Decarbonising Flight: Why Sustainable Aviation Fuel Must Scale — and Fast
- Eric Lewis
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is widely seen as the aviation industry’s clearest route to net zero — but as the experts at Foresight’s recent webinar made clear, the challenge now is moving from promise to production.
Hosted by Tiernan Phipps, the “Decarbonising Flight: Advancing Sustainable Aviation Fuel” webinar brought together key voices across the SAF ecosystem to explore what’s driving growth, what’s holding it back, and how policy, technology, and investment must align to make low-carbon flight a reality.
“SAF will contribute around 60% of aviation’s net zero target” — Ismar Sabanovic, IATA
Opening the session, Ismar Sabanovic, Manager of Environmental Programs at IATA, set the tone with a stark reminder of the scale of the challenge:
“We see SAF as a key decarbonization lever. Based on our net zero roadmap, we anticipate that SAF would contribute around 60% of our net zero target… but today, around 0.7% of all jet fuel worldwide is SAF. That’s less than 1%.”
Despite that daunting ramp-up, Sabanovic was optimistic.
“Production has doubled year over year for the past two years… both the availability and the cost are the main obstacles, but we can do it.”
He also highlighted IATA’s role in providing practical tools like the new CADOS SAF Registry, which helps airlines and their customers track SAF environmental attributes.
“We don’t only want to be a think tank — we want to be a do tank,” he said. “We want to provide practical solutions… accessible at low or no cost.”
“We launched Nuclear for E-Fuels to unlock new decarbonised power” — Sarah Wilkin, Fly Green Alliance
Next, Sarah Wilkin, Founder and CEO of Fly Green Alliance, brought a fresh angle — linking the SAF challenge to nuclear and hydrogen innovation through her newly launched Nuclear for E-Fuels initiative.
“We became very aware that e-fuels have certain blockers — access to the grid, financial barriers, investment decisions — and realised these needed to be worked on,” she said.
The initiative, developed with partners including the Hydrogen Energy Association and Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative, is connecting energy sectors that have rarely collaborated before.
“Previously, none of the small modular reactor or nuclear groups were thinking about SAF,” Wilkin explained. “Now we’re starting to do this cross-sector work. Many of them are saying their end use can now be aviation.”
Her aim is clear:
“We want to remove societal misconceptions about nuclear power, bring more acceptance for the greater good of energy supply, and ultimately support SAF production.”
“Technology is ready – now it’s about bankability” — Sophie Zienkiewicz, Carbon Neutral Fuels“
For Sophie Zienkiewicz, Co-Founder of Carbon Neutral Fuels (CNF), the focus is on building and financing real projects.
“We’re a project developer following the Fischer-Tropsch pathway,” she said. “Our flagship project is a 25,000 tonne per year synthetic blend component facility in West Cumbria.”
She emphasised that CNF has been strategic about site selection:
“It’s dominated by the grid connection and the availability of low-carbon electrons. We wanted to be where low-carbon power is abundant.”
For Zienkiewicz, the technology is proven — the barrier is financial confidence.
“It’s one thing knowing the technology, but another getting the finance to actually build it. That’s why the UK’s Advanced Fuels Fund and upcoming Revenue Certainty Mechanism are so important.”
And crucially, she added:
“Technology is ready — finance must follow.”
We can already make better fuels — the challenge is scale and funding” — Kayode Osonuga, Information Age Resources
Kayode Osonuga, Founder of Information Age Resources, spoke from the front lines of SAF technology development.
“On my day-to-day work, we produce these fuels, analyse them, and look at how to scale up,” he said. “The science is there — we can create fuel that’s comparable to Jet A1, even slightly better in emissions.”
But like others, he warned that the biggest barriers are not technical.
“The challenge is scaling and integration,” he noted. “We need the right funding and the right people to get this technology to full scale.”
And he reminded the audience of the bigger picture:
“We’re trying to solve the challenge of decarbonising flights. It’s not just a cost issue — it’s about getting capital to enhance the technology and move faster.”
“Cost and policy certainty are key – but the UK is on the right track” — Kata Cserep, PA Consulting
Closing the speaker lineup, Kata Cserep, Global Aviation Lead at PA Consulting, zoomed out to the policy and investment landscape.
“The scale-up we’re talking about in SAF is unique — but it’s not the first energy transition,” she said. “We already have blueprints for what needs to be in place: capital, technology, infrastructure, skills, and the right frameworks.”
She praised the UK’s SAF mandate and government support:
“The UK is ticking many of the boxes. The mandate is positive. The Revenue Certainty Mechanism will be key — it will unlock capital that’s interested in this solution but can’t yet take it to the bank.”
Yet she was frank about the barriers:
“The number one reason cited is cost. Inconsistent government policies make it really challenging for producers, investors, and airlines to make long-term decisions.”
Still, Cserep sees reason for optimism:
“Momentum is building — we just need to move faster.”
The takeaway: collaboration, capital, and urgency
Across all speakers, one theme rang clear: the technology exists — now the world needs to match it with finance, policy, and pace.
From IATA’s global registry and CNF’s pioneering plant, to Fly Green Alliance’s cross-sector partnerships and PA Consulting’s strategic frameworks, the pieces are falling into place.
But as Tiernan Phipps closed the session, he captured the collective sentiment of the day:
“Momentum is building — but it must move faster.”
Watch this space for more insights from the Foresight Webinar Series — connecting the people and ideas shaping the future of clean aviation.
