Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has published Ireland’s first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policy roadmap.

SAFs are a ‘drop-in’ fuel and can be blended into fossil-based aviation fuels and used in existing aircraft without modification.

SAFs are considered sustainable because they have lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with traditional fossil-based jet fuels.

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The roadmap sets out a number of actions which aim to encourage and support SAF production in Ireland.

Emissions

The aviation sector faces a particular challenge to decarbonise due to a lack of renewable alternatives. Internationally, air travel accounts for 2.5% of global CO2 emissions related to the combustion of fossil fuels.

According to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the full-flight CO2 emissions of all flights departing from EU27 European free trade association airports were estimated to be 133 million tonnes in 2023.

Current production

From a production, capacity and demand point of view, SAF is still at an early stage of development.

It is estimated that EU SAF supply was less than 0.05% of total jet fuel demand in 2020.

In its 2022 environmental report, the EASA estimated potential SAF production capacity at around 0.24 million tonnes. This still amounts to less than 10% of the amount required to reach the EU mandate of 6% by 2030.

Irish production

Ireland has no commercial SAF production. The roadmap outlines that, in the near term, Ireland will rely on imports.

Blending SAF with conventional aviation fuel is expected to take place abroad or at Irish fuel terminals, which may require port upgrades.

However, the roadmap identifies limited short-term potential through the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway, using local feedstocks such as tallow and used cooking oils. Volumes are likely to be low.

Medium-term opportunities lie in advanced biofuels from waste and residues, though supply and technology challenges also remain.

Long-term potential is centred on synthetic eSAF, supported by Ireland’s offshore renewable electricity ambitions of 37 gigawatts by 2050, which could provide the inputs needed for large-scale production.

This depends on successful wind deployment and policies such as the national hydrogen strategy.