Review of the Potential for Biofuels in Aviation

Aviation Fuel (Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)), UK (United Kingdom)

March 15, 2010

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by E4Tech (UK Committee on Climate Change) The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is an independent body which provides advice to (UK) Government on defining and setting carbon budgets, and on wider climate change issues. The CCC’s first report, published in December 2008, recommended that the Committee report annually on UK trends in international aviation emissions, their climate impact, developments in abatement efforts and policy levers. More specifically, in January 2009 the Committee was asked by the Secretaries of State for Transport and Energy and Climate Change to report on how a new target to get aviation emissions in 2050 below 2005 levels could be met. To address this question, the Committee has commissioned a series of studies modelling projected UK demand for aviation and the associated emissions, with a project on the potential for modal shift from air to rail, and this project on the potential for biofuels to reduce emissions from UK aviation, feeding into the overall assessment1.

This project assessed the potential for biofuels in aviation globally, in terms of the potential uptake, and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings, concluding that: Biofuels could supply between 35 and 100% of global jet fuel demand in 2050, with potential for high greenhouse gas savings, provided that the risk of land use change from the production of feedstocks is managed effectively • Biomass derived aviation fuels are a viable alternative to conventional jet fuel, with certification of blends up to 50% in place or imminent, and potential for higher blends up to 100% biofuels in the future. • By 2020 biofuels could represent up to 1.6% of the fuel mix, if biofuel production plants and new crop types are successful, and are deployed quickly. Biofuels could then ramp up quickly from 2020 to supply between 35% and 100% of jet fuel demand in 2050, based on the high end of jet fuel demand projections. • The variation between biofuels uptake scenarios is a result of changing assumptions on the oil and carbon price, the speed and success of development of new feedstock types and new biofuels processes, and environmental and social sustainability considerations. • In all of the scenarios, the average GHG emissions saving from the mix of biofuels used would be around 65-70% at the early stages of deployment, increasing to over 90% in 2050 provided that land use change impacts can be avoided. READ MORE

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