Green aviation fuel: Will flying become more expensive in the future?

Düsseldorf Airport alone fills up 875 million liters of kerosene every year. Sustainable aviation fuel - so-called Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) - will soon be added here too. The big question is: Where is it supposed to come from?

According to the aviation industry, SAF's production volumes are currently "close to zero". A system from Ineratec in Frankfurt-Höchst, according to the operator, the largest of its kind in the world, produces just 1.3 million liters per year.

Overall, however, there are only a few systems in operation so far, says the head of Düsseldorf Airport, Lars Redeligx. There is also little new construction going on at the moment.

Two ways to green kerosene

There are two types of alternative aviation fuel. Bio-SAF is created from biological raw materials such as used oils, chip fat or forestry waste.

For the synthetic electricity-based Sustainable Aviation Fuels, or eSAF for short, green hydrogen is produced from water using green electricity, which can be chemically combined with CO2 to form synthetic fuel. Both are intended to save crude oil and CO2.

Brussels relies on quotas

The EU wants to force its use: The “ReFuelEU Aviation” regulation requires a share of at least six percent SAF in 2030, and by 2050 it should be 70 percent.

The quota for synthetic e-kerosene also increases from a good one to at least 35 percent. Anyone who misses it has to pay: the industry expects a fine of 1.3 billion euros in Germany alone in 2030.

Who pays the bill?

Lars Redeligx, fears that airlines will pass these costs on to their customers. “Without anything being gained for the climate, this will only put a strain on our domestic industry and consumers,” said the airport boss.

The EU Commission considers the criticism to be exaggerated: Because only a small amount of SAF has to be added at the moment, this has little effect on prices. “And we are very convinced that the guardrails we have created will stabilize a secure market in the long term,” says Birgit Schmeitzner, spokeswoman for the EU Commission in Germany. With more supply, prices should even fall in the long term.

It doesn't work without support

SAF is currently up to ten times more expensive than kerosene, and no one voluntarily fills it up with it. At least that’s what Ralf Diemer, Managing Director of the eFuel Alliance, says. The interest group for alternative fuels therefore sees the quota as a sales guarantee for investors.

“This will force the energy providers, and in the case of Refuel Aviation of course also the airlines, to use these fuels in the amount of the respective quota and thus also to buy them,” says Diemer. This was the only way to realize the necessary billions in investments in new SAF systems.