Spotlight: Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) refers to liquid fuels being developed and beginning to be used in commercial aviation. Traditional jet fuels are primarily derived from crude oil (aka liquid petroleum); when combusted in aircraft engines they emit significant amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). SAF can be produced from a number of sources (feedstock) including waste oil and fats, forestry and municipal waste, non-food crops and even captured CO2. It can also be produced synthetically. SAF is considered ‘sustainable’ when the raw feedstock does not compete with food crops or water supplies, nor is responsible for forest degradation. Nine different biofuel production pathways are certified to produce SAF, which perform at operationally equivalent levels to Jet A1 fuel. By design, these SAFs are drop-in solutions, which can be directly blended into existing fuel infrastructure at airports and are fully compatible with modern aircraft. The US Department of Energy suggests that 100% SAF has the potential to reduce GHGs by up to 94%, depending on feedstock and technology pathway.