Five noteworthy aviation sustainability developments in the past seven days curated by the Ishka SAVi team.
Here are the new developments to keep in mind:
1. Brazil’s SAF law and well-to-wake emissions targets headed for National Congress approval – Brazil’s lower house (Chamber of Deputies) on 13th March approved (link in Portuguese) a legislative proposal (Combustível do Futuro – or ‘Fuel of the Future’) to introduce biofuel blending mandates for gasoline and diesel with 429 votes in favour and only 22 against or abstaining. Most notably for aviation, the legislative effort sets in motion the establishment of Brazil’s national SAF programme ProBioQAV (Programa Nacional de Combustível Sustentável de Aviação – full details available here in Portuguese). ProBioQAV aims to “encourage research, production, commercialisation and use” of SAF and it establishes that from 2027 aircraft operators will be required to decrease well-to-wake CO2 emissions (emissions in the production of fuel as well as aircraft tailpipe emissions) 1% annually on domestic flights until reaching 10% by 2037. The CO2 emissions reduction target effectively compels airlines in Brazil to uplift SAF, although the law would exempt operators at airports without SAF supply from compliance. The proposal is now headed for Brazil’s upper house, the Federal Senate.
In other SAF regulatory developments, a European Commission delegated act approved on 14th March has added a number feedstocks (crops on severely degraded land and some intermediate crops) to the Commission’s list of permitted feedstocks for advanced biofuels (Annex IX, Part A of the Renewable Energy Directive) exclusively for aviation biofuels. The “surprise” inclusion of these feedstocks has sparked criticism from the European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA) for altering the “level-playing field” across transportation sectors. For a recap of ReFuelEU Aviation (the EU’s chief SAF legislation), a recording of a European Parliament 6th March panel involving ReFuelEU chief rapporteur MEP Jose Ramon Bauza Diaz and other key stakeholders is now available to view.
2. New WEF report on SAF – The World Economic Forum (WEF) on 13th March published a 33-page insight report titled Scaling Up Sustainable Aviation Fuel Supply: Overcoming Barriers in Europe, the US and the Middle East in collaboration with global management consulting firm Kearney. The report provides a comprehensive set of key actions that stakeholders along the entire aviation value chain should take to move towards 10% SAF by 2030 and subsequent sector decarbonization by 2050. Among other things, the report (page 9) includes a comprehensive and updated map of SAF policy around the world. Meanwhile, in a related SAF industry development, South African energy giant Sasol and Danish SAF catalyst leader Topsoe announced on 14th March the launch of a joint venture, Zaffra. Headquartered in Amsterdam, Zaffra is “set to become a key player in the aviation industry, focusing on the development and delivery” of SAF. Zaffra will be led by Shell Aviation’s former president Jan Toschka.
3. Clean propulsion developments: NASA, Magpie, and more… - Some notable clean propulsion developments this week include NASA’s release of a new rendering of the X-66 from Boeing (the concept aircraft forming the basis of a future Boeing 737 replacement). According to NASA, the rendering demonstrates the aircraft’s signature extra-long, thin wings stabilized by diagonal struts, known as the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept. Meanwhile, following its purchase by Ampaire reported last week, Magpie Aviation has released its concept for a regional electric cargo aircraft called the MP-1 Cargo as an open-source unit economic model for others in the industry to build upon. Meanwhile, and although Ishka SAVi’s clean propulsion coverage generally excludes e-VTOLs, it is worth noting that Airbus’ e-VTOL has now officially made its debut.
4. New NZBA criteria includes capital markets activity in decarbonisation targets – Incidentally timed with Ishka SAVi’s latest analysis of emissions intensity targets for aviation by global lenders, the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) published the second version this week of its Guidelines for Climate Target Setting for Banks. The revised guidelines fulfil a three-year revision requirement set in 2021. One of the most notable updates is the requirement for new or revised sector decarbonisation targets (and all existing targets by November 2025) to also cover capital markets arranging and underwriting activities (both equity and debt). NGO BankTrack, which focuses on banks and the activities they finance, said the change is “positive” given that “for many banks [capital markets offerings] forms a key part of their portfolio.” As Ishka understands it, the change effectively means that NZBA-member banks with significant aviation activity will not only have to report emissions intensity for their lending activity, but also for capital markets clients including airlines and lessors.
5. Breakfast of SAF champions: Heathrow initiative sparks greenwashing row – Finally this week, an unusual initiative by Heathrow Airport has drawn interest for its creativity and its April Fool’s potential. Labelled a “first of its kind breakfast”, The Fly Up (a play on words on fry-up, or an English full breakfast) has become the latest culinary offering of renowned chef Heston Blumenthal’s The Perfectionists’ Café in Heathrow Terminal 2. The airport says this breakfast helps to “create awareness” of SAF, as only 14% of surveyed travellers have heard of it. Heathrow is working with waste management service Quatra to “collect, clean and recycle the used cooking oils from the Fly Up breakfast,” which can be transformed into biofuels including SAF. However, the idea that a breakfast serving can have any meaningful impact on SAF production is not for everyone. NGO A Free Ride has called The Fly Up breakfast “greenwash” and alluded to an analysis by the Royal Aeronautical Society published an analysis that estimated that 357,143 portions of chips would be needed to fuel a transatlantic Boeing 787 flight with neat SAF – or 1,818 plates of chips per passenger. Transport & Environment (T&E) UK policy manager Matt Finch also pointed out that UK UCO collection is nothing new, most of it goes to road biofuels, and domestic UCO only accounts for 7% of the UK’s requirements today. Finch, however, concedes that Heathrow’s ambition to increase knowledge about SAF is “admirable.”
