SINGAPORE- Demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) should see a long-sought boost after regional airline hub Singapore said it would require SAF on flights from 2026, but high costs and uncertain raw material supply will mean barriers to wider adoption remain.
The city-state will initially require flights to use 1 percent SAF, possibly rising to 3 percent -5 percent by 2030 depending on wider availability and adoption, which will be paid for by a levy on tickets, its transport minister said on Monday ahead of the Singapore Airshow this week.
Aviation produces about 2 percent of the world’s emissions and is considered one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize because of the high costs and lack of SAF supply and the long life of aircraft limits the introduction of newer technologies to lower emissions.
SAF, which can be made synthetically from hydrogen or from biological materials such as used cooking oil or wood chips, can cost five times as much as conventional fuel and accounts for just 0.2 percent of the jet fuel market.
