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33 min ago 2 min read
The UK government has launched a consultation to stress test its own sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate, asking the industry whether enough e-fuels, including hydrogen-derived power-to-liquids (PtL), will be available to meet future requirements.
It comes around a year and a half after the came into force, requiring SAFs to be progressively blended into conventional jet fuel. From 2028, a 0.2% mandate for green hydrogen-based PtL SAFs will come into force, scaling up to 3.5% by 2040.
The new consultation by the Department for Transport (DFT) is seeking evidence on fuel availability, compliance mechanisms, and mandate design, signalling concern that supply growth may not match the trajectory originally envisaged.
“Feedback from industry stakeholders indicates that advanced, non-HEFA SAF is not yet being produced in significant quantities, and there are concerns over meeting the SAF mandate’s future supply targets,” DFT said.
Within the mandate, the government placed a cap on the volume of HEFA fuels – derived from used cooking oils and waste animal fats – that can count towards compliance, forcing suppliers to increasingly use more advanced fuels such as hydrogen-derived e-kerosene.
Given concerns around the availability of non-HEFA fuels, DFT is now asking the market whether the cap remains appropriate.
The consultation is being closely watched by the hydrogen sector, which has viewed the PtL mandate as a key mechanism for creating for green hydrogen.
Unlike HEFA fuels, PtL SAF is produced by combining green hydrogen with captured carbon dioxide (CO2) to create synthetic kerosene. Policymakers view the pathway as critical to scaling SAF production beyond the feedstock constraints associated with waste oils and fats.
However, no commercial-scale PtL SAF production facility is currently operating in the UK, with developers continuing to face challenges around project financing, renewable power supply, hydrogen costs and access to sustainable sources of captured CO2.
DFT intends to publish a summary of responses to the consultation in the autumn, with any proposed changes to the mandate subject to “focused consultation.”
