The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced it is going to create a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) “Matchmaker” – a platform that will link airlines and SAF suppliers. According to IATA’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Sustainability, Marie Owens Thomsen, the SAF matchmaker will help reduce costs and complications that airlines face when looking for SAF suppliers.
The development was announced at the World Sustainability Symposium (WSS) with an expected launch date in the first quarter of 2025. The initial focus of the platform will be airlines and SAF suppliers. Over time, governments and non-aviation corporate SAF buyers will also be able to participate.
Our vision is to create a transparent, efficient and accessible matchmaking platform that will accelerate the uptake of SAF as the aviation industry progresses towards net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist
“The SAF market’s maturity and globalization will be enhanced by the transparency that the SAF Matchmaker will enable. Every step in that direction is of great importance, considering that SAF is air transportation’s most significant decarbonization tool,” Thomsen explained.
Specifically, the SAF Matchmaker will address three critical issues:
- Connectivity: SAF producers and suppliers will be able to post available or planned SAF volumes and airlines will be able to register their interest in purchasing shown or desired SAF volumes. Any subsequent trades will take place outside the platform.
- Visibility: The platform will carry comprehensive information on the SAF available, such as volumes, feedstock used, the location and technology of production, the emissions reductions, as well as compliance with the Carbon Offsetting Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) or the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (EU RED).
- Efficiency: The availability of a central platform will simplify SAF procurement by making it easier and faster for all parties to connect. It will also facilitate the development of market intelligence based on data that the platform will generate.
SAF is, at least in the short and medium term, the solution for decarbonising air travel. But while the aviation industry is ready to increase SAF usage, production remains far behind what is needed, not only slowing down uptake, but also meaning prices remain far higher than kerosene.
IATA projected earlier this year that SAF production would triple in 2024, reaching 1.9 billion litters (1.5 million tonnes). However, that would still only account for 0.53% of aviation’s fuel need in 2024, according to the association, far less than the 2% mandated in the EU by 2025.
Moreover, worldwide, through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), governments set an ambition to achieve a 5% CO2 emissions reduction for international aviation from SAF by 2030. To achieve that ambition, around 27% of all expected renewable fuel production capacity available in 2030 would need to be SAF, but it currently only accounts for just 3% of all renewable fuel production.
