SINGAPORE, July 10 — The world’s airlines are banking on a future where planes fly on used cooking oil, agricultural waste, and even captured carbon dioxide. But for communities across Asia, the question remains: when will this cleaner fuel actually reach the tarmac near them? Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is not a new idea.
The first commercial flight using it took off in 2008, operated by Virgin Atlantic. Yet today, nearly two decades later, SAF accounts for less than 0.1% of global jet fuel use.
The gap between ambition and reality is vast. The International Air Transport Association has set a target: 10% SAF use by 2030, and net-zero aviation emissions by 2050. That is a steep climb from the current fraction of a percent.
The fuel itself can reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel, according to industry data. But the cost remains a major barrier — SAF costs between two and five times more than the kerosene-based fuel that powers most of the world’s planes.
For families across the region who rely on air travel to visit relatives abroad, or for the millions whose livelihoods depend on tourism and cargo, these numbers matter. Higher fuel costs inevitably find their way into ticket prices. A cleaner sky may come with a heavier price tag.
Feedstocks and flight paths
SAF is made from a range of feedstocks. Used cooking oil, collected from restaurants and households, is one of the most common sources. Agricultural waste — things like corn stalks, sugarcane residue, and forestry trimmings — can also be converted.
More advanced methods capture CO2 directly from industrial sources or the air itself. The technology exists.
The challenge is scaling it up. Producing enough SAF to meet even the 2030 target requires massive investment in refineries, supply chains, and collection networks. For many Asian nations, where waste collection systems vary widely, building that infrastructure from scratch is a heavy lift.
Aviation as a whole contributed about 2.5% of global CO2 emissions in 2019. That share is small compared to power generation or road transport, but it is concentrated among a relatively small number of frequent flyers.
And unlike cars, which can switch to batteries, long-haul planes have few alternatives to liquid fuel.
Beyond liquid fuel: electric and hydrogen
SAF is not the only path forward. Electric aircraft are already in the air. The Pipistrel Velis Electro, type-certified in 2020, is the first electric plane approved for commercial use.
Its endurance: 50 minutes. That is enough for short training flights or brief hops between islands, but not for crossing oceans.
Sweden’s Heart Aerospace is working on the ES-30, a 30-passenger electric plane with a target range of 200 kilometres. The company aims for entry into service by 2028. For regional routes in archipelagic nations like the Philippines or Indonesia, that could be a game-changer — connecting islands without burning jet fuel.
Hydrogen offers another possibility. Airbus has unveiled its ZEROe concepts, with a target of 2035 for entry into service.
Hydrogen-powered aircraft would emit no CO2 at the point of combustion. But hydrogen presents its own challenges: storage, handling, and the need for entirely new airport infrastructure. The fundamental physics remains a hurdle.
Current batteries have an energy density of about 250 watt-hours per kilogram. Jet fuel holds roughly 12,000 watt-hours per kilogram. That is a gap of nearly 50 times.
Even with rapid advances in battery technology, electric flight for long distances is not on the near horizon.
What it means for people
Closer to home, the impact of these developments will be felt unevenly. A family in Manila flying to Dubai for work will not see an electric plane at the gate anytime soon. But a student taking a short hop from Cebu to Bohol might, within a few years, board a plane running on batteries or blended SAF.
The cost of SAF, which is already two to five times that of conventional fuel, will likely come down as production scales. But how fast?
And who pays the difference in the meantime? Airlines may absorb some of it, pass it on to passengers, or rely on government subsidies and carbon credits. For now, the fuel that powers most of the world’s flights remains the same as it has been for decades.
The targets are ambitious. The technology is real.
But for the millions of people across Asia who fly each year, the shift to sustainable aviation fuel is still a promise waiting to be kept.
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