UK SAF mandate goes into effect

The U.K.’s ambitious sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate officially went into effect Jan. 1.

By law, SAF must now make up at least 2 percent of all jet fuel in flights taking off from the U.K. from 2025, growing year-on-year to 10 percent by 2030 and 22 percent by 2040.

According to the U.K. government, these targets are ambitious but achievable and should see around 1.2 million metric tons of SAF supplied to the U.K. airline industry each year by 2030, enough to circle the globe 3,000 times.

Being one of the first countries in the world to sign such a mandate into law, the U.K. government said the nation is at the forefront of decarbonizing air travel and is helping to kickstart the government’s plan for change.

Together with the other actions the government is taking to grow a U.K. SAF industry, it will support thousands of skilled jobs in the country, deliver economic growth and help make the U.K. a “clean-energy superpower,” the government stated.

“From this moment on, aviation will be a greener, more sustainable form of travel and today marks a significant milestone for the U.K. SAF industry,” said Mike Kane, the U.K.’s minister for aviation. “With thousands of jobs supporting the U.K. SAF industry and flying becoming more popular than ever, the mandate will help deliver our ‘plan for change’ helping to grow the economy and giving people the freedom to travel in a more sustainable way.”

Tim Alderslade, the CEO of Airlines U.K., added, “U.K. airlines support the SAF mandate as both a powerful and practical tool for driving down aviation carbon emissions and a clear signal that the industry is fully committed to a net-zero future. Our priority is ensuring airlines have access to the increasing volumes of SAF required to meet the mandate as global demand soars, at the most competitive price possible for consumers. The U.K. mandate is ambitious and scaling SAF production will mean further work to expand eligible feedstocks, incentives to help cut costs and, critically, ensuring the design of the revenue-certainty mechanism enables the U.K. to increase production of advanced fuels this decade while keeping costs as low as possible, critical for achieving mandate compliance and avoiding supplier buy-out.”

Karen Dee, the chief executive of AirportsUK, the trade body for U.K. airports, said, “The SAF mandate is an important step towards decarbonizing air travel, and we are pleased the government has continued the work of its predecessor to implement it. Aviation knows it must reduce carbon emissions, and the mandate is something that it has long called for to help establish production of cleaner fuels. We will continue to work with all parties to ensure there is homegrown supply, and that the U.K. benefits from this new industry through jobs and investment.”

Duncan McCourt, the chief executive of Sustainable Aviation, added, “Sustainable Aviation welcomes the introduction of this mandate, which will drive the demand needed to help deliver SAF at scale. SAF is a critical component in the industry’s plan to reach net zero, representing almost 40 percent of the carbon reduction that will make net zero a reality in 2050. Alongside the mandate, we also need a well-designed revenue-certainty mechanism to help accelerate domestic SAF production and support compliance with the mandate, by kickstarting U.K. SAF production in earnest this decade. We look forward to the upcoming consultation and to the mechanism being delivered into law as soon as possible.”

The start of the SAF mandate is only one milestone on the U.K.’s path toward decarbonizing aviation and comes following the first meeting of the Jet Zero Taskforce—a new and refreshed group charting a clear path toward cleaner aviation.

The government has also confirmed it will introduce a revenue-certainty mechanism for SAF producers to attract investment in new plants in the U.K. 

Working alongside the mandate, it will help to reduce risk, give investors the confidence they need to invest in U.K. SAF plants and encourage the supply of SAF for the U.K. aviation sector.  

A further consultation on the revenue-certainty mechanism will be launched early this year.

For more information on the U.K.’s SAF mandate, click here.