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The aviation sector will have to pay more if they switch from regular aviation
kerosene to more sustainable fuels. "They will never be equal in price to
kerosene." That is what CEO Dave Calhoun of aircraft manufacturer Boeing told
the Financial Times. Manufacturing scale needs to be created and SAF needs to
become more economic, "but I don't think that will ever happen," said Calhoun.
More sustainable jet fuels or Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) are made from,
for example, used cooking oil and frying fat, biomass and animal fats. SAF
currently accounts for less than 1 percent of aviation fuel consumption. The
price is two to four times higher than regular kerosene. SAF is now mixed with
regular fuel.
 
SAF is seen as an important way for aviation to reduce net carbon dioxide
emissions. The international aviation organization IATA wants to be CO2
neutral by 2050. The use of fuel that consists entirely of SAF can contribute
85 percent to this, but also hydrogen and synthetic fuels.
 
IATA CEO Willie Walsh says that this involves high costs. Passengers will
notice this in ticket prices. "Passengers will have to pay more for tickets.
We have to be fair with customers. Airlines are not in a financial position to
absorb those costs, so that will be passed on to customers," said Walsh.
 
IATA and lobby organization Airlines 4 Europe of European airlines are
constantly urging the European Commission to do more to stimulate the
production of SAF. In regulations recently adopted by the European Parliament,
it has been agreed that the fuel industry will be obliged to supply more SAF.
From 2025, airlines will gradually be required to use more SAF. That can bring
the price down again.
 
A study published on Monday by the European interest group Transport &
Environment states that the costs of new fuels will lead to significantly
higher operational costs for airlines until 2050. SAF will increase these by
24 percent, synthetic fuels or e-fuels will increase them by 25 percent and
hydrogen will increase them by 27 percent.
 
All costs combined for the production and transport of hydrogen plus the
design of a hydrogen aircraft until 2050 are calculated in the study at 299
billion euros. One way to bring those costs down is to fly less, so that less
hydrogen is needed. And the European Union, but also Great Britain, must
subsidize the production of hydrogen and tax the use of kerosene more heavily.

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