Federal Government Releases Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blueprint

by Sean Pratt (Western Producer) The document reaffirms an earlier target of 10 per cent SAF use by 2030, which could create a massive new market for canola -- It’s estimated that if canola-based sustainable aviation fuel rceived a 50 per cent share of the market, it would create a new annual demand for 2.45 million tonnes of the crop.

The federal government has released a blueprint for the development of a Sustainable Aviation Fuels industry in Canada.

Transport Canada’s blueprint establishes a plan for meeting Canada’s Aviation Climate Action Plan’s goal of 10 per cent SAF use by 2030.

That would require an estimated one billion litres of SAF sourced from a combination of international supply and domestic production.

“Canada has the feedstock, refining expertise, innovation capacity and domestic airlines to create a world-leading industry that contributes to meeting its own needs and those of other jurisdictions,” Transport Canada stated in its blueprint.

Fred Ghatala, president of Advanced Biofuels Canada, welcomed the long-awaited government document.

“The thing that the blueprint brings, and its most important contribution, is momentum. It signals Canadian government attention to this important file,” he said.

“It is a reaffirmation of an aspirational goal of 10 per cent SAF use by 2030.”

Why It Matters

Ghatala said that if canola-based SAF rceived a 50 per cent share of that market, it would create a new annual demand for 2.45 million tonnes of the crop.

“The European Union’s approach to SAF excludes crops like canola,” he said.

Ottawa and B.C. have already implemented some regulations in support of SAF uptake.

“Despite this effort, a consistent Canadian SAF market has not yet developed and is currently emerging at a slower pace than many European countries and the United States, where a combination of regulation and financial incentives are creating a more favourable investment climate,” stated the blueprint.

There is no sustained commercial production in Canada, and global supplies are “far from guaranteed” due to mounting demand for the product.

Ghatala would like other provinces to follow B.C.’s lead. The province has established a one per cent SAF blending requirement starting in 2028, rising to three per cent by 2030.

It has already eclipsed those targets, achieving a 3.9 per cent SAF blend level in 2025 thanks to the province’s Low Carbon Jet Fuel Incentive Program. That amounted to 81 million litres of the biofuel.

One of the core challenges outlined by the federal government is that SAF can be two to eight times more expensive than conventional jet fuel.

The last big hurdle is the lack of global supply of the product. Available supplies are being usurped by the EU, and the U.S. and Canadian airlines are being forced to pay premiums to import marginal volumes of SAF.

Transport Canada has proposed seven “pillars of action” to help increase availability and access to SAF in Canada.

One of the pillars is for the government to consider long-term policies that could help de-risk the private sector investment needed to establish domestic SAF production and distribution infrastructure and create demand certainty.

Another pillar is to assess opportunities at high traffic airports (Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Edmonton) to establish regional pilot SAF supply chains and explore public-private partnerships to build blending facilities.

The other pillars revolve around forming strategic partnerships, developing codes and standards, accelerating technology development and innovation, creating an emissions accounting system and promoting education and awareness about the benefits of SAF.

Ghatala hopes Ottawa’s SAF blueprint will lead to more regulations and a clear demand signal for Canada’s biofuel sector. READ MORE