SABA launches RFP for next-gen sustainable aviation fuel
The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) launched a request for proposal (RFP) to increase the supply of next-generation sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), including power-to-liquids and those using advanced bio-based feedstocks.
This aggregated SAF procurement is designed to deliver a much-needed boost to scalable long-term SAF production capacity.
SABA said that by focusing the RFP on next-gen fuels, the alliance seeks to channel investment toward SAF with fewer feedstock constraints than today’s commercially available fuels, enabling more effective long-term decarbonisation of the aviation sector.
“The SAF market is growing rapidly but the technologies we need to fully decarbonise the aviation sector are still in their infancy,” said Kim Carnahan, CEO of the Center for Green Market Activation and head of SABA Secretariat.
“Investment needs to happen now if we want these technologies to scale post-2030 and keep the aviation sector on track to meet its long-term net zero goals.”
SABA is working with its corporate partners, which includes more than 35 members from a broad range of sectors, including finance, technology, media and entertainment, business consulting, to generate the demand signal needed to give advanced SAF producers confidence to scale production.
Through a book and claim model, corporate customers will be purchasing sustainable aviation fuel certificates (SAFc) that allow them to invest in SAF and capture the environmental benefits, even if the fuel does not flow directly into the planes they fly on.
“Book and claim is the bridge between the aviation industry’s sustainable fuel ambitions and scalable real-world production – and SABA is helping build it,” said Bryan Fisher, managing director at SABA co-founder RMI. “By mobilising corporate demand and catalysing investment in cutting-edge fuel production, we can fast-track innovation, expand high-integrity supply, and deliver the climate results the aviation sector urgently needs.”
Since the alliance’s launch in 2021, it has helped channel approximately $200m total SAF investment: first through a 2021 proof of concept pilot procurement for a short-term offtake period, followed by 2023-2024’s groundbreaking multi-year procurement involving 27 participants and supporting approximately 50m gallons of SAF.
Through the RFP announced today, SABA is targeting longer-term offtakes to help plants get to FID by 2026 and be operational by 2030.