As airlines across the globe are confronting the climate crisis, aircraft are quickly changing to address the need for environmental consciousness. In the pursuit of sustainability, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) set the goal to transition the aviation industry to carbon neutrality by 2050, amounting to the reduction of nearly 1 gigatons of CO2. Reaching this goal will require the use of alternative fuel sources such as sustainable aviation fuel and electric aircraft. There is also the potential change of fuel required for the general aviation aircraft used for flight training, as there is increasing political pressure to police the presence of lead-based fuels. While these changes are impending, questions remain about the downstream effect of these changes on how aircraft will fly. Jekaterina Shalopanova, Chief Business Officer of Aerviva, explains this next generation of fuels, and provides insight into how the changes will affect the task of flying.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

“Sustainable aviation fuel has emerged as a clear frontrunner for the industry’s change to carbon neutrality,” Shalopanova said. “However, luckily those in the industry who use Jet-A,  SAF will be a ‘drop-in’ solution for climate responsibility, and for the most part will be indistinguishable from the fuel blends we use today.”

According to McKinsey & Company, around 4.5 Megatons of SAF will be demanded by 2030. Unlike Jet-A, which is a refined kerosene gas originating from petroleum, SAF uses feedstocks such plants, waste, cooking oil, and a variety of other naturally occurring sources. On a chemical level, SAF uses the same hydrocarbons that have been present in Jet-A for years, complying with widely acceptable jet fueling standards such as EI/JIG-1530, JIG1, JIG2, ATA103. Engine manufacturers such as Pratt & Whitney report that more than 450,000 commercial flights have already operated with SAF in 2022 on airlines such as Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, DHL, Delta, United, and others, while GE says that their most popular jet engines such as the CFM-56 that powers the 737 and A320 are SAF ready.

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