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Sustainable aviation fuel could bring India’s industry to net-zero

India

Delhi – India has promised to get 50 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2030.

Targeting the aviation sector, an economy of significant growth is key to reaching energy, emission, and sustainability objectives for India.

The government of India must introduce policies that enable the innovation and infrastructure necessary to allow sustainable aviation fuel to help the aviation sector reach its renewable energy goals.

The dangers associated with extreme climate events have been assessed time and again at global forums leaving no doubt that it’s time for governments and businesses to act.

India has promised to get 50 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2030.

Progressive reforms and policies in the last decade have demonstrated that India cares about the climate and building the infrastructure required for a resilient future.

However, transitioning to a low carbon economy needs comprehensive strategies for the sectors most responsible for GHGs and those hardest to decarbonise, such as its thriving aviation sector, which is expecting double-digit growth.

That’s why in the last quarter of 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Before that, the International Civil Aviation Organisation adopted the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, binding the sector to carbon-neutral growth beginning no later than 2027.

The country, therefore, needs a robust action plan to achieve this target, deployable today. The good news is it can look to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), an increasingly available and proven solution to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint.

Aircrafts require energy-dense liquid fuels – currently fossil jet fuel. Like fossil jet, SAF contains carbon but rather than petroleum, the carbon in SAF can come from waste streams or sustainably grown crops, thereby leaving fossil carbon in the ground.

There are now seven pathways defined in ASTM International D7566 that are qualified for commercial use, including alcohol-to-jet (ATJ), which can use ethanol as feedstock. Feedstock costs make up around 70-80 percent of the production cost of SAF, so having low-cost, available and sustainable feedstock is critical.

Ethanol as a sustainable aviation fuel feedstock is a suitable option for India, backed by its agile, experienced and integrated ethanol value chains, given that India’s energy sector is transitioning to greener technologies.

In India, carbon in agricultural residues, solid waste, and industrial off-gases can provide more than 30 billion litres per year of sustainable ethanol.

Creating a thriving, sustainable aviation sector using domestic wastes and residues can have a similar path and support home-grown talent, employment and decarbonisation.

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