Powering Clean Skies: The SAF Story

Aircraft and operational efficiency improvements are expected to deliver roughly one-third of the required emission reductions, while SAF adoption of around 450-500 Mt annually accounts for nearly two-thirds of the total abatement needed to reach aviation’s 2050 net-zero target.

SAF emerges as the most immediate and scalable pathway to bridge the gap between current operations and long-term net-zero targets. SAF is a drop-in solution that can use the same aircraft, engines, and fueling infrastructure as conventional jet fuel, enabling immediate emissions reductions without major system changes.

How do you produce SAF?

The versatility of SAF lies in its ability to be produced from a wide variety of feedstocks and conversion pathways.

Building on its diverse production routes and stringent sustainability standards, SAF can play a pivotal role in aviation’s transition toward net-zero emissions. The effectiveness of SAF in decarbonizing aviation is best understood through four defining features: its immediate compatibility with existing systems, a rapidly developing global ecosystem, significant emission reduction potential, and broader economic and environmental co-benefits.

Feedstock mapping for SAF production

Meeting net-zero trajectories will require over 500 Mt of SAF each year compared with about 2 Mt expected in 2025. To achieve true system-wide decarbonization, the industry should consider distinct feedstock-based production pathways of SAF

HEFA and AtJ to GFT and PtL (e-SAF), draws on distinct feedstock bases, expanding the carbon and hydrogen resource pool available for aviation fuel production. This diversity is what will enable regional specialization and long-term scalability in a net-zero aviation system by tapping into abundant resources specific to each region.

Major Production pathways

To achieve this diversification, ASTM International has expanded its certification framework, approving nine synthetic aviation fuel pathways under ASTM D7566. Among these production pathways HEFA is most mature and three emerging technologies stand out as the alternatives to HEFA namely : AtJ, GFT and PtL. AtJ, GFT, and PtL represent the next generation of scalable solutions that need continued innovation and policy support to achieve full commercial deployment.

Policy and Regulations

As SAF moves from demonstration to deployment, governments are constructing a mix of mandates, fiscal incentives, and carbon accounting rules to close the cost ap and build confidence across the value chain.