Advanced BioFuels USA

(Roundtable on Sustainabilty of Biomaterials)  To explore and advance Ethiopia’s capacity to produce biofuels for use as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) initiated the development of a 10-year SAF Roadmap for the country.

The main purpose of the roadmap is to identify the ideal feedstock and technology mix — one that adheres to the robust RSB Standards while informing policymakers on the necessary policy actions needed to incentivise SAF and supporting the development of more proposals and plans aimed at unlocking further funding and investment into SAF research, development, and pilot production.

This report was compiled through work with a SAF Steering Committee that represented the local government, experts, and national airline in examining research and documentation reflecting the country’s internal and external environment. SWOT and GAP analyses were also performed. At the same time, feedstock availability was reviewed and the details of the SAF conversion pathways were reported. SAF developments from a global perspective have also been included.

The main findings of the roadmap process are as follows:
● The Ethiopian economy relies heavily on agriculture, identified as an ‘enabling sector’ in the country’s 10-year development plan (2021–2030): The Pathway to Prosperity.
● Ethiopia’s fuel demand is entirely met through imports, with the import of aviation fuel and diesel fuel having increased by 49.4 % and 111 % respectively from 2010 to 2018.
● The development of biodiesel in Ethiopia has been limited to three pilot plants, with no existing biorefinery within the country.
● Only three blending facilities in Ethiopia presently — used for 5% blending of ethanol with gasoline — could be used for SAF blending, and there are only two ethanol distilleries.
● Ethiopia has no blending mandate for biodiesel.
● In its 15-year growth strategy, the Ethiopian Ministry of Transport prescribes a 10% mix of SAF, which would amount to almost 530,000 litres of SAF by 2028/2029.
● The Ethiopian oil industry regulatory framework in its current form cannot address the present and future growth challenges it faces.
● The sole commercially available SAF conversion pathway is hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) technology, an oil-to-fuel pathway.
● Agricultural residues, castor (Ricinus sp.), Ethiopian mustard/Brassica carinata, Jatropha curcas, sugarcane, and water hyacinth were examined as potential feedstocks for delivering locally produced SAF. Castor (foreseen in the Biofuels Development and Utilisation Strategy) and Ethiopian mustard (native to the central highlands of Ethiopia)
stand out as the most prominent candidates for SAF production via HEFA technology, although more research is needed.

● Smallholder farmers scattered over large areas in the country, scarce inputs, inefficient handling chains, and high post-harvest losses contribute to moderate oil feedstock production in the country, with potential for improvement.

Taking these findings into consideration, the key prerequisites for the development of a national SAF industry are to:

● Ensure sustainable and non-erratic production of high oil feedstock volumes in compliance with the requirements of the RSB sustainability framework.
● Proceed with the required legal and regulatory amendments to clearly link the aviation transport mode with biofuel deployment.
● Realise the Ethiopian government’s clear intention to support the development of the national biofuel industry — specifically focusing on SAF production — by fostering the participation of the private sector via the establishment of appropriate joint-venture and public-private partnership schemes, so long as fair competition is not compromised.
● Initiate focused feasibility studies on the utilisation of selected feedstocks for SAF production to validate yields, taking into consideration environmental and social impacts.
● Invest in improving the poor public infrastructure (i.e., roads and utilities) that are hindering supply chain logistics and economics.
● Elevate currently low research and investment levels, when compared to similar African countries.
● Invest in development of human resources, preparing workers for the highly skilled roles required — particularly for feedstock processing..

The roadmap for development of a national SAF industry ideally consists of three consecutive phases:
● Phase 1 (2021–2023): establish an enabling policy environment.
● Phase 2 (2024–2028): demonstrate the potential and ensure an open economy.
● Phase 3 (2029–2030): forward-looking plan (as illustrated in Figure 1

This report is published under the ‘Fuelling the Sustainable Bioeconomy’ project supported through a grant from The Boeing Company October 2021  READ MORE