Today, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) accounts for less than 0.1% of total global aviation fuel consumption. Accelerating the adoption of SAF and putting the aviation industry on track for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require a significant ramp in global SAF production. So, what are the challenges we are facing and what is needed to overcome them?Supportive policies like the European Union’s ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation and the Renewable Fuel Standard program in the United States are playing an important role in ramping up production, as these create the demand certainty required to attract investments into new production capacity. According to the International Air Transport Association, more than 130 renewable fuel projects with the intent to produce SAF have been announced across 30 countries. The realization of all these projects could see global SAF production reach 800 million gallons annually by 2030. For context, around 33 million gallons of SAF were produced in 2022, according to IATA.Even with positive momentum, achieving future production targets will be a challenge. It’s clear that there is a need for continued policy support to incentivize growth. A commonly voiced concern is the limited availability of the most widely used SAF feedstocks. And another important issue to consider is the role that voluntary demand across the aviation industry can play to accelerate SAF adoption and encourage collaborations among different sectors.The Importance of Policy&nbsp; The single largest barrier to SAF adoption today is its higher price relative to fossil jet fuel, making it a challenge for airlines operating in a highly competitive market to adopt. Over time, continued technology development and increased supply will narrow the cost gap. In the near term, however, supportive policy is crucial to create a level playing field and gain industry momentum.For SAF producers, long-term, stable incentive programs like the RFS or Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulation, which mirrors U.S. state-level low carbon fuel standard programs, are generally preferable to shorter-term, more limited tax credits. It’s important that these programs, which were originally designed for on-road fuels, evolve to fully include aviation fuel. The SAF blenders tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act is a positive development that recognizes the role SAF will play in decarbonizing aviation.SAF adoption in Europe is expected to accelerate on the heels of the RefuelEU Aviation Regulation, which is part of the EU’s Fit for 55 package. The program requires fuel suppliers to deliver minimum volumes of SAF as part of the total volume of jet fuel supplied. This begins with a mandate of 2% SAF in 2025, which will increase to 6% in 2030 and 70% in 2050.Expanding Feedstocks for SAF&nbsp; Currently, the hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) process is the most widely used SAF production pathway. More than 75% of the SAF produced globally today is HEFA SAF.Neste, the world’s leading producer of SAF, is producing SAF and other renewable fuels based on the HEFA pathway with our proprietary NEXBTL (next generation biomass-to-liquids) technology. NEXBTL is the result of over 20 years of innovation and is highly flexible in the variety of feedstocks that can be used for fuel production, including waste and residue oils and fats. Neste’s current SAF production capability is 365 million gallons per annum.Compared with fossil raw material, biogenic fats and oils contain oxygen, which is an undesired element in fuels. After pretreatment to remove impurities, the first stage of the NEXBTL process is hydrodeoxygenation, where oxygen atoms are removed using hydrogen. This creates a pure hydrocarbon with high energy density. The hydrocarbons are then isomerized to tune the properties of the fuel for different end use applications.Third-party industry reports like the one issued by World Economic Forum suggests the practical availability of waste and residue materials that can be used to produce renewable fuels via the HEFA method, such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste, can reach 40 million metric tons per year by 2030. This is plenty to significantly ramp up SAF production in the near term. However, other SAF production pathways and raw materials will ultimately be needed to meet future SAF demand.At Neste, we are exploring new raw materials such as algae, municipal solid waste and lignocellulosic wastes and new production technologies such as power-to-X to produce SAF. These feedstocks are more available than waste oils; however, they also are more difficult to convert to SAF and will cost more to produce. Nonetheless, conversion pathways do exist, including alcohol-to-jet technologies and power-to-liquid (e-fuels), among others. Together with the HEFA process, they will play an important role in increasing SAF availability and alleviating short-term concerns related to feedstock availability. &nbsp;Private Sector Collaboration&nbsp; In addition to government support, the private sector can do its part by voluntarily purchasing SAF to reduce the emissions from their business air travel or cargo. This will not only help ramp up SAF production, but also generate more public awareness of the benefits related to SAF.Neste is currently working with various industry stakeholders to drive such efforts. This includes agreements with companies in the financial services industry, the cargo sector and the travel industry, which either buys SAF directly from Neste or enables their customers to do so.Additionally, we are working with fuel suppliers and fixed-based operators to expand the availability of SAF next to establishing our own SAF supply capabilities at major airports around the world, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changi. We have also established one of the largest SAF supply networks for business aviation in the U.S.The expanded availability of SAF across the business and commercial sectors is enabled by Neste’s growing SAF production capacity, which is currently 1 million tons (365 million gallons) per annum, with production at our Singapore refinery ramping up. This will grow to 1.5 million tons per annum in 2024 and to 2.2 million tons in 2026, with ongoing investments at our existing renewables refinery in Rotterdam.Overcoming the Challenges&nbsp; Aviation’s long-term aspirational goal of net-zero emissions is clear. Airlines, governments, the private sector and other stakeholders are coming onboard the SAF journey. The aviation sector faces an enormous challenge and has a long way to go, but it is taking its first steps on its transformation journey. Author: Carrie Song&nbsp; Senior Vice President&nbsp;&nbsp; Commercial Renewable Products&nbsp; Neste

2024-03-25 - Overcoming the Challenges of SAF Adoption (SAF Magazine)

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Accelerating the adoption of SAF and putting the aviation industry on track for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require a significant ramp in global SAF production.

Overcoming the Challenges of SAF Adoption

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