TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is an alternative fuel to fossil-based jet fuel that can help to significantly reduce emissions from flying.

With global air travel now returning to pre-COVID levels, it is more important than ever that the aviation industry use all available solutions and measures to decarbonize.

The global aviation industry is overseen by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. ICAO has a net-zero carbon 2050 goal for international aviation.

In a globalized world, civil aviation plays a pivotal role in promoting cultural exchange, business, trade, and tourism. As an active member of the international trade network, Taiwan works extensively with other members of the world community.

However, for political reasons,Taiwan is excluded from ICAO. This exclusion from ICAO’s efforts to promote international civil aviation development and services has created a gap in the global aviation network, but this has not stopped Taiwan from adopting international standards, including SAF.

With regards to SAF, the aviation industry has made progress and must continue improving operational efficiencies, but the concern is that this progress is being outpaced by the aviation sector’s growth post-COVID. Carbon credits or offsets have an immediate role to play during the time it takes to fully develop and scale up other ways to decarbonize the sector. Electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft have the potential for certain applications and uses, particularly for smaller aircraft on short to medium-haul flights in the 2040s, but those are still some time away.

Regardless of other options, SAF remains one of the more viable and scalable in-sector options for reducing emissions. SAF can be made from renewable and waste-based sources such as used cooking oil, municipal and agricultural waste, with technologies to produce SAF from CO2 and hydrogen also under commercial development. SAF has the potential to reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 80% when used neat, compared with conventional aviation fuel.

SAF is also a drop-in fuel, which can be blended at a ratio of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel for use in aircraft operating today. In 2021, SAF still amounted to less than 0.1% of global fuel consumption.

However, there are still many challenges before SAF can be deployed at the scale needed. These are related to technological readiness and the availability of sustainable feedstocks, creating the key challenge – cost.

In April, it was estimated that current global SAF production capacity, including plants coming live before 2024, is estimated to be at 0.8 billion gallons. There is still a long way to go in producing SAF at global commercial levels.

Despite exclusion from ICAO, Taiwan’s China Airlines, operated its second “Sustainability Demonstration Flight” on the Taipei and Singapore route as part of SkyTeam's The Sustainable Flight Challenge (TSFC) in late May. The demonstration flight featured three key innovations and was the first passenger-carrying flight by a Taiwanese carrier to use SAF.

TSFC was first presented in 2022 by SkyTeam, a leading airline alliance with member carriers around the world. This year's challenge was scheduled between May 15 – May 28 in which 22 participating airlines implemented their most sustainable solutions and competed for awards in 31 categories.

As part of its participation in the TSFC, China Airlines chose to feature round-trip sustainability demonstration flights on the Taipei-Singapore route, incorporating up to 100 eco-friendly and carbon reduction initiatives. Sustainability was maximized through new innovations such as digital airport services, localization of inflight meals, computerization of cargo operations, and mobile apron operations.

Passengers onboard the China Airlines flight also participated in the sustainable exercise through the consumption of low-carbon plant-based meals and cabin supplies were specially selected for the flight, including eco-friendly textiles for blankets, pillow slips, and headrest covers.

The demonstration flight allowed China Airlines to reach its goal of operating Taiwan's first passenger flight with SAF. Refueling at Singapore airport included 10% SAF, which had undergone rigorous testing in accordance with the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) and ASTM international aviation fuel standards.

The ECO Travel program was used by China Airlines to achieve carbon neutrality for the passengers and cargo aboard the flight. High-quality carbon credits obtained in strict accordance with international standards support global renewable energy development and transition. The execution of net zero flights represents a new era in Taiwan’s sustainable aviation goals.

Much warranted admission to ICAO would further enhance Taiwan’s global role in sustainability goals and progress.