Because of limitations in today's aviation technology, relying solely on SAF is not yet an option

According to KAPSARC, SAF's high cost will reduce its usefulness when compared to traditional jet fuel.

Synthetic Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a word used in the aviation industry to refer to fuel that is not sourced from conventional fossil fuels. "with no adjustments needed to the aircraft or infrastructure," claims Amsterdam-based SAF manufacturer SkyNRG about its use of sustainable resources including carbon recovered from the air and green hydrogen blended with standard jet fuel. The report also notes that using these eco-friendly fuels can reduce emissions from a flight by as much as 70-80 percent.

In a previous interview with Arab News, Boeing's vice president of global sustainability policy and partnerships, Brian Moran, discussed how SAF is produced using a variety of feedstock, including biomass residue, cooking oils, and waste gases, and how new pathways have been developed to convert recycled carbon by combining it with hydrogen to create a new fuel.

The aviation business has the second-highest energy demand in the transportation industry, behind the roads sector, and supplying the airline demand for alternate fuel is the primary issue of SAF producers, according to IATA. Willie Walsh, director general of IATA, told CNBC that the 14 billion gallons of SAF ordered by aeroplanes for 2021 "addresses the problem of whether airlines will buy the fuel."

Qatar Airways has committed to deploy SAF on 10% of its flights by 2030, while in November 2021, Emirates and the American company GE Aviation announced a letter of understanding to test fly a Boeing 777-300ER using 100% SAF by the end of the year. Airbus, a European aircraft manufacturer, recently stated that all of its planes are approved to operate with a fuel blend containing up to 50 percent SAF. By 2030, the company hopes that all of its planes will be able to use SAF exclusively for all of their flights.

The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center in Riyadh pointed out that the goal of sustainable aviation fuel may be beyond the reach of current technologies, despite the fact that the International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization are pushing the industry to adopt the fuel.

According to US Global Investors, a Texas-based investment adviser, just two companies worldwide, Finland's Neste and Boston's World Energy, produced SAF commercially prior to 2021. Repsol of Spain, TotalEnergies of France, BP of the United Kingdom, Phillips 66 of the United States, and Fulcrum BioEnergy of California are just some of the other companies planning to enter the market in 2021 and '22.

IATA predicts that by 2025, SAF output will have reached 7.9 billion litres, which will only satisfy about 2% of the industry's fuel requirements.

Currently, Neste's plants in Europe and Singapore can only produce 100,000 metric tonnes of SAF per year, but the company says it is on track to grow this to 1.5 million tonnes by the end of 2023.

While Boeing is setting up shop in Japan to begin SAF R&D, World Energy plans to convert a refinery in Houston into a SAF unit.

In March, Alfanar of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, announced an investment of £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in a UK initiative that creates SAF from garbage.

SAF's high price, compared to regular jet fuel, will reduce its usefulness, says KAPSARC. According to IATA, the price of SAF is often two to four times that of regular aviation gasoline.

Air Transport Action Group reports that 1,478 airlines were responsible for 2.1% of all carbon dioxide emissions and 12.0% of the transportation sector's discharge in 2019.

Spending on fossil fuels will continue to be a key determinant in the success or failure of this industry for the foreseeable future. Like railroads and heavy-goods vehicles, commercial aircraft cannot use electric engines because they do not generate enough push to propel the aircraft.

To supply only about 2% of the industry's fuel requirements, IATA predicts SAF output would peak at 7.9 billion gallons in 2025. Association estimates put 2050 production at 449 billion litres, satisfying 65% of industry need.