The partners may enter into priority contracts to secure SAF offtakes from various projects in which SAFFA will invest for its allocated volumes. SAFFA's focus centers on SAF eligible for RefuelEU Aviation or CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) certification.
Many believe that developing SAF has become urgent due to slow progress in meeting cleaner fuel demands. Oil and gas companies continue advancing new hydrocarbon wells and resources.
Separately, Boeing and Clear Sky, an investment company dedicated to aviation sustainability, are collaborating to accelerate SAF development. Their initial project aims to test and advance Firefly Green Fuels’ technology in the UK to increase sustainable aviation fuel production.
“SAF offers the greatest opportunity to decarbonize aviation, and the industry’s collective challenge of bringing it to scale globally requires new sustainable pathways,” said Brian Moran, Boeing’s chief sustainability officer. “Clear Sky combines many years of investment expertise with knowledge on aviation’s decarbonization challenges. Firefly’s technology holds transformative potential as the SAF feedstock, sewage waste, is accessible in all regions of the globe.”
According to Boeing, SAF currently represents 0.1% of global jet fuel use. In the UK, achieving 10 percent SAF in jet-fuel mix by 2030 will require 1.2 million tonnes of SAF by 2030 and 7 million tonnes by 2050.
Boeing and Clear Sky’s investment aligns with this roadmap given that available UK sewage waste can meet a significant proportion of UK’s SAF requirement.
“In a world where demand for SAF outstrips available supply, Firefly is paving the way to cost-competitive and globally available fuel,” said James Hygate, CEO of Firefly. “With support from Clear Sky and Boeing, we are propelling toward our goal of commercial production in the UK by 2029 and rapid replication across the globe.”
The new UK Labour Government's SAF mandate will start in 2025 at 2 percent of total UK jet fuel demand, increasing linearly to 10 percent in 2030 and then to 22 percent in 2040. "From 2040, the obligation will remain at 22 percent until there is greater certainty regarding SAF supply," transport minister Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill stated on Monday.
Elsewhere, American Express Global Business Travel and Shell Aviation have announced a new agreement supporting Avelia's growth—one of the world's first book-and-claim platforms for SAF—with more than 30 corporates and airlines participating.
The Middle East shows potential as a major SAF production hub. Ted O’Byrne, CEO of Saudi aircraft lessor AviLease told AIN before the Paris Airshow that his company was keen on bundling SAF with leased aircraft to speed up dissemination.
Responding to a question from AIN about Saudi Arabia's potential for developing into a dominant player like it did with oil over past decades Krishnan Narayanan founding partner at Clear Sky remarked: "No one entity company or organization is going make this happen their own... We are incredibly energized about this partnership with Boeing."
Alerts Sign-up
