ethanol to deliver genuine climate benefits, lifecycle analyses must rigorously capture and verify the carbon savings, following stringent international standards to ensure that reported reductions are both real and substantial. The downstream logistics present another layer of complexity, since ethanol must be moved from production sites to aviation fuel conversion facilities (AtJ plants) via pipelines, rail, or tanker trucks, each requiring dedicated infrastructure and careful handling. At the same time, market access depends on demonstrating compliance with sustainability frameworks such as Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), and the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) – certifications that “ By turning municipal solid waste, industrial off-gases, and even captured CO₂ into ethanol, technologies today can produce a versatile intermediate for AtJ processes and, potentially, new marine fuels ” signal to regulators, investors, and airlines that the fuel meets high environmental and carbon- reduction thresholds. Looking ahead, tightening global sustainability criteria are expected to favour feedstocks like waste-based ethanol that achieve deep carbon reductions without adverse land-use impacts, positioning it not only as a viable solution today but as a future-proof, increasingly preferred choice for SAF production. Innovation and scaling challenges: learning from the feedstock bottleneck Around 80% of today’s SAF supply still comes from waste fats, oils and greases (FOG), which are upgraded via the HEFA process. While this pathway avoids pulling fossil carbon from the ground, it carries its own constraints. Food-vs- fuel tension, EU caps on crop-based ethanol, and the sheer scarcity of used cooking oil all mean airlines are ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’ – committed to using a commodity they cannot source in sufficient volume.
The lesson from both traditional and novel SAF pathways is clear: feedstock strategy is not just a technical detail; it is the heart of the sustainability and scalability equation. By turning municipal solid waste, industrial off-gases, and even captured CO₂ into ethanol, technologies today can produce a versatile intermediate for AtJ processes and, potentially, new marine fuels. These recycled-carbon fuels are now being formally recognised in Europe and the UK as a distinct category eligible for credits – a critical step toward commercial viability. To realise this potential at scale, developers, airlines, investors, and regulators need to act in concert: secure long-term feedstock agreements with emitters and waste handlers, invest in conversion capacity, and ensure certification frameworks reward genuine additional carbon reductions. Done right, this approach can shift SAF from a niche product constrained by waste oils into a mainstream fuel that turns our most persistent liabilities – waste carbon streams – into one of our most powerful decarbonisation tools. Conclusion: building the future of SAF from the bottom up SAF is not just a question of technology; it is a question of carbon sourcing. The industry’s ability to decarbonise at scale will be defined as much by feedstock choices as by refinery configurations. Conventional waste oils and fats have taken SAF production to its first commercial mile, but they will not be enough to take aviation to net zero. Pathways such as ethanol from waste carbon offer a chance to break this bottleneck. By turning unavoidable carbon streams into a versatile intermediate for AtJ processes – and even into building blocks for cleaner marine fuels – producers can unlock new volumes of low-carbon fuel for transportation. The sooner industry embraces these new feedstock strategies, the sooner SAF can move from niche to norm – and from a stopgap to a cornerstone of global decarbonisation.
Freya Burton Freya.Burton@lanzatech.com
www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
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