GreenAir’s roundup of the latest news and comment from around the world on efforts by the aviation sector to decarbonise and reduce its climate impact
SAF NEWS EXTRA
12 June 2025
Honeywell has signed a MoU with NTPC Green to explore the production of SAF in India. They will explore the use of Honeywell’s proprietary eFining technology to produce SAF from CO2 feedstock captured from NTPC’s power plants and green hydrogen. “Our collaboration with NTPC Green will leverage Honeywell’s expertise in SAF solutions to efficiently treat emissions from thermal energy, foster green hydrogen adoption, diversify feedstocks for SAF production and help India’s aviation sector meet its long-term environmental goals,” said Ranjit Kulkarni, VP and GM Energy & Sustainability Solutions, Honeywell India. Added DMR Panda, Executive Director (Green Hydrogen) at NTPC: “SAF production forms the sizeable part of the ambitious Green Hydrogen Hub of NTPC Green in Pudimadaka, Andhra Pradesh. We believe that the mandate in the aviation sector for blending SAF in jet fuel will drive many early mover projects in green hydrogen.” The study is expected to be completed by mid-2025.
UK private jet charter company Chapman Freeborn has agreed a strategic partnership with sustainable aviation specialist 4AIR as part of its long-term plans to reduce emissions. Customers who book private jet or group charter flights can now contribute towards SAF research as part of the agreement. Chapman Freeman offset all emissions from passenger charter flights on Earth Day. 4AIR calculated the emissions footprint of the flights, which were 133 MtCO2 and credits were bought to support new renewable energy projects. Avia Solutions Group, the holding company for Chapman Freeborn, is also developing SAF and e-SAF production facilities in Liepāja, Latvia, with the aim of serving the Baltic, Nordic and Central European regions.
Cathay Pacific has entered into an agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) to refuel some of its flights from Hong Kong International Airport with SAF produced and blended with conventional aviation fuel by Sinopec. In April, the airline uplifted a batch of SAF produced by the Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company (ZRCC) at the airport, which had been converted from used cooking oil using the HEFA pathway and certified by ISCC. “Our purchase and use of SAF products from ZRCC goes beyond just a fuel uplift; it marks our initiative to expand the upstream and downstream value chain of SAF produced in the Chinese Mainland,” said Cathay General Manager Sustainability Grace Cheung. In March, the airline reached an agreement with fuel supplier SK Energy, which will supply it with SAF from 2025 to 2027 in South Korea.
Neste and refining technology provider Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) are partnering to develop a new technology enabling conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into high-quality, lower-emission renewable fuels, including SAF. They report that piloting results indicate the technology could offer a significant performance improvement over existing technologies for lignocellulosic raw materials. Lignocellulosic waste and residues from existing forest industry and agricultural production remain underutilised and could be leveraged as valuable renewable raw materials, say the partners. Meanwhile, Neste says its MY Renewable Diesel, produced from local 100% waste and residues, has played a significant role in Finavia’s Helsinki Airport achieving net-zero emissions certification under the international Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. The renewable diesel has been powering ground support equipment and vehicles, including emergency power generators, at the airport since 2024 and its use will be extended to all other Finavia airports during 2025.
T&E study finds Europe’s early e-SAF lead in danger of losing its first-mover advantage
16 June 2025
With about half of the world’s announced production capacity, Europe can be a leader in e-kerosene (e-SAF), but severe bottlenecks mean it could lose its first mover advantage, warns a new study by green group Transport & Environment (T&E). Over 40 large-scale projects are planned in Europe, with a potential e-SAF production capacity of around 3 million tonnes, or roughly 5% of the fuel that Europe’s aviation sector needs to operate. If all the announced projects were to be built, the EU could meet the requirements of the ReFuelEU legislation’s blending targets for aviation synthetic fuels. However, only four of the identified large-scale plants are at an advanced stage and none have reached the crucial final investment decision (FID). T&E blames funding bottlenecks and oil majors for hampering progress and urges EU policymakers to prioritise e-SAF in the upcoming Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP).
Biogas-to-SAF company Syzygy awards FEED contract to Kent for Uruguay facility
16 June 2025
Houston-based biogas-to-SAF technology company Syzygy Plasmonics has awarded energy services and project development firm Kent the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract for what it claims is the world’s first fully electrified biogas-to-SAF facility. The NovaSAF 1 facility will be located in Durazno, Uruguay, and is expected to produce over 350,000 gallons of ASTM-certified sustainable aviation fuel annually. The project has long-term feedstock and site agreements in place with Estancias del Lago (EDL), one of Uruguay’s largest dairy and agri-energy operations. Powered by Syzygy’s proprietary NovaSAF platform, the company says the facility combines the benefits of biogas and power-to-liquids technologies that leverages waste as feedstock “and eliminates the need for pipelines while achieving ultra-low water use and carbon intensity.” Syzygy claims its SAF will deliver Jet-A cost parity when fully commercialised.
INERATEC opens Europe’s largest commercial-scale e-fuels production plant
16 June 2025
German cleantech company INERATEC has inaugurated its ERA ONE commercial-scale power-to-liquid plant in Frankfurt, which it claims is the largest of its kind in Europe and will produce up to 2,500 tonnes of carbon-neutral e-fuels annually. Operations at the plant opened recently and uses CO2 from biogenic sources and green hydrogen to produce synthetic crude oil, before being processed into sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF), e-diesel and other chemical products such as sustainable plastics. The two feedstocks are supplied directly from the Frankfurt-Höchst industrial park, where the plant is located. The CO2 comes from a biogas plant that recycles waste and the hydrogen is a by-product of chlorine production. ERA ONE has received a €70 million ($80m) financing package consisting of €40 million in venture debt from the European Investment Bank and a €30 million grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst.
KLM and Transavia partner with Elysian to develop battery-electric regional aircraft and ecosystems
16 June 2025
Elysian, an emerging Dutch manufacturer of electric aircraft, has partnered with the national airline, KLM, and its low-cost sibling Transavia to progress the development and introduction of battery-powered planes for short-range operations. Elysian is developing a 90-seat aircraft, the E9X, which is designed to fly up to 800 kilometres before recharging. Together with the two airlines, the airframer will explore technological, operational and commercial requirements for such an aircraft, ahead of preliminary design and component testing planned for 2026, flight testing and certification in 2030 and full-scale production and entry into service by 2033. “It’s impossible to build an aircraft that truly breaks from industry conventions without intensive collaboration with operators and airports,” said Elysian Co-CEO and Chief Business Officer Daniel Rosen Jacobson as the 2025 Paris International Air Show gets underway, during which there will be significant focus on new zero-emission aircraft and powertrains.
COMMENTARY: China’s SAF industry poised to be a transformative force in aviation’s low-carbon future
13 June 2025
As the world’s second-largest aviation market, China is accelerating its research, production and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to meet its carbon peak and neutrality goals. While policy frameworks are steadily improving and SAF production capacity has reached 3.32 million tonnes per year, commercial deployment and refuelling remain nascent. Additionally, feedstock availability, certification systems and economic viability pose significant challenges to industry expansion. To commercialise SAF, achieving price parity is essential, necessitating supply chain optimisation, financial incentives, and policy interventions to ensure long-term feasibility. Looking ahead, China’s SAF strategy must extend beyond HEFA technology, advancing synthetic fuel (PtL), carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), and hydrogen integration to enhance its role in national energy transition. On the international front, China can leverage the book-and-claim mechanism to embed SAF within global supply chains and commodity markets, strengthening its global competitiveness. With policy reforms, market-driven frameworks, and technological innovation, China’s SAF industry is positioned to become a key driver of global aviation decarbonisation, writes David Ma.
Qantas, Sydney Airport and energy supplier Ampol secure Australia’s largest import of SAF
13 June 2025
Australia’s largest single commercial shipment of sustainable aviation fuel has been jointly secured by the Qantas Group, Sydney Airport, energy company Ampol and partners in the airline’s SAF coalition, marking a significant milestone in decarbonising the nation’s air services. A consignment of unblended SAF totalling almost 2 million litres has been imported from Malaysia to Ampol’s Kurnell refinery in Sydney, to be blended with conventional jet fuel ahead of testing, certification and delivery to the airport, Australia’s biggest and busiest air hub. The SAF will be blended at a ratio of approximately 18%, which Qantas estimates could be used to help power the equivalent of 900 narrowbody jet flights between Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand, cutting aircraft carbon emissions by around 3,400 tonnes.
SkyNRG and ICF warn of “HEFA tipping point” as SAF feedstock demand soars
13 June 2025
SkyNRG, a prominent supplier and emerging producer of sustainable aviation fuels, has highlighted a global shortage beyond 2030 of waste fats, oils and greases, currently the primary feedstock for SAF production, and urged accelerated transition to alternative pathways to meet soaring demand for the new fuels. In its 2025 SAF Market Outlook, produced in collaboration with global business consultancy ICF, Amsterdam-based SkyNRG said the core HEFA feedstocks were used in about 82% of all announced SAF capacity to 2030. But it warns of a “HEFA tipping point” in just five years as demand increases not only for SAF but also competing uses for these ingredients, threatening future production of the fuel. The report coincides with €300 million ($350m) of new investments in SkyNRG to help fund projects including three new SAF production plants in the Netherlands, Sweden and the US.
US SAF producer XCF Global aims for fast growth as it goes public
11 June 2025
XCF Global has listed on the Nasdaq to become the first publicly traded pure play sustainable aviation fuel producer in the United States. The company was formed last year from the business combination of XCF Global Capital and special purpose acquisition company Focus Impact BH3 Acquisition with the aim of rapidly expanding the market for SAF. XCF took over the New Rise Reno Facility in Nevada, converting it from renewable diesel to HEFA SAF production in 2024. The facility, which has an expected production capacity of 38 million gallons per year (MGY) of neat SAF, commenced its first deliveries of neat SAF to Phillips 66 in March. Strategically located to serve West Coast airports like LAX and SFO, the company is building a second adjacent 40 MGY production facility that is due to start production in 2027. Additional plants are planned to come online in 2028 in Florida and North Carolina to serve the Southeast and East Coast regions of the US, and provide access to deepwater ports that facilitate export.
Canadian SAF projects involving Alder and Dimensional receive Boeing investment
9 June 2025
Boeing is to invest a total of 17.48 million Canadian dollars (US$12.6m) in two Canadian sustainable aviation fuel ventures as part of the US planemaker’s Industrial and Technological Benefits commitment to Canada in respect of the country’s selection of Boeing’s long-range, multi-mission P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The first investment of $10 million CAD (US$7.2m) is in a joint venture, Project Avance, between Bioénergie AECN and Alder Renewables in Port Cartier, Quebec, which converts wood residuals from sawmills into a low-carbon intermediate biocrude that can be converted into SAF. The other $7.48 million CAD (US$5.4m) will be invested in power-to-liquid technology provider Dimensional Energy, which is working on a study to scale development of a project to convert industrial CO2 emissions into synthetic aviation fuels. The two SAF projects are part of Boeing’s $280 million CAD investment in Canadian clean technology projects through the P-8 ITB programme.
FedEx secures 3 million gallons of SAF for its LAX operations in one-year deal with Neste
5 June 2025
FedEx, the world’s largest express cargo airline, has taken delivery of first supplies of blended sustainable aviation fuel under a one-year, three-million-gallon deal with Neste. The first two FedEx flights flew last month from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Phoenix and Memphis, and the other to Indianapolis. This is the first time FedEx has deployed SAF in its US operations and is the largest SAF purchase made by a US cargo airline at LAX to date. The blended fuel, which will include a minimum 30% neat Neste MY SAF, will account for around a fifth of annual FedEx fuel usage at LAX. The carrier says the use of SAF is a part of its 2040 goal of carbon neutral global operations as it pursues multiple avenues to improve efficiency and reduce fuel consumption in its aviation operations overall.
IATA chief hits out at “profiteering” fuel suppliers as SAF production expected to double in 2025
3 June 2025
Sustainable aviation fuel production is expected to grow to two million tonnes in 2025, double that produced in 2024, but still just 0.7% of total airline fuel use, estimates IATA. Production will need an exponential expansion if the industry is to meet its commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it says. The airline body estimates the average cost of SAF in 2024 was 3.1 times that of conventional jet fuel, for a total additional cost of $1.6 billion, but the multiple will increase to 4.2 times in 2025. This, claims IATA, is largely the result of SAF compliance fees being levied by European fuel suppliers to hedge their potential costs as a result of the 2% blending mandates introduced by the EU and UK in January. IATA Director General Willie Walsh called the behaviour of fuel suppliers fulfilling the mandates “an outrage”.
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Eight nations unite to propose taxing premium class fliers, sparking airline industry anger
T&E study finds Europe’s early e-SAF lead in danger of losing its first-mover advantage
Biogas-to-SAF company Syzygy awards FEED contract to Kent for Uruguay facility
INERATEC opens Europe’s largest commercial-scale e-fuels production plant
KLM and Transavia partner with Elysian to develop battery-electric regional aircraft and ecosystems