India holds immense capacity to develop a strong domestic sustainable aviation fuel industry that is capable of fully meeting its internal demand while also having excess available for export, says a feasibility study conducted by the Centre.
The report underlines that India has the capacity to produce more than 14 – 33 million tonnes (Mt) per year of SAF from various feedstocks such as vegetable oils, sugarcane bagasse, rice straw, and municipal solid waste forming the bulk of the biogenic feedstocks. The estimate though does not include the potential SAF from waste gas fermentation or power-to-liquids based SAF.
The report has been brought out by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in partnership with the UN aviation watchdog, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It is also supported by the European Union. The study is part of the ICAO ACT-SAF (Assistance, Capacity-building and Training for Sustainable Aviation Fuels) Programme. The report will be presented by the Indian delegation led by Minister for Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu next week during the ICAO’s General Assembly 2025 that starts from September 23. The once in a three-year event is held to establish global policy and review ICAO’s work.
ICAO’s Global Framework sets an aspirational target for a 5% reduction in CO2 emissions from international aviation through the use of SAF, Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAF), and other cleaner energies by 2030.
India has set targets of a 1% SAF blend by 2027, 2% by 2028, and 5% by 2030 for international flights in line with compliance to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
The study calls for urgent policy measures such as a the setting up of a SAF Council with high-level representatives from government departments and CEOs from relevant stakeholders to develop a vision and strategy for the domestic SAF sector. It also presses for urgent action to establish a policy framework for SAF development in India to find solutions for various challenges including slow commercialisation of technologies, and high production costs.
Among the various pathways for production of sustainable aviation fuel, the study recommends SAF through the alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) process as the “largest opportunity for India” as there arefeedstock options available for ethanol and because of ease of transportation and aggregation. However, it also cautions about competing demand for ethanol from the road transport sector, where ethanol-blended petrol (E20) is gaining traction. The report also said that ethanol from food crops (or first generation or 1G ethanol) is more attractive option in the present moment because of the slow pace of scale up of second generation (2G) ethanol that is produced from non-food biomass like agricultural residues, grasses, wood, and other lignocellulosic materials.
Published – September 20, 2025 09:57 pm IST
