As environmental awareness rises globally, aviation must address the challenge and undergo one of its most decisive transitions: reducing greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness in an ever-evolving regulatory landscape. Today, we know that Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) represent the primary long-term decarbonization lever, accounting for about 70% of the emission reduction potential by 2050. However, large-scale adoption requires a strategic approach. The answer? Balancing short-term availability with long-term scalability through a diversified technology portfolio.
The Need for Diversification
Today, SAF production is dominated by fat-sourced SAF produced through the Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) pathway, because that specific technology is already well spread for road biofuels production (HVO) thanks to its commercial viability and regulatory acceptance. HEFA-based SAF, provides a readily available alternative to conventional jet fuel. However, its scalability is limited by feedstock constraints which is unlikely to meet aviation’s SAF demand by the end of decade.
To achieve aviation’s long-term decarbonization goals, airlines and fuel producers must look beyond HEFA to emerging technologies such as:
Fischer-Tropsch (FT+G): Converts syngas into SAF, syngas being a mixture of hydrogen (H₂), carbon monoxide (CO), obtained from the gasification of carbon-containing materials. Many producers are developing the process to generate syngas from gasification of biomass or municipal solid waste, offering a wide range of economical feedstock base.
Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ): Converts alcohols such as ethanol, methanol or isobutanol into SAF. These alcohols are mainly obtained through fermentation of organic and lignocellulosic wastes as well as industrial waste gases.
Power-to-Liquid (PtL): Synthesizes fuel using the Fischer-Tropsch pathway with specific and more advanced feedstock sources such as renewable energy-sourced hydrogen and captured CO2, enabling near-zero carbon emissions. Various PtL pathways involve different sources of hydrogen, including electrolysis powered by renewable energy, and diverse CO2 capture methods such as direct air capture or bio-CO2, making it a flexible but complex solution.
Each pathway, ASTM7566 certified, has distinct advantages and challenges, from technology readiness and feedstock availability to economic feasibility and regulatory alignment.
The question is: how can airlines navigate this complex landscape without bearing all the associated risks?
Strategic Investments: The Key to Scaling SAF
Investing in multiple SAF technologies ensures resilience against supply chain disruptions and evolving regulations. However, each individual airline cannot shoulder the financial and logistical burden of having a diverse portfolio of SAF production pathways and feedstocks. A collaborative approach is essential — one that includes energy companies, investors, and policymakers.
This is where specialized players like ATOBA Energy come into the picture. As a midstream SAF aggregator and investment facilitator, ATOBA bridges the gap between airlines and SAF producers. By leveraging its expertise in project financing, technology vetting, and supply chain optimization, ATOBA helps de-risk investments and streamline airline procurement strategies, making it easy for airlines to get the right SAF, at the right price, at the right time.
How ATOBA Supports SAF Expansion
Facilitate Long-Term Offtake Agreements
By negotiating structured offtake deals, ATOBA helps airlines secure optimal pricing linked to market indexes and reliable SAF supply, reducing exposure to market volatility and ensuring airlines competitiveness at all times.
Aggregate Demand to Scale Production
ATOBA consolidates demand from pools of airlines, creating the necessary scale for SAF producers to expand operations efficiently, enhance credit worthiness of the offtake for producers, and therefore attract capital investments.
An Agnostic approach to SAF Technologies
ATOBA operates with a zero bias strategy, and aggregates the best SAF through long term offtakes from the best projects in order to be competitive at all times for airlines. Relying on a technology agnostic approach, ATOBA channels industrial scaling of a mix of SAF technologies, including Fischer-Tropsch, Alcohol-to-Jet, and Power-to-Liquid, ensuring a diversified and adaptable fuel supply chain.
The Path Forward
For SAF to meet its full potential, a multifaceted approach is required. Airlines must hedge their bets across multiple SAF technologies while collaborating with industry stakeholders to drive down costs and enhance supply chain efficiency. Through its role as a strategic enabler, ATOBA Energy is ensuring that the transition to SAF is not only feasible but also economically viable and scalable.
The future of aviation depends on decisive action today. Technology diversification and strategic investments in SAF will define the industry’s ability to achieve net-zero emissions while maintaining global competitiveness of the aviation industry.
🚀 Want to learn more? Let’s discuss how structured SAF contracts and SAF aggregation unlocks the next wave of aviation decarbonization. Reach out to our team at @ATOBA energy to explore solutions tailored to your needs.
About ATOBA energy
ATOBA is the midstream Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) aggregator that provides to airlines and jet fuel resellers long-term SAF contracts to optimized market SAF pricing indexes thanks to demand and supply aggregation. We bring high security and competitiveness to the SAF supply chain of our airline partners via offtake from diversified producers and technologies, best-in-class sector expertise, and strategic participations to the SAF projects’ equity. ATOBA aggregation strategy enables the scaling of the SAF industry by providing long term offtake agreements to producers that support their Final Investment Decisions for their production projects.
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