SkyNRG says e-SAF and carbon removals should not be competing strategies for aviation decarbonisation

As pressure increases on the aviation sector to reduce its harmful emissions, debate is intensifying about the relative merits of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon or recycling it to produce e-SAF. But a new discussion paper released by SkyNRG, a leading global supplier and emerging producer of SAF, argues that both technologies should be used as complementary measures to decarbonise air transport rather than as competing options. The Amsterdam-based company says the high cost of developing e-SAF is driving some in the industry to consider extending the use of less-expensive fossil fuels while also investing in technologies which remove carbon from the atmosphere for permanent storage. A better solution, suggests SkyNRG, is to prioritise investment in e-SAF then use capture and storage technology to permanently remove any residual carbon from unavoidable or historic emissions.

“Framing carbon removals and e-SAF as competing options is not only flawed but also harmful, because it risks delaying European SAF projects that have capital ready to be deployed,” said Tom Berg, SkyNRG’s Director, Policy and Sustainability. “Only by developing both solutions in tandem can we begin to resist ‘carbon tunnel vision’ and begin to face up to the scale of the task.”

The company’s discussion paper, ‘A false choice between carbon removals and e-SAF,’ highlights SkyNRG’s concerns about favouring carbon removals over a parallel strategy.

Global demand for SAF is soaring. But so is demand for feedstocks, the most common of which, waste fats, oils and greases, are in high demand and short supply as production also increases for competing products including renewable diesel and industrial power.

Through its ReFuelEU programme, the EU has introduced not only blending mandates for SAF produced with physical waste but also a sub-mandate for e-fuels, which are produced by combining water with renewable electricity from sources including wind and solar to create green hydrogen, and then reprocessed with captured CO2 to produce liquid fuel.

However, while viewed as a significant future source of aviation fuel, e-SAF technology is currently one of the most expensive SAF development pathways.

“As European industry and policymakers work to de-risk e-SAF production to meet the 2030 ReFuelEU blending targets, the cost and energy needs of these novel fuels is becoming clearer,” says SkyNRG.

“At the same time, fossil jet fuel coupled with carbon removals, particularly direct air capture and storage (DACS), are viewed by some as a cost-effective and less energy-intensive alternative for addressing aviation’s climate impact.

“This narrative creates a false choice between two technologies that should be seen as complementary within a broader climate change mitigation strategy. The increasing reliance on removals as a perceived ‘low cost’ alternative risks delaying the structural investments needed for a sustainable future for aviation.”

Removal plays a critical role in decarbonisation, adds SkyNRG, “but only to deal with the very last slice of residual emissions. On top of this, we need removals to clean up the excess of carbon in the atmosphere that has built up over time.”

The company references the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) which stipulates that organisations need to cut at least 90% of their emissions through operational measures and supply chain choices, leaving the residual 10% to be removed.

“This means the question is not whether to choose e-SAF or removals. Both are necessary in a long-term climate strategy, but removals should never come at the expense of near-term, in-sector mitigation options.”

Relying on carbon removals alone was “a dangerous illusion”, says the SkyNRG paper, and a strategy that would distract from direct measures to minimise emissions and increase in-sector efficiency.

“We call for a more balanced approach, one that recognises the complementary roles, distinct benefits and limitations of both pathways.”

Beyond its role in decarbonising air transport, SkyNRG argues that developing e-SAF also serves as a key enabler of renewable energy in Europe and the UK.

“As a major and predictable offtaker of green hydrogen, e-SAF production provides the long-term demand needed to unlock investment in wind and solar power, and electrolysis,” says the company. “In providing this firm demand, e-SAF production supports grid expansion and drives down hydrogen costs through economies of scale.”

Concurrently, its says, Europe’s refining capacity for liquid fossil fuels is declining, impacting both industrial resilience and energy security, the latter highlighted by geopolitical challenges including disrupted fuel supplies.

“Investing in e-SAF production can counter this trend by sustaining and modernising Europe’s advanced industrial base.

“With over 40 European SAF projects in the pipeline, investors are ready to deploy capital. SkyNRG’s shareholders alone manage over €1 trillion ($1.1tn) in funds and are making their first investments in SAF.

“If policy and market signals shift toward removals instead of fuel substitution, a lot of this project development and fundraising could be delayed or abandoned due to increased policy risk. This locks the market into existing fossil jet fuel infrastructure and may slow down the development of a renewable fuel production system, focused only on biofuel and fossil fuels.”

Image: SkyNRG

Tony Harrington
Correspondent