Sustainable Aviation Fuel can transform rural India in future: IATA Net Zero programs head
IATA’s Preeti Jain emphasized India’s potential to become a major Sustainability Aviation Fuel (SAF) hub. While global SAF output is just one million tonnes, India could produce 40 million tonnes by 2050. With 10% of global biomass feedstock, India must prioritize feedstock, invest in SAF plants, and leverage its ethanol leadership to drive sustainable aviation growth.
The Head of Net Zero Research & Programs at IATA, Preeti Jain. NEW DELHI: The need for producing Sustainability Aviation Fuel (SAF) extensively to meet the airline industry’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050 came up for extensive discussions during the recent annual meet by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The Association also announced that it would soon launch the SAF Matchmaker, which will connect the eco-friendly fuel suppliers globally with the airlines in order to usher in transparency in the SAF market.
With 30% of the operational costs of most airlines going towards buying fuel, where does India, the third biggest aviation market globally, find itself on the SAF front?
The Head of Net Zero Research & Programs at IATA, Preeti Jain, told this reporter, “The Jet fuel demand consumption in the world annually is 300 million tonnes but only one million tonnes of SAF have been produced globally last year and this throws open a massive opportunity. India has the potential to produce around 40 million tonnes of SAF by 2050. This is a real economic opportunity for rural Indian transformation and to fuel sustainable aviation growth and it must not be missed.”
Energy companies in India are looking at co-processing and investing in Ethanol-to-Jet plants to produce SAF. “There needs to be feedstock prioritisation and the government needs to start providing capital support without any delay in SAF plants,” she urged. India could position itself as a leading regional SAF hub in future. It would roughly cost 100 to 150 million US dollars to install one such plant.
“India’s leadership in biofuels is exemplary, with policy support making it the world’s third-largest producer of ethanol,” Jain elaborated. Continued policy momentum is crucial to channelising the country’s biomass and waste resources and adopting new technologies through incentives and research-focused grants, she added.
India is one of the feedstock hotspots in the world with 10% of global biomass feedstock available for SAF. “It is time for India to rationalise its existing feedstocks for aviation, a hard-to-decarbonise sector, and catalyse the SAF story,” the IATA top official added.
Nearly 100 million tonnes of biomass would still be available in the Indian market for SAF after its use in other bio-energy sectors, she pointed out.
To Read more about Ethanol Industry & Bio Energy News, continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : The New Indian Express
