The British Airways boss has warned that rival countries are ‘getting ahead’ of the UK in developing greener jet fuel. Chief executive Sean Doyle urged the government to consider other nations’ approaches in encouraging domestic production of SAF (standing for sustainable aviation fuel). Mark Harper, the Governments’ Transport Secretary, stated the UK is ‘on track’ to meet its target of having at least five commercial SAF plants in construction by 2025.
SAF is created using sustainable sources, including agricultural waste, as well as used cooking oils which results in 70% less carbon than traditional jet fuel. It is seen as an essential tool if the aviation industry wishes to reduce its notoriously high carbon emissions, but is currently several times more expensive to produce.
Doyle stated that ‘We are struggling really just to get the ball rolling and getting plants built... Maybe we need to look at what other jurisdictions and governments are doing’.
The US Aviation company, Gulfstream Aerospace, operated the first transatlantic flight powered by 100% Saf on 19 November 2023. The flight departed from Savannah, Georgia and traveled to Farnborough, Hampshire on a Gulfstream G600 business jet. The flight lasted six hours and fifty-six minutes. Gulfstream Aerospace said the flight ‘showcases the potential for aviation’s future use of renewable fuels’.
The data collected from this flight will help Gulfstream and its suppliers understand aircraft compatibility with future low-aromatic renewable fuels, especially in cold temperatures. ‘Gulfstream is innovating for a sustainable future’, said Mark Banks, President of the company. ‘One of the keys to reaching business aviation’s long-term decarbonisation goals is the broad use of SAF in place of fossil based jet fuel’. The US has also introduced a tax credit scheme to lure investors in Saf production.
However, here in the UK we are slightly behind; the Department for Transport’s SAF mandate states at least 10% of the fuel used by airlines in the UK must be made from sustainable feedstocks by 2030. Without UK SAF production, the mandate will rely on imports. There have been further calls for the Government to introduce a way of reducing the difference in price between the two fuels.
Alongside Doyle, who appeared at the Airlines 2023 summit, Mr Harper said a consultation on a ‘revenue certainty mechanism’ for SAF producers will be launched ‘soon’. He insisted the UK has invested ‘significant amounts of public money’ into developing SAF.
Last week, the Department for Transport awarded £53 million to nine projects in the latest round of the Advanced Fuels Fund competition to develop SAF. These projects are estimated to create tens of thousands of jobs, and grow the economy. It has already funded 9 pioneering projects to create a brighter, cleaner future for the UK’s aviation industry. Winning projects will create 10,000 green jobs by 2035 and boost the economy by £1.8 billion each year. This investment is part of the government’s plan to deliver on their net zero commitments and make low-carbon flights a reality.
SAF can be used in jet engines to a maximum blend of 50% with kerosene without modifications, so the UK could soon have the capability to produce up to 810,000 tonnes, enough to fly around the equator of the Earth 3108 times!