FT Mention..30 Mar 2020 13:13
Among those are a project to build Europe’s first dedicated sustainable aviation fuel plant, due to open in 2022. The project is a collaboration between KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, SkyNRG and SHV Energy. British Airways is working with the start-up Velocys to build a plant in the UK to convert non-recyclable waste into sustainable aviation fuel.
IATA, aviation’s global trade body, says new production expected to come online this year should increase available sustainable fuels by three to four times. “The supply needs to increase to drive prices down,” says Torbjorn Wist, chief financial officer of Scandinavian Airlines System. Manufacturers argue the most important driver to establishing sustainable aviation fuels will be government incentives.
“Sustainable fuel producers and the aviation industry need government incentives so the net cost to airlines is cost competitive with conventional jet fuel,” says Boeing’s Mr Newsum.
California is proof that this strategy can work. Both state and federal incentives have closed the price gap. Now, “the majority of sustainable aviation fuel produced in the world is consumed in California”, he adds.