New research from climate control in the United Kingdom, Climate Change CommitteeI found that the country’s leading aviation industry will be the country’s greenhouse gases by 2040, which is expected to explain 27 % of the total carbon emissions by this time.
This reflects the challenges of carbon removal faced by the sector compared to others. At the same time, the aviation industry will not only grow with expansion at Heathrow and Gatwick airports that are expected to be an important part of the UK government’s efforts to stimulate economic growth.
SAF plays an important role in enabling the expansion of flight in the United Kingdom without compromising the environmental protection.
Its importance is recognized by the SAF mandate in the country at all Earlier this year. This begins with the request of 2 % of the total demand for jet fuel in the United Kingdom this year, with this in line with 10 % increased in 2030, then 22 % by 2040. In total, it aims to provide up to 6.3 megatonia of carbon sacrifice annually by 2040.
Therefore, SAF production will need to expand to deliver the demand. But there are challenges to overcome them first. There are already a number of SAF projects taking place in the United Kingdom, but the complications in this sector suffocate progress.
However, the SAF mandate provides a new driving force for the industry to navigate the challenges that hinder the scaling of SAF production, with cooperation at the heart of the solution.
Overcoming barriers
There are many barriers that have stopped making SAF projects in the United Kingdom. In the first place, the lack of certainty about what is in fact considered SAF in the UK has regained investment, although the last state is working to correct this.
One of the main obstacles currently is a source of concern about the high costs involved in these projects. Advanced technologies and the raw materials required for SAF make them more expensive than traditional flying fuel. This leads to SAF to be less competitive, causing airports and airlines to be adopted without incentives.
And when it comes to developing these projects, those who look forward to using waste oils, agricultural waste or allocated energy crops must deal with concerns related to the availability of supply, as the sector is in competition with other sustainable industries such as biofuel production.
This means that despite the need for financial resources to increase production and open the great capabilities of this industry, investors are cautious.
Help projects take off
Despite these barriers, we see companies to overcome them. Especially between smaller plans, we see innovative emerging techniques to help obtain the projects we need outside the ground.
For example, flexible hydrogen sources of biomethan or through production by electrolysis is one of the ways we see to provide a substitute for waste oils, which helps to address problems related to the availability of raw materials. Besides, there are also practical innovations that are now used to increase SAF revenues, which reduces waste and reduce carbon intensity in the production process.
In Bilfinger UK, we also participate in many SAF projects as construction partners, helping to reduce risks and improve cost.
The key to success in this matter was to participate with stakeholders and sub -contractors early, to save time for detailed discussions and allow precise estimates of cost. This, in addition to building an honest and transparent relationship with customers to enhance cooperation, was necessary in helping to overcome the uncertainty we saw when it comes to SAF.
We also see the government’s efforts to help reduce investment concerns, with Advanced fuel box It extends to 63 million pounds. There is now a clear batch between the public and private sectors to intensify the development of local SAF.
SAF scam
The SAF mandate launched the starting pistol for the sector, but there are still measures that must be taken to help the sector to make progress that it needs and realizes its full potential to lead our transfer to a more green economy.
Basically, there is still a need to finish the mechanism of certainty revenue by the UK government to provide more certainty in financing and profits of future projects and preventing developers from being left in a state of forgetfulness.
But once this is implemented, it will be up to institutions across all levels of supply chain to engage in the necessary cooperation to help our SAF projects take off.