European airlines do better than US on SAF promises

Most airlines still have a long way to go in using sustainable jet fuel, despite their promise to get at least 10% of their fuel from sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, by the decade’s end. That’s according to an analysis by Bloomberg Green. American Airlines does not excel in the use of SAFs, while airlines from the European Union—noblesse oblige—do considerably better.

German courier DHL Group, or the Deutsche Post AG, is the best student in the class, with more than 3% sustainable fuel. Among passenger airlines, Air France-KLM takes the lead with 1.1% SAF. In contrast, American airlines, such as FedEx (0%) and United Airlines (0.17%), lag far behind.

According to figures from the International Air Transport Association IATA, all airlines combined used 0.17% renewable kerosene for their fleets in 2023. That is a slight increase from 2021, when it was only 0.04%.

Scale up necessary

The EU’s incentives partly explain European airlines’ better scores: European rules require airlines to use at least 2% SAF starting next year. At the same time, some European airports also offer a one-off premium for using SAFs. In the United States, while airlines are encouraged, there is no obligation.

This year, about 1.5 million tons of SAF will be used in aircraft worldwide. This would account for 0.53% of aviation’s fuel needs in 2024. This puts SAF production on track, but to meet future demand, the production of all renewable fuels will need to scale up rapidly.

SAFs are also much more expensive than ‘regular’ kerosene, about three times as much. Such renewable fuels are mainly made from deep-frying fat, biomass, or animal fats today, and the amount available is not infinite.

Therefore, other ways of producing SAF without generating additional emissions must eventually be considered. E-fuels, the next generation of SAF, could be a solution. These are made from CO2 combined with hydrogen and, when used, release only the original amount of CO2.

IATA estimates that by 2030, the amount of SAF available could grow to 51 million tons. This would allow one-sixth of the current required fuel cargo to be renewable, although the association remains skeptical about flying on 5% SAF by 2030.

No other viable options yet

Aviation represents about 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. That share will likely increase in coming years as other polluters, such as the energy sector and automobiles, switch to greener alternatives, and the aviation sector expects significant growth. For aviation, SAFs appear to be the only viable option for reducing emissions.

IATA estimates that SAF, always used with at least 50% traditional fuels, could contribute around 65% of the emissions reduction needed by aviation to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.