The CEO of the UK’s Jet Zero Council has urged the government to further “back” the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by introducing a mandate requiring airlines to use at least 10 per of the fuel for flights by 2030.
Emma Gilthorpe, who heads up the council, said that setting a mandate for the minimum use of SAF by airlines would be “incredibly helpful” in driving more use of the fuel and reducing its price.
The Jet Zero Council is a partnership between the aviation industry and the UK government looking at how to drive down the sector’s emissions to reach net-zero by 2050. Gilthorpe is also currently chief operating officer of London Heathrow airport.
Gilthorpe, appearing at the House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee last week, said: “We must back SAF so that we can scale up and get the price down. We’re at an inflexion point; we have to keep up the momentum in the next couple of years.
“We need to finalise the mandate of 10 per cent SAF by 2030. It is, in effect, signalling the demand in the market.
“SAF is approximately four times more expensive than kerosene. As long as we have that price differential, it will have a dampening effect on the market.”
Aviation minister Robert Courts, appearing at the same committee hearing, said: “We have heard very clearly the request from the industry. Mandating is something we are consulting on and look forward to bringing it forward as soon as we can.”
Courts added that the subject of using SAF was “complicated” due to the fact the fuel can be made up of different materials, such as crops, waste and air capture, which were all at different stages of development.
France has already introduced a mandate requiring all airlines refuelling in the country to use at least one per cent of SAF in their fuel mix from 1 January 2022. This percentage is set to increase to two per cent in 2025 and five per cent in 2030.