Breaking down SAF’s potential for net-zero aviation
With demand for air travel only increasing, so will its carbon emissions, this means capitalising on the sector’s most promising decarbonisation tool is key.
Raman Ojha
As President of Shell Aviation, I lead our global network of operations, joint ventures, and sales of fuels, lubricants, and sustainable solutions to the aviation industry. At Shell Aviation, we are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality products and services while prioritising sustainability and innovation.
Supporting 86.5 million jobs and contributing $4.1 trillion to global GDP1, the aviation sector is a cornerstone of our economy – connecting people, cultures, and businesses worldwide.
But it also accounts for approximately 2% of global energy-related CO₂ emissions2. And while other sectors, such as road transport or power generation, are decarbonising more rapidly – aviation’s share of global emissions is expected to keep rising, with air travel seeing renewed enthusiasm following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) holds the greatest potential to decarbonise the aviation industry and is aligned with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO)* long-term aspirational goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
However, scaling SAF adoption will require a coordinated effort across all stakeholders – underpinned by policy frameworks to drive demand and investment, enhanced supply-chain infrastructure to ensure global access, and innovative solutions to overcome physical supply limitations.
Driving decarbonisation from ‘what’ to ‘how’
The world’s largest companies explain the actions they are taking to reduce carbon emissions and why they choose to work with Shell as their decarbonisation journeys move from “what” to do, to “how” to do it.
Catalysing SAF adoption through policy
A stable and sustained demand for SAF is key to scaling both production and supply. Creating clear, long-term policies that mandate a certain percentage of SAF usage across the industry, alongside targeted incentives to address affordability and drive shared cost savings, can help generate demand and reduce price uncertainty in early-stage markets.
The industry is making progress in this area. In the UK and EU, for example, mandates requiring 2% of SAF usage will take effect in 2025 – and will increase to 10%3 and 6% respectively by 20304.
While such policies are a welcome development, swift clarity on implementation will be needed as these policies enter into force.
In addition, mandates alone won’t be enough. Policy frameworks must include incentives to address the affordability challenge associated with SAF, such as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) SAF fund. This is a welcome mechanism to support SAF affordability which we believe should be expanded as far as possible.
Price stability is crucial to drive SAF adoption, and policies must encourage collaboration across the aviation value chain – including airlines, airports, fuel producers, and suppliers – to ensure simultaneous progress in supply and demand.
Laying the foundations for a global supply chain
SAF supply is currently concentrated at specific locations, creating logistical challenges in delivering it to airports around the world. Significant investments in infrastructure are needed to address this and enable better blending, transportation, and distribution of SAF.
At Shell Aviation, we’re working closely with customers to establish a supply chain that can support large-scale SAF deliveries. In 2024, we supplied SAF to Jet2 and Ryanair at London Stansted, and to Emirates at London Heathrow. This marked our first SAF delivery in the UK, expanding our global SAF reach to 10 countries.
These deliveries were made possible through the Shell Haven facility, where neat SAF is blended before being transported to airports and injected into the fuel network. With current regulations capping SAF usage at 50% of total fuel5, blending capabilities are a vital component of the supply chain.
Shell’s long-standing expertise in jet-fuel logistics enables us to efficiently move SAF in bulk from production facilities to blending hubs, and onwards to airports. Our established relationships with airlines, airports, and other stakeholders across the aviation value chain position us as a key enabler in scaling SAF adoption.
Innovative solutions to widen access to the GHG benefits of SAF
Overcoming the complexities of the SAF supply chain is no small feat. It will require collaboration across the entire aviation ecosystem, whereby airlines, airports, suppliers, policymakers, and other stakeholders work together to move SAF from production facilities to aircrafts.
This collaborative effort is central to Shell Aviation’s mission. By working with forward-thinking customers and partners, we’re taking steps to improve access to SAF worldwide. Through our extensive refuelling network, infrastructure, and industry connections, we aim to facilitate more SAF deliveries and provide airlines with the fuel options they need to reduce emissions.
Though developing a robust SAF supply chain is paramount, it’s just one part of the broader effort to decarbonise aviation.
Innovative solutions like book and claim, for example, are essential to overcome the limitations of physical supply. The book and claim model enables companies to access the benefits of SAF without being constrained by its physical availability at specific locations. This means corporations can access and benefit from SAF even if the SAF is used elsewhere in the global fuel network, depending on the offering**. This provides a practical and scalable way for companies to address their business travel life cycle GHG emissions without being limited by SAF’s physical availability.
The Avelia platform, launched by Shell, American Express Global Business Travel and Accenture in 2022, is a book and claim solution that is helping the aviation industry to leverage SAF’s environmental benefits and accelerate its journey to net zero. With more than 33 million gallons of SAF6 injected into the existing aviation fuelling network since launch, we’re not just enabling lower-carbon business travel – we’re helping to scale demand in SAF.
To conclude
Developing a robust SAF supply chain is crucial, but it’s just one part of the broader effort to decarbonise aviation. To overcome the limitations of physical supply, innovative solutions like book and claim systems are essential. These mechanisms allow customers to purchase the environmental attributes of SAF even when it isn’t available at their departure airport, helping to drive demand and support SAF adoption on a global scale.
Date of publication: September, 2025
Aviation
As our world becomes increasingly connected, people, communities and businesses look to aviation for opportunities that were unimaginable just a few decades ago.
Disclaimers
1ASD Europe https://www.asd-europe.org/news-media/news-events/news/new-report-shows-aviation-s-global-impact/
2 IEA. https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation
* ICAO is the key international body overseeing international aviation under the United Nations. Emissions from international flights that can be missed in national emissions reduction strategies under the Paris Agreement are in scope of the ICAO.
3 GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/greener-flights-ahead-for-uk-aviation
4 Deloitte. https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/Industries/financial-services/blogs/sustainable-aviation-fuels.html
** Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. Depending on jurisdiction and local laws, Shell may offer the sale of Environmental Attributes (for which subject to applicable law and consultation with own advisors, buyers might be able to use such Environmental Attributes for their own emission reduction purposes) and/or Environmental Attribute Information (pursuant to which buyers are helping subsidize the use of SAF and lower overall aviation emissions at designated airports but no emission reduction claims may be made by buyers for their own emissions reduction purposes). Different offerings have different forms of contracts, and no assumptions should be made about a particular offering without reading the specific contractual language applicable to such offering.
6 True as of March 31 2025
