Industry Stakeholders Launch Sustainable Aviation Fuels Contest

The Mexican Council for Aerospace Education (COMEA), Airbus, the Mexican Federation of Aerospace Industry (FEMIA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Mexico’s National Chamber of Aerotransport (CANAERO), the Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (ICSA Mexico), Volaris and Viva Aerobus have allied to encourage innovation, research and implementation of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The alliance has launched the “Sustainable Aviation Fuels México 2023” contest to promote decarbonization and the use of SAFs.

SAFs are produced from sustainable feedstocks and are similar to traditional fossil jet fuels. Their use results in a reduction of carbon emissions compared to conventional jet fuel. "SAF are key to the future of the airline industry, so we see a great opportunity for a country like Mexico to manufacture this type of fuel, which will also generate benefits for the country in its economy and innovation," Guillaume Gressin, Vice President of International, Strategy and Commercial Operations, Airbus, tells A21. While more airlines want to have access to SAF, they are still not widely available. 

In 2022, SAF production increased by 200%, reaching at least 300 million, reports IATA. Despite this sharp increase, the association states that the industry needs more incentives to ramp up production and reach net zero objectives. Initiatives such as this contest aim to increase access to this sustainable option and promote investment in the development of SAFs.

According to BP, SAF can reduce carbon emissions by up to 80% over the fuel lifecycle compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces, depending on the feedstock used, production method and the supply chain to the airport. 

Thanks to the role SAFs can play in decarbonization, the competition is aligned with the Paris Agreement (COP 21), the Airbus Decarbonization Program by SAF, the IATA Fly Net Zero Program and the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Initiative of the World Economic Forum, among others. "This initiative has a bit of everyone involved and the idea is to associate and encourage innovation through academia and research centers in the country to come up with new projects and ideas on how to develop SAF in Mexico and for Mexico, which will bring direct and concrete benefits," says Gressin. 

Reducing the costs involved in producing SAF is expected to increase their acceptance. In the long term, their production will require investment to advance technologies to process feedstocks more efficiently at a larger scale and to develop sustainable and scalable feedstock options, according to BP. In the short term, their production requires support from governments and other stakeholders through policy incentives. 

The winners of this competition will be named at Aerospace Fair Mexico (FAMEX), which will take place on April 26-29, 2023.