During a European Parliament plenary session held in Strasbourg, France, European Union (EU) lawmakers have voted to pass new rules mandating the aviation industry to increase the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) across the bloc, reported Time.
“The five leading European aviation associations representing Europe’s airlines, airports, civil aeronautics industry, and air navigation service providers (…) welcomed the adoption of the refuel EU Aviation Regulation and look forward to further SAF deployment globally,” Airlines for Europe, EU’s largest airline association, said in a statement.
Announced on 6 September, the move established ambitious targets. It highlighted the EU’s commitment towards significantly decarbonising the aviation sector while promoting a more environmentally friendly future for the industry.
At the beginning of this year, the European Commission released a statement highlighting its plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions from flights by at least two-thirds by 2050 compared to “a ‘no action’ scenario.”
According to the report, the regulations awaiting enactment mandate jet fuel suppliers who supply fuel at airports within the EU to ensure at least 2% of that fuel is SAF by 2025. This percentage is slated to increase every five years incrementally. It’s expected to rise to 6 percent in 2030, 20% in 2035, and ultimately hit a phenomenal 63% by 2050.
To reach this target, by 2030, 2.3 million tonnes of SAF needs to be produced. Around 14.8 million tonnes of SAF would be needed by 2040 and 28.6 million tonnes by 2050.
Additionally, under the newly adopted regulations, fuel suppliers must ensure that 1.2% of aviation fuel comes from synthetic sources, starting this year. This is slated to reach 35% by 2050. Synthetic aviation fuel—also called synfuel—is produced through various chemical processes using biomass, captured carbon dioxide emissions, or renewable energy. That results in a fuel with significantly lower carbon emissions when combusted in aircraft engines.
Drop-in SAF can deliver almost the same efficiency as fossil-based aviation fuel but with only a fraction of its carbon footprint. Based on the process and feedstock-production pathway used, it can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80% over the jet fuel lifecycle.
However, despite taking different initiatives across the EU, the production and supply of SAF remain low—less than 0.05% of total EU aviation fuel use.
The EU’s current maximum SAF production capacity is approximately 0.24 million tonnes. That represents just 10% of the sustainable fuel needed to fulfil the EU’s recently approved mandate by 2030.
Again, besides increasing the use of SAF, experts also emphasise ensuring periodic testing of biofuel as the increasing bio-content in SAF can exacerbate microbial contamination. High-end on-site fuel testing kits such as FUELSTAT® by Conidia Bioscience can ensure early detection of microbial growth in biofuel, thus helping avoid expensive maintenance and operational disruptions.
Sohela is an electrical engineer and a self-professed writer with a keen interest in all things tech. When she’s not writing killer content pieces, you’ll find her enjoying tempting foods in her favourite restaurants.
