Indian Oil to supply sustainable aviation fuel to Air India; MoU inked to set the ball rolling

By the end of this calendar year, IOC will have the capacity to produce 35,000 tonnes per year of SAF from used cooking oil, which will be sourced from large hotel chains, restaurants, and sweets and snacks majors like Haldiram’s, which usually discard cooking oil after single use.

IOC became the first company in India to receive the ISCC CORSIA certification for SAF production at its Panipat refinery in Haryana. ISCC CORSIA is a certification system for compliance with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) criteria for SAF. It is a prerequisite for commercial SAF production. According to IOC, the certification also sets a benchmark for other domestic refiners and industry players to scale up SAF production.

SAF is a biofuel that is produced from sustainable feedstocks and has chemistry similar to conventional aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel, which is derived from crude oil. This means that existing aircraft engines can easily use the SAF-ATF blend. For instance, Airbus claims that all its aircraft are capable of flying on a maximum 50 per cent blend of SAF and conventional fuel. Various Indian airlines have already operated successfully a few test and demonstration flights using jet fuel doped with SAF in various proportions. According to aviation industry and energy experts, SAF alone is likely to account for over 60 per cent of the global aviation industry’s decarbonisation efforts.

The year 2027 will be an important one for adoption of SAF globally with the mandatory phase of CORSIA kicking in. 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, too, will have to comply with the mandatory phase starting 2027. In line with the CORSIA framework, India’s National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) has set the initial indicative targets for blending of SAF with jet fuel 2027 onwards, starting with international flights. The indicative targets are: 1 per cent blending in 2027 and 2 per cent in 2028. The government is expected to announce SAF blending mandates for domestic flights in India as well, but only after blending for international flights begins 2027 onwards.

“By integrating certified green fuels into commercial operations, Indian Oil and Air India are together reinforcing India’s position as a front-runner in sustainable aviation and energy transition. Through this MoU, IOCL and Air India aim to collaborate on the supply of SAF to meet CORSIA targets for international flights, ensuring a reliable, transparent, and sustainable fuel supply to support both companies’ environmental goals,” Air India and IOC said in a statement.

According to Air India, the MoU is part of the airline’s efforts that align with India’s broader push for green aviation, which includes blending regular jet fuel with SAF, and development of supply chains for the biofuel across the country. As part of its broader strategy to achieve the International Air Transport Association’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050 and comply with CORSIA obligations, Air India is actively pursuing initiatives in operational efficiency, low-carbon emissions, and SAF.

While IOC has already received the certification for the used cooking oil pathway for SAF production, the company is also working on setting up units based on the alcohol-to-jet pathway, which involves using ethanol as a feedstock to make SAF. A few other companies in India are also working to build units based on the various SAF manufacturing pathways.