The race to Carbon Neutrality has been a trend for the past 10 years. Multitudinous industries face it challenge to reach this scenario, particularly in the aviation industry. How important and viable is this scenario to be implemented in the aviation industry?

While world demand for aviation fuels is still growing rapidly, the aviation industry must find a way to meet the demand for aviation fuel and meet emission standards imposed by international organizations as a global trend, which industry will take a significant part in the Paris Agreement concluded in 2015 [1].

The aviation industry is particularly challenged given that the replacement of the energy carrier by a low-carbon alternative is difficult. Jet fuel features optimal characteristics in terms of performance, energy density and operability whereas it releases CO2, which was removed from the biosphere millions of years ago and safely stored underground [2]. Other energy resources (such as batteries, hydrogen) carry low energy density, particularly in the aviation industry [3]. Recently, many stakeholders had developed a solution of sustainable drop-in hydrocarbon aviation fuel (SAF) whereas it is widely considered viable to decarbonise aviation industry in a long run. In that case, what is SAF and how impactful it is to decarbonise aviation?

What is SAF and why is it relevant now?

In order to achieve the aviation industry’s commitment of achieving net zero CO2 emission by 2050, The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines SAF as renewable or waste-derived fuel that meets several sustainability criteria: (i) the reduction in net life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10% relative to conventional fuels; (ii) not being produced from biomass in lands with high carbon stocks; and (iii) conserving the local water, soil, air quality, and food security [4]. SAF, as a bio-based fuels have been proposed as an alternative to fossil jet fuel resulting in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are proven to be significantly lower [5] knowing that SAF has low aromatics and low sulphur content can improve local air quality [6]. Some countries such as Germany and UK are formulating and implementing supporting policies. Based on research, with targeted use of a 50% SAF blend for the 2% of flights responsible for the most highly warming contrails reduces total energy forcing caused by aviation by 6% [7].

Leading SAF technologies such as Hydro-processed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), Fischer–Tropsch (FT), Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ), and Power-to-Liquid (e-jet) are identified as the most viable ones for the targeted fuel transition of the aviation sector [8]. Based on research, below are the key role of the SAF technologies in the emerging market [9]:

• Only biofuels (HEFA, FT, AtJ) have secured ASTM certification for commercial use (via blending).
• HEFA is currently the only market-proven pathway. HEFA jet fuel produced from waste fats, oils, and greases (FOGs) is the most cost-competitive option and is expected to remain the most efficient pathway, at least until 2030. However, the limited supply of feedstock and lack of cultivation areas turn HEFA into a feedstock-constrained pathway that is unable on its own to support the needs of a large-scale fuel transition.
• There are reasonable claims that the next two decades will be dominated by technologies handling advanced feedstock (e.g., biogenic residues/wastes), such as FT and AtJ.

In particular, the consideration of choosing SAF technologies was mainly based on the feedstocks and wastes, which could significantly impact on the reduction of the production overall cost and environmental impact [12].

What is the Challenge here?

The main challenge associated with this is the availability of large quantities of high-quality feedstock, as land-use changes may have greater environmental consequences than petroleum-based fuel [5]. The main challenge related to these technologies is the reduction of production costs since the current Biomass-to-Liquid (BtL) pathways usually involve intense capital and operational expenses [9]. Other than that, following ASTM certification is quite a challenge to commercialized in SAF producers’ perspective, as it takes several years of work and some cost expenditures [10].

So, what is the Verdict?

SAF pathways currently struggle to present affordable production costs, but projections for rapid reductions in hydrogen and green electricity prices form a promising future [11], but those challenge will be overcome with demand drive and new technologies as recently many companies compete to develop this energy. Research has shown that SAF are capable of flourishing in the coming years. Key prerequisites for this to happen are continuous effort for design optimization, appropriate policy incentives and the efficient connection with the existing refining infrastructure in a scheme that could deliver economic benefits to the industry and beyond [8].

As JGC Group affiliates, JGC Indonesia sees this as a big opportunity to grow and develop SAF as of now. JGC Group has been promoting the production of SAF production and supply chain, with cooperation with other valuable partners. Since 2022, JGC Group with 15 other companies had established ACT FOR SKY: voluntary organization to promote the development of Japan’s aviation network and industry. With the the engineering Know How of JGC Group, JGC Indonesia had a vision to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society. Check to find more: https://www.jgc.com/en/business/resource-recycling/saf/. 

Source of Reference:

1. Kurzawska, Paula. Overview of Sustainable Aviation Fuels including emission of particulate matter and harmful gaseous exhaust gas compounds. 2022.
2. S. Department of Energy. Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Review of Technical Pathways. 2020.
3. Viswanathan, V.; Epstein, A.H.; Chiang, Y.-M.; Takeuchi, E.; Bradley, M.; Langford, J.; Winter, M. The challenges and opportunities of battery-powered flight. Nature 2022, 601, 519–525.
4. ICAO document - CORSIA Sustainability Criteria for CORSIA Eligible Fuels. ICAO: 2021.
5. Rojas-Michaga, M. F., Michailos, S., Cardozo, E., Akram, M., Hughes, K. J., Ingham, D., & Pourkashanian, M. (2023). Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production through power-to-liquid (PtL): A combined techno-economic and life cycle assessment. Energy Conversion and Management, 292, 117427.
6. Braun-Unkhoff, M.; Riedel, U.; Wahl, C. About the emissions of alternative jet fuels. CEAS Aeronaut. J. 2017, 8, 167–180.
7. Teoh, R.; Schumann, U.; Voigt, C.; Schripp, T.; Shapiro, M.; Engberg, Z.; Molloy, J.; Koudis, G.; Stettler, M.E.J. Targeted Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Maximize Climate Benefits. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2022, 56, 17246–17255.
8. ReFuelEU Aviation Iniative: Sustainable Aviation Fuels and the Fit for 55 Package; European Commission: Brussels, Belgium, 2022.
9. Bauen, A.; Bitossi, N.; German, L.; Harris, A.; Leow, K. Sustainable Aviation Fuels. Johns. Matthey Technol. Rev. 2020, 64, 263–278.
10. Chiaramonti, D. (2019). Sustainable Aviation Fuels: the challenge of decarbonization. Energy Procedia, 158, 1202–1207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2019.01.308
11. Detsios, N., Maragoudaki, L., Rebecchi, S., Quataert, K., De Winter, K., Stathopoulos, V. N., Orfanoudakis, N., Grammelis, P., & Ατσόνιος, Κ. (2024). Techno-Economic Evaluation of Jet Fuel Production via an Alternative Gasification-Driven Biomass-to-Liquid Pathway and Benchmarking with the State-of-the-Art Fischer–Tropsch and Alcohol-to-Jet Concepts. Energies, 17(7), 1685.
12. Peters, M. A., Alves, C., & Onwudili, J. A. (2023). A review of current and emerging production technologies for BioMaSs-Derived Sustainable aviation fuels. Energies (Basel), 16(16), 6100.

This article is written by :
Raseesha Nauratul Gustia
Sales & Marketing Department

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