Study to probe SAF potential in India

Airport operators Groupe ADP and GMR Airports alongside Airbus, Axens and Safran have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct a joint study on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and their potential in India.
The objective of the study, conducted under the lead and coordination of Groupe ADP and GMR Airports is to understand and evaluate the demand, the challenges and opportunities of supply, infrastructure and fuelling, as well as to prepare a business case for SAF production and use in India for all kind of aviation purposes.
Rather than being refined from petroleum, SAF is produced from sustainable resources such as waste oils from a biological origin, agri residues, municipal solid wastes or algae.
SAF produced using the most advanced pathways can provide CO2 emission reduction of up to 85% across the entire SAF lifecycle.
The aviation sector globally contributes to 2-3% of CO2 emissions as compared to other sectors.
In 2009, the aviation industry collectively agreed under the frame of ATAG (Air Transport Action Group) to the world’s first set of sector-specific climate change targets.
These targets include carbon neutral growth from 2020 and achieving 50% reduction in carbon emission by 2050 relative to a 2005 baseline.
In 2021, the ATAG commitments have been modified to aim at Net Zero in 2050, in order to be coherent with current global roadmaps defined in the Paris Agreement with 1.5°C temperature limit scenario.
To realise this ambitious goal for the aviation sector, ATAG has identified SAF as one of the most promising options.
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) also stressed the need for massive deployment of SAF in its work dedicated to LTAG (Long Term Aspirational Goals) recently adopted.