Govt panel sets indicative targets for blending sustainable aviation fuel in ATF from 2027

The decision is in line with the mandatory phase of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which will take effect from 2027. CORSIA, which applies to international flights, would require airlines globally to offset any growth in carbon dioxide emissions beyond the 2020 levels.

Using jet fuel blended with SAF is one of the ways through which carriers can keep their emissions under permissible levels. India, while not a participant in the voluntary phases of CORSIA, will have to comply with the mandatory phase starting 2027.

The NBCC is an inter-ministerial panel under the chairmanship of the petroleum minister for coordination, implementation, and monitoring of the country’s ambitious biofuels programme. The panel includes representatives from over a dozen central ministries. According to the petroleum ministry statement, the stakeholders for the SAF decision included the civil aviation ministry, public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs), and the NITI Aayog, among others.

SAF is a fuel that is produced from sustainable feedstocks and has chemistry similar to conventional ATF or jet fuel, which is derived from crude oil. SAF’s carbon footprint is significantly lower than ATF. A committee on SAF constituted by the petroleum ministry had submitted its recommendations to the government a few months ago. According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, the panel had recommended an initial SAF blending mandate of 1 per cent from 2025, and scaling it up over subsequent years in phases.

“With the involvement of our private sector, with our OMCs (oil marketing companies), we are confident that we can make this 1 per cent a norm. After that we can take it to 4-5 per cent depending upon the kind of calculations we do in terms of feedstock availability. And I have no doubt that this development in SAF will have fantastic benefits for our agricultural sector also,” Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said in May.

“We are working roughly to a calendar based on current (SAF) production–existing and potential…If we target 1 per cent SAF blending in jet fuel, India would require 14 crore litres of SAF per year. For 5 per cent SAF blend, we will require 70 crore litres,” Puri had said at the time.

The country’s largest OMC Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is collaborating with Praj Industries to set up an SAF production unit. IOC is also setting up an SAF unit at its Panipat refinery in collaboration with sustainable fuels technology company LanzaJet. Both these units will be based on the alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ) pathway, which is one of the various pathways available to produce the sustainable fuel. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals also plans to build an SAF unit based on CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum’s technology that uses non-edible oils and used cooking oil as feedstock.

While the government appears to be moving towards announcing SAF blending mandates for Indian carriers, excessive technology and production costs to manufacture SAF is a major concern for airlines. It remains to be seen whether the government would roll out any support or incentives for airlines and SAF manufacturers to make the fuel affordable.