Jet Zero Council Unfolds SAF Decarbonization Plan in UK

The Jet Zero Council announced a two-year plan to decarbonize the aviation sector by 2050 through a detailed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate at the Sustainable Skies World Summit in the UK.

The plan announced at the summit held in Farnborough, UK, focuses on the development of new technologies and the use of SAF to reduce emissions.

The council, made up of industry, academic, and government leaders, will support and speed up the design, manufacture, and rollout of zero-emission aircraft and vital infrastructure at UK airports. To scale up SAF production, it also set plans to invest in SAF plants and bring down costs.

The plan came following an independent report by Philip New, former CEO of the Energy Systems Catapult and BP Alternative Energy. The report, titled “Developing a UK Sustainable Aviation Fuel Industry”, evaluates the necessary conditions and comes up with recommendations to create a green SAF industry in the country.

The UK government responded by detailing all the related work that is underway, listing additional plans that could be taken to drive production. That includes a SAF mandate to require jet fuel suppliers to blend SAF into aviation fuel from 2025, have at least 10% of UK aviation fuel be made from sustainable sources by 2030, as well as plans to build at least five commercial-scale SAF plants.

A SAF mandate consultation will open for responses this month to gather feedback regarding the policy before its formal implementation in 2025.

At the global summit’s keynote speech, UK Transport Secretary Mark Harper stressed the importance of cooperation between government, industry, and academia in the international challenge to reaching Jet Zero.

“Together, we can set aviation up for success, continue harnessing its huge social and economic benefits, and ensure it remains a core part of the UK’s sustainable economic future,” Harper said.

In Philip New’s independent report, he foresees the proposed UK SAF mandate as a “promising market shaping mechanism,” which will create demand and build markets beyond SAF production.

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