Head of Boeing not optimistic that SAF will be cheap…
The head of Boeing has warned that biofuels will “never achieve the price of jet fuel”, expecting that this central pillar of the aviation sector’s strategy to slash emissions is not likely to be successful. Airlines say that so-called “sustainable aviation fuels” (SAF) — made from food wastes, agricultural and forestry waste, and domestic rubbish, could enable lower CO2 from the sector, by replacing the kerosene-type fuels, such as Jet A, used in aircraft today. But SAF currently accounts for less than 1% of global aviation consumption and its price is at least x2 or x3 that of kerosene fuel. If the fuel could be made in anything approaching the scale the aviation industry wants, and without other serious unintended agricultural and environmental impacts, it would still be expensive. The extra cost would have to mean more expensive flying, and thus fewer people flying – less future growth for the sector. “There are no cheap ways to do SAF — if there were, we would already be doing them.” Governments want to mandate use of SAF by airports, even though it is not available in large amounts. .Tweet Boeing boss cools hopes for sustainable aviation fuels David Calhoun tells transport executives there is no cheap way of decarbonising air travel By Derek Brower and Brooke Masters in Seattle and Claire Bushey in Chicago (FT) 23.5.2023 Boeing’s boss has warned that new climate-friendly biofuels will “never achieve the price of jet fuel”, pouring cold water on a central pillar of the aviation sector’s strategy to slash emissions. Airlines say sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) — made from food waste such as cooking oil and plants — can bring rapid decarbonisation by replacing the kerosene-type fuels, such as Jet A, used in aircraft today. But SAF currently accounts for less than 1% of global aviation consumption and trades for at least twice the price of traditional jet fuel. “We will create scale and get more economic,” Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun said. But he added: “No, I don’t think we will ever achieve the price of Jet A. I don’t think that will ever happen. It is more positive and it will have an impact, but it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be.” The comments from Calhoun echo concerns raised privately in the sector about the difficulties — and expense — involved in decarbonising an industry that, in creating mass transcontinental travel, represented one of the crowning achievements of the petroleum era. “He’s saying the quiet bit aloud,” said Robert Campbell, head of energy transition research at Energy Aspects, referring to Calhoun’s comments. “There are no cheap ways to do SAF — if there were, we would already be doing them.” Tax credits for SAF production in the US were among vast clean energy subsidies in the Biden administration’s sweeping Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed last year. The EU has also mandated that airports use increasing volumes of SAFs to fuel jets in Europe. The International Air Transport Association, a trade group including the world’s biggest airlines, set a target in 2021 to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. SAF would account for 65 per cent of the abatement, Iata reckons. But the move would be costly, said Willie Walsh, the former chief executive of British Airways, who runs Iata. “It is achievable,” he
