Jetting to Net Zero: Will SAF Take-off?

Globally, SAF is gathering pace. The European Union’s ReFuelEU  Aviation mandate requires all EU airports to blend 2% SAF by 2025, rising to 70% by 2050. The United States, under the Inflation Reduction Act, offers tax credits of $1.25 to $1.75 per gallon of SAF, tied to emissions reductions of at least 50%. Singapore plans to mandate a 1% SAF blend in 2026, increasing to 3-5% by 2030, and charge a SAF levy to fund supply chain development. Japan targets 10% SAF use by 2030, while South Korea mandates 1% for international flights by 2027.

Airlines are responding. Many carriers have signed multi-year offtake agreements. Corporate travel programmes are also investing in SAF purchases, reflecting a growing willingness to pay for climate-conscious flying.

Yet the challenge looms. Global SAF production in 2024 stood at just 1.3 billion litres – barely 0.3% of total jet fuel demand. Even with 2024 volumes doubling, output remains far short due to weak airline margins and limited incentives. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), aviation requires 450 billion litres of SAF annually by 2050 to meet net-zero goals, with SAF delivering 65% of emission reduction. Meeting this target would require investments of nearly $128 billion per year.

India is the world’s third-largest aviation market, with more than 350 million passengers annually. Domestic air travel is growing at 10–12% per year, and fleet expansions at Air India and IndiGo will significantly increase aviation emissions within a decade. Efficiency gains from newer aircraft and better operations will help, but not nearly enough.

Here, SAF offers a realistic bridge between growth and sustainability. Unlike many countries, India enjoys a natural feedstock advantage. It produces around 680 million tonnes of agricultural residue annually, of which 180 million tonnes is surplus. Add to this used cooking oil, non-edible oilseeds, sugarcane by-products like bagasse and press mud, and organic municipal waste, and the potential is significant. With these pathways – Hydro processed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), Fischer-Tropsch, and Alcohol-to-Jet – India could produce 8–10 million tonnes of SAF each year, enough to meet a 50% blend by 2030.

India’s successful ethanol blending programme offers valuable lessons. Rising from 1.5% in 2014 to more than 19%  in July 2025, it has built supply chains, policies, and production facilities that could provide a springboard for SAF.

The country has taken early steps. Recently, one of India’s leading largest oil and gas enterprises’s Panipat refinery Indian Oil’s Panipat refinery secured international certification to produce SAF from used cooking oil targeting 35,000 tonnes annually. The mandate requires 1% blending for international flights by 2027, rising to 2% by 2028. But production remains negligible, despite abundant feedstock and growing private interest.

To move from pilots to commercial scale, India needs a clear roadmap:

Quick wins can come from HEFA leveraging waste oils and fats, scaling Alcohol-to-Jet, integrating with the ethanol supply chain, investing in Fischer-Tropsch to use residues and waste, and developing Power-to-Liquids technology for synthetic fuel.