European Aviation Players Launch Project SkyPower to Drive Investment in e-SAF and Meet EU and UK Mandates

by Tony Harrington (GreenAir) A high-profile European coalition has joined forces to urgently advance the production of e-SAF – sustainable aviation fuels produced by combining renewable electricity, water and captured carbon dioxide. Project SkyPower brings together 13 CEOs and more than 50 companies including airlines, airports, energy companies and financiers to push for government policies that enable production of e-SAF from 2030. A report by the new group says Europe has a strong opportunity to capture a big share of the global e-SAF market, which it estimates could be worth €250 billion ($270bn) by 2050 and create up to 90,000 direct jobs. But it argues that to do so will require investments between €15 billion and €25 billion by 2030, encouraged by supportive government policies. Globally, says the report, Europe has 26 of the 31 large-scale e-SAF projects currently proposed. “But while 70% of the global e-SAF project pipeline is located in Europe,” it adds, “no plant has yet reached final investment decision (FID).”

Foundation members of Project SkyPower include Air France-KLM, easyJet, Arcadia eFuels, Copenhagen Airports, private jet service Victor, SAF providers Velocys and SkyNRG, and finance and technology providers including ING, Rockton, Natixis, KGAL and Topsoe. It is co-chaired by Dutch industrialist and former Unilever CEO Paul Polman, and the CEOs of KLM, Marjan Rintel, and Arcadia eFuels, Amy Hebert.

While e-SAF technology is scaled, the group wants government funding from existing taxes on the aviation industry to bridge the premium between e-SAF and fossil fuels, helping to secure long-term demand and mitigating first-of-a-kind project risk to initially unlock commercial capital.

The Project SkyPower report says e-SAF could deliver lifecycle emissions up to 90% lower than conventional aviation fuels with few feedstock constraints compared to other SAF types.

“Bio-SAF, or SAF produced from biogenic material, offers an affordable and commercially available decarbonisation solution for aviation both in the near and long term,” says the report.

“However, due to the globally limited availability of sustainable biomass feedstock and competing demands from other sectors, bio-SAF alone will not be able to decarbonise the aviation industry. It will need to be complemented by large volumes of e-SAF.”

As well, says the report, e-SAF production is held back by a lack of renewable energy generating capacity, and the need to accelerate development of Direct Air Capture technology for trapping atmospheric CO2.

The report says economic modelling performed for Project SkyPower indicates that without government subsidies, the production cost alone of e-SAF in Europe could be five to eight times greater than that of conventional jet fuel, including Emission Trading Scheme costs.

Another of the group’s co-chairs, Arcadia’s Amy Hebert said: “Successful delivery of Project SkyPower’s action plan will fundamentally change the e-SAF landscape, establishing the necessary conditions to take final investment decisions and accelerate this critical technology towards commercial operation by 2030.” Her company is aiming to activate a new e-SAF plant at Vordingborg, on the Danish island of Zealand, in 2026. READ MORE