News / 'Adoption of SAF no longer an engineering challenge, it's an economic one'

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The oil and gas industry is failing air cargo, putting in just a fraction of the investment needed for sustainable aviation fuel, delegates at WCS in Hong Kong heard this week. 

All roadmaps for net-zero aviation see SAF as “the most important factor”, but without reliable production, IATA’s 2050 goals will be near-impossible. 

The association’s SVP of sustainability, Marie Owens Thomsen, explained that it was very difficult to over-emphasise the importance of SAF in achieving the target. 

And Fabiano Pacinno, head of sustainability for Kuehne + Nagel, added: “Only solutions that fly with [SAF] will work.”

Despite its importance, however, production of SAF has stalled in recent years, largely due to global economic strain. 

“It’s fair to say, there ain’t none,” said Ms Owens Thomsen, revealing that the industry only saw 500,000 tonnes of SAF in 2023 – a fraction of the 500m tonnes needed by 2050.  

“It can be done, but the crazy part is it has to be done in 26 years,” she said.  

Ms Owens Thomsen believes the main roadblock to SAF production is a lack of capital. She added: “We know we can do it, we just need to find the money.” 

Indeed, general manager of sustainability at Cathay Pacific Grace Cheung pointed out that “the cost of SAF is so much more expensive than fossil fuels”.  

And Steve Townes, vice chairman of ACL Airshop, added: “The widespread adoption of SAF is no longer just an engineering challenge, it’s an economic one.” 

However, Ms Owens Thomsen told delegates that the $800bn of investment that went into the oil and gas industry last year was twice the estimated need – thus, she added: “I would dare to call this spare cash that’s floating around.” 

Just 19% of that investment would “satisfy our industry’s needs”, at an estimated $150bn a year, she said.

But, she added: “It is clear beyond any kind of doubt that the oil and gas industry is not interested.” Ms Owens Thomsen revealed that this sector only spent $20bn on renewables in 2022, less than 3% of its total spend.  

The sustainability panel speakers emphasised that in order to achieve emissions goals, stakeholders across all industries must work together. 

“Sustainability is such a daunting task, we don’t think anyone could do it alone,” said Ms Cheung.  

However, Ms Owens Thomsen concluded with an overall note of optimism. She told delegates: “Getting to net zero by 2050 might sound daunting, but it’s absolutely do-able.”