Catalyzing a Voluntary Market to Scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

A. Klauber, G. Grimes
World Energy,
United States

Keywords: sustainable aviation fuels, SAF, net-zero, book and claim

Summary:

Slowing climate change has emerged as the world’s greatest challenge and a serious business problem for companies that have put their brands on the line with aggressive net-zero emissions commitments. The transportation industry faces some of the biggest challenges in decarbonizing, with the aviation industry currently accounting for nearly three percent of global CO2 emissions. Aviation is projected to grow at a rate of about five percent per year, highlighting the need for innovative solutions to achieve net-zero. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) can reduce GHG emissions by up to 80 percent in comparison to fossil-based counterparts. SAF is a desirable solution for airlines seeking to reduce the carbon impact of their operations due to the drop-in capabilities of these fuels. However, the significant reduction benefits of SAF are best achieved if sustainability is ensured across the entire supply chain. For this reason, SAF is primarily consumed at an airport in proximity to its production location. Therefore, it is only available at select airports around the world. Supplying SAF to a specific airport may not be ideal as it would require additional resources, such as fuel for transportation. This contributes to the increased carbon intensity of the product, thus reducing the environmental benefits. The limited distribution of these fuels conflicts with the increasing number of airlines working to integrate SAF into their operations. A Book and Claim system remedy these issues, scaling SAF through virtual transactions to provide businesses further away from SAF production the ability to reduce their carbon impact. Attendees will learn: How the Book and Claim system scales SAF and the benefits of using the system How the Book and Claim system reduces carbon impact and provides greater availability of decarbonization How organizations can incorporate SAF into their operations