Global SAF Output To Reach 1.9 Mln Tonnes In 2025, Slower Production Next Year - IATA

By Kisho Kumari Sucedaram

GENEVA, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Global sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) output is expected to reach 1.9 million tonnes (Mt), or equal to 2.4 billion litres, this year, double the 1 Mt produced in 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

However, in 2026, SAF production growth is projected to slow, reaching only 2.4 Mt.  

It said the estimated SAF output for 2025 (1.9 Mt) is a downward revision from IATA’s earlier forecasts due to a lack of policy support to take full advantage of installed SAF capacities.  

“Also, SAF production in 2025 represents only 0.6 per cent of total jet fuel consumption, increasing to 0.8 per cent the following year. At current price levels, the SAF premium translates into an additional US$3.6 billion (US$1 = RM4.11) in fuel costs for the industry in 2025,” it said. 

According to IATA senior vice-president for sustainability and chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen, current policies are evidently not having the desired effect, given the low SAF production volumes.

“Faced with such facts, regulators must course-correct, ensure the long-term viability of SAF production, and achieve scale so that costs can come down,” she said at the IATA Media Global Day held here today.

She also stressed that mandates have done just the opposite, and it is outrageous to repeat the same mistakes with electro-SAF (e-SAF) mandates.

E-SAF mandates are government regulations requiring fuel suppliers to blend increasing percentages of low-carbon SAF into jet fuel, with specific sub-mandates for e-SAF (power-to-liquid) to drive decarbonisation of aviation by using renewable electricity for production.

-- BERNAMA