocols, supporting a global carbon price, and delivering a unified certification program.
Growing public-private partnerships
The California example is one of the green shoots of public-private partnerships around SAF. However, given the size of the industry and its stakeholders, there is a lot more opportunity for partnering and joint investment.
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