SAF opportunities available in Ireland, new report outlines

There are opportunities for Ireland in the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), according to a report by Aircraft Leasing Ireland (ALI) and KPMG.
Experts estimate that they can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional jet fuel, RTE reported.
"The aviation industry is targeting net zero emissions by 2050," said Marie-Louise Kelly, chairperson of ALI.
"While technologies such as electric flight and hydrogen power are being developed, SAF is the most promising solution that the aviation sector has in the decarbonisation of our skies as it is not only available near-term, but it is also scalable."
The report sets out the actions that the aircraft leasing sector and the Government could take to help with production.
These include include establishing a framework for SAF production, partnering with universities to fund SAF research and development and supporting the creation of a sustainability accreditation register.
"Demand for SAF is growing and its production is ramping up globally, particularly in the US, but existing and planned SAF projects alone cannot decarbonise the aviation sector nor support the levels of demand," said Jan Melgaard, chair of ALI's Sustainability Committee.
"By incentivising the development and production of SAF, this government can help attract what will be a game-changing manufacturing sector to Ireland, which will also lead to the creation of a significant number of highly skilled jobs."
Ireland is well placed to take part in the growth in production of SAF, as most of the world's biggest aircraft leasing firms are based here and together they own nearly 50% of the global aircraft fleet.