Aviation leaders call for urgent action to scale eSAF

A new report from Project SkyPower highlights the urgent need for accelerated action to scale eSAF (electro-fueled sustainable aviation fuel) production.

The report warns that the European aviation industry faces a critical two-year window to secure final investment decisions for first-of-a-kind eSAF plants or risk missing crucial regulatory mandates.

Project SkyPower, a collaborative initiative led by high-profile CEOs from across the European aviation value chain, aims to unlock the potential of eSAF.

The project’s economic modeling indicates a substantial investment of €15-25bn by 2030 and annual investments of €3-5bn are needed to reach the scale required by SAF blending mandates and bridge the cost gap with fossil jet fuel.

“Today, our industry faces its biggest challenge yet: reducing its climate impact. eSAF will play an important role in addressing this challenge. Project SkyPower is modeling the conditions required to overcome the barriers to scaling eSAF. By working together, we now have a shared economic model for eSAF, and an action plan to be implemented by the wider aviation ecosystem. It is this kind of collaboration that gives us the best chance of reducing our impact on the environment while continuing to deliver economic and social benefits,” said Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM and co-chair of Project SkyPower on behalf of Air France-KLM.

• Project SkyPower’s 10-point action plan focuses on three key objectives:
• Bridging the cost gap between eSAF and fossil jet fuel through public funding.
• Securing long-term demand for eSAF at a competitive price.
• Mitigating risks associated with first-of-a-kind eSAF projects to attract commercial investment.

“Successful delivery of Project SkyPower’s action plan will fundamentally change the eSAF landscape, establishing the necessary conditions to take Final Investment Decisions and accelerate this critical technology towards commercial operation by 2030,” said Amy Hebert, CEO of Arcadia eFuels and co-chair of Project SkyPower. “With the commitment and expertise of our members from across the value chain, we are poised to deliver tangible impact.”

You can read the Project SkyPower report here.