SA has the potential to produce more Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) than its domestic market demands, but must act swiftly to compete with regions like Europe where ESG and environmental concerns and regulations are already a priority.
A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that SA has the potential to produce between 3.2-billion litres and 4.5-billion litres of SAF per year, surpassing the country’s domestic demand of 1.8-billion litres. However, the right policies were needed to fully capitalise on this opportunity.
The ideal would be to produce SAF in sufficient volumes that would allow airlines to purchase it at a cost comparable to traditional Jet A1 kerosene, which is currently between four and eight times cheaper than SAF.
At the recent Wings of Change Focus Africa conference hosted by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) in Johannesburg, the airline body called on SA to mobilise its experience, resources, and infrastructure to accelerate the development of SAF production.
Marie Owens Thomsen, Iata’s senior vice-president for Sustainability and Chief Economist, said SA had vast potential to become a leading SAF producer in the region.
In fact, SA chaired the 2022 Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) at which governments agreed to a long-term goal aligned with the aviation industry’s net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 commitment. The role of SAF in achieving this goal was emphasised.
"Airlines are ready and waiting to purchase SAF as evidenced by the fact that every drop of SAF produced has been purchased and used. But the production volumes are a minute fraction of what aviation needs,” said Thomsen.
“That’s why it is essential for governments of countries with production potential, such as SA, to embrace what is a unique win-win-win opportunity for economic development, energy transition and decarbonised air transportation.”
To capitalise on SA’s SAF potential, Iata urged the government to adopt a strategic plan to accelerate the development of production capabilities.
PetroSA business aviation manager Dumisani Damane took part in an SAF panel discussion at the Iata conference. He subsequently told Business Day that PetroSA was spearheading the development of Biofuels as part of its contribution to net-zero emissions. It has also partnered with the university of the Western Cape to advance biofuels technology.
As a state-owned company, PetroSA took an inclusive approach, he said, which looked at economies of scale and community development, to ensure that its SAF production had a multiplier impact.
SA Cane Growers Association CEO Dr Thomas Funke also took part in the panel discussion on SAF. He told Business Day in an interview that SAF was not being manufactured in SA. However, if economic conditions were favourable, SAF could be produced from sugar cane. He sees the work being done in the sugar industry as a starting point for introducing SAF into the SA aviation sector.
“At present we could use most of our sugar cane used to produce export sugar to go into SAF production. I believe there is a sufficiently large surplus to supply at least one if not two plants with sugar cane for SAF production,” he said.
He highlighted that global forecasts pointed towards being a major game changer, and that countries in the EU, North America and Asia were setting significant targets on emissions reductions for the aviation industry. However, he was sceptical that the price of SAF would be on par with conventional jet fuel.
"The reason is simple: SAF reduces greenhouse gas emissions and that is a significant attribute to the fuel, which will always have to attract a premium,” said Funke.
To set SA on the road to SAF production, he believed the first step was for the government to develop a policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation industry. That would then enable the SAF market to be established.
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