{"id":3971,"date":"2023-02-22T11:57:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T11:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=3971"},"modified":"2023-04-11T15:25:06","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T14:25:06","slug":"heathrow-offers-airlines-38m-to-support-greater-use-of-saf-as-government-consults-on-2040-zero-emission-target-for-airports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=3971","title":{"rendered":"Heathrow offers airlines \u00a338m to support greater use of SAF as government consults on 2040 zero-emission target for airports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

London\u2019s Heathrow Airport is making available a \u00a338 million ($46m) fund to encourage airlines using the airport to power their aircraft in part by sustainable aviation fuel, with the incentive aimed at covering up to 50% of the extra cost of SAF compared to conventional jet fuel. The oversubscribed incentive scheme started in 2022 with six airlines participating and Heathrow is now aiming to triple the percentage of SAF used this year to 1.5% and become one of the world\u2019s leading airport users of SAF. English airports are targeted by the UK government to be zero-emission by 2040 and a second consultation has been opened by the Department for Transport (DfT) that aims to gather more information and feedback on the scope of the 2040 goal and the route for implementation. In other UK news, the DfT has announced the five winning proposals for a share of the Advanced Fuels Fund competition, aimed at developing SAF production plants in the UK, and Birmingham Airport and ZeroAvia are to partner on zero-emission flights.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heathrow<\/a> says it is the first airport in the world to offer airlines a contribution towards making the extra cost of purchasing SAF and participants in the scheme include IAG, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, Air France, KLM and JetBlue. The airport says it is committed to progressively increasing the SAF used each year, with the aim of reaching 11% of all fuel by 2030. This year, the incentive is expected to save over 81,000 tonnes of CO2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeam Heathrow is now probably the biggest user of SAF in the world, but it is currently all imported,\u201d said the airport\u2019s outgoing CEO, John Holland-Kaye. \u201cIf Britain really wants to compete with the scale of ambition and the credible action seen from the US and Europe, supportive government policy is needed, and it is needed now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heathrow says the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, which includes a tax credit scheme, “is designed to lure SAF investors to America and leaving the UK at risk of missing out on the multi-billion-pound industry.\u201d It is calling for a Contracts for Difference price support mechanism to help cut the price premium and for the UK government to make a decision this year on committing into legislation a 10% mandate for SAF use by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDelay could mean the UK SAF industry suffers and cannot keep up internationally,\u201d argues Heathrow. \u201cBy delivering both, the UK will see an immediate and tangible impact \u2013 with investment, jobs and skills seen right across the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While details of the proposed SAF mandate are due to be published shortly (see article<\/a><\/em>), which will require having at least five commercial-scale plants under construction in the UK by 2025 to meet the mandate’s target, the government has announced five awards under its \u00a3165 million ($200m) Advanced Fuel Fund<\/a> that will allocate funding to support UK advanced fuels projects until March 2025. The grant funding is to be provided to first-of-a-kind commercial and demonstration scale projects at all development stages up to the start of construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With regards to a second application window for the fund, DfT is still considering whether or when further funding windows should proceed. In the event of a second application window, the competition would be open to all eligible projects and not just those already selected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five projects receiving funding in the first window are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n