If 100% SAF is the Goal, This is Our Only Hope. For Now.
The secret ingredient: starts with S and ends with K.
It’s finally the end of the week and that means another SAF-letter to provide useful and applicable concepts and information to you.
In each SAF-letter, you can find:
Concept post: as always, my goal is to make complicated concepts actually easy to understand.
Perspective post: opening up a discussion to you on certain topics relevant to the SAF industry today
Weekly News Round-Up post: you’ll receive a compilation of key news over the week so that you can be easily updated
As always, your feedback is the most valuable to improve the blog - join me in making SAF/Sustainability education simple!
🚀 The Only Solution to 100% SAF in Aviation For Now.
The secret ingredient: Synthetic Aromatic Kerosene (SAK).
Virgin Atlantic’s Flight100 has made history as the world's first 100% SAF test flight. While this sounds like a dream for the aviation industry, it’s not commercially viable just yet.
💡 What does it mean to fuel an airplane entirely with SAF, and why aren't we doing this on every flight?
🌍 What is Flight100?
Flight100 is a pioneering flight running on 100% SAF, a first in aviation.
Typically, airlines use a blend of conventional jet fuel and SAF, but this flight is fueled entirely by SAF. However, it’s important to note that 100% SAF is still not approved for commercial use today.
While the aviation industry strives for decarbonization, fueling a commercial airplane solely with neat SAF (SAF without conventional jet fuel) isn’t as simple as swapping out one fuel for another.
🛫 Why Can’t Airplanes Use 100% Neat SAF Yet?
The reason lies in certification and fuel composition.
Jet fuel needs to meet strict performance and safety standards set by ASTM International.
More specifically, the ASTM D7566 certification governs the quality of SAF and conventional jet fuel blends. According to this certification, only a maximum of 50% blend of SAF is allowed today, as neat SAF lacks certain essential properties present in conventional jet fuel.
One of these key missing components is aromatics.
⛽ The Role of Aromatics in Jet Fuel
Aromatics are a class of hydrocarbons found in conventional jet fuel. Their primary role? To help swell rubber seals in aircraft engines and fuel systems, preventing leaks.
Without enough aromatics, planes face the risk of malfunction and safety will be at risk.
Now, here’s the thing: neat SAF contains insufficient aromatics.
This presents a huge challenge for using 100% SAF in airplanes. The lack of aromatics means it’s not compatible with existing aircraft equipment, which is why blending it with conventional jet fuel is necessary.
🛢️ Flight100 and Synthetic Aromatic Kerosene (SAK)
Flight100 overcame this hurdle by including 12% synthetic aromatic kerosene (SAK) in the fuel mix.
So, what’s SAK? It’s a lab-created alternative to natural aromatics that replicates their essential properties, minimizing carbon emissions.
By incorporating SAK, Flight100 enabled the airplane to fly on 100% SAF while ensuring the engine seals functioned properly.
🚀 Is SAK the Future or a Temporary Fix?
The inclusion of SAK raises an interesting question: is this the future of aviation, or is it just a temporary solution?
My perspective: While SAK is a critical enabler today, it might not be necessary in the long run if Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) like Boeing can modify aircraft to accommodate 100% SAF without aromatics. Until then, SAK may only serve as a bridge.
More on Virgin Atlantic’s Flight100 here.
More on Virent’s SAK here.
Let Me Know What You Think!
❓ Will SAK pave the way for net-zero aviation or will technological advancements make it obsolete?
Comment your thoughts below!
🛫 EU’s Climate Policy Has Great Goals but Where’s the Infrastructure?
The European Union (EU) has set some ambitious climate policy targets for aviation, with the ReFuelEU aviation initiative at the heart of these efforts. And one of the key policies is targeted at making SAF an integral part of Europe’s aviation sector to work towards net zero.
Sounds promising, right? But let’s take a closer look.
💡 What is the ReFuelEU Aviation Initiative?
The ReFuelEU policy lays out strict mandates on using SAF in aviation, aiming to reduce carbon emissions. Here are some of the key points:
Airlines are required to gradually increase their use of SAF over the coming decades.
Fuel suppliers will have to incorporate
2% SAF in 2025
6% in 2030
70% in 2050
From 2030, 1.2% of fuels must also be synthetic fuels, rising to 35% in 2050.
These targets apply across the EU and cover all flights departing from EU airports.
And while they sound ambitious, here's where the challenge lies: setting a goal is one thing, but without the steps to reach it, you’re just shooting in the dark.
These mandates are encouraging and there are penalties attached to the mandates. But without any infrastructure, these penalties simply have to be borne and the industry won’t progress too far.
⛽Issue 1: Power-to-liquid (PtL) Goals
One major gap is with power-to-liquid (PtL) fuels. According to ReFuelEU, by 2030, 1.2% of the fuel mix must be PtL, increasing to 35% by 2050. However, there aren’t sufficient PtL production facilities to meet these figures.
Lufthansa, one of Europe’s largest airlines, has strongly echoed this concern. How can these PtL mandates be met if there’s limited infrastructure to produce the fuel?
In fact, governments and regional bodies are the centerpiece of the industry. Their policies can shift the SAF market drastically and affect investors’ decisions to invest in a market. As such, their ability to pump in funds to encourage PtL SAF supply is crucial to meet the mandate requirements.
Without this funding, the pathway to SAF adoption becomes even more uncertain. And this would leave investors questioning whether they should continue to invest in a market with such unpredictable supply and demand.
💡Governments play a crucial role in stabilizing this market, and their inaction could hinder progress for all stakeholders, including airlines, airports, and investors.
✈️ Issue 2: The Small Airport Dilemma
Another issue concerns smaller airports, especially those that aren’t part of the EU but fall under the ReFuelEU policy. According to the policy, small airports can recover the cost differential between SAF and conventional jet fuel if they meet certain criteria.
But due to the lack of a clear process for these airports to adopt SAF and recover the SAF premium, it makes little difference whether the policy exists or not. Because flying out of these smaller airports is likely business aviation and private charters, where passengers would have the means to afford SAF.
Larger international airports might be able to handle the shift to SAF, but for small airports, the existing policy framework simply isn’t cutting it.
🚨 Time for a More Robust Policy
In short, the ReFuelEU initiative is a step in the right direction, but what’s really needed is a comprehensive, actionable roadmap to build up infrastructures for Europe to reach its climate targets.
Let Me Know What You Think!
Comment below: What are other areas in the ReFuelEU package that require improvement? What changes would make these policies truly impactful for the aviation industry?
🌎 Weekly News Round-Up
Your Weekly Dose of SAF News.
🚨 California Scores Major Clean Transportation Boost
The Biden-Harris Administration announced significant federal funding to boost California’s clean transportation and SAF infrastructure. This includes $250 million earmarked for airport upgrades and supporting SAF projects.
What This Means: For the SAF industry, this accelerates infrastructure development, driving greater SAF production capacity. It signals the U.S. government's serious commitment to decarbonizing air travel. For California, this means more opportunities to lead the way in clean aviation solutions, especially in aiding airports’ transition towards including SAF in their fuel mix.
Read more here.
✈️ UK SAF Mandate: Lofty Targets, Heavy Costs
A report highlights the cost implications of the UK’s proposed SAF mandate, which aims for a 10% SAF blend by 2030. The challenge? The price premium and the investment required, which is estimated between £2.6 billion and £3.7 billion.
What This Means: While ambitious, meeting these SAF goals will require massive investment and government-backed incentives to spur domestic production. It’s a glimpse of what other countries might face as they strive to build up local SAF supply (a good case study to learn from while implementing policies).
Read more here.
🌏 BP’s Big Bet on China’s SAF Future
BP is investing €44.4 million in a Chinese SAF plant, marking a milestone in China’s green aviation fuel sector. This plant, one of the largest in the region, will produce SAF using waste cooking oil.
What This Means: This move enhances China's ability to supply its vast aviation fuel demand with greener alternatives, contributing to global SAF advancements. For BP, it aligns with their broader strategy of investing in low-carbon energy solutions globally. Altogether, it represents how international collaboration can effectively enhance SAF supply globally.
Read more here.
⛽ South Korea's SAF Mix: 1% by 2027
South Korea plans to ensure all international flights departing the country use a 1% SAF blend by 2027. The move aligns with ICAO's carbon offset mandates starting the same year.
What This Means: With Singapore announcing a SAF mandate earlier this year and now, South Korea, this signals a shift toward greener aviation fuel policies in Asia. Only with mandates can demand be stable as many investors look at demand as one of the key indicators of whether their investment would take off.
Read more here.
🌽 Southeast Asia's SAF Potential: 12% of Global Needs by 2050
A report suggests that Southeast Asia has the potential to supply 12% of the world’s SAF demand by 2050, using bio-based feedstocks such as rice husks and palm oil residues.
What This Means: Southeast Asia’s vast feedstock resources could become a cornerstone of the global SAF supply chain. However, infrastructure development and regulatory support are critical to unlocking this potential, especially as the region navigates global sustainability standards like CORSIA.
Read more here.
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