Ireland has the potential to develop a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry generating revenue of €2.55 billion (£2.22 billion) by 2050 and providing up to 1,000 high-skilled jobs. These are the findings of a feasibility study into the production of SAF in Ireland produced by SkyNRG and SFS Ireland, in a partnership supported by Avolon, Boeing and ORIX Aviation.
The study – Ireland’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Opportunity – was launched on October 25, by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney TD, and looks at the key role SAF will play in helping the aviation industry achieve its net-zero goal by 2050. IATA estimates that SAF, which can be used to replace traditional jet fuel, will deliver over 60% of the contribution needed to reduce aviation emissions to reach net-zero by 2050. The European Union’s ReFuelEU initiative obligates fuel suppliers to blend SAF into the fuel available at all EU airports, rising from 6% SAF by 2030, to 70% by 2050.
To meet EU mandated SAF volumes alone, Ireland will require approximately ten SAF plants of 80 kilo-tonnes production capacity each. This would create an Irish SAF sector generating revenue of €2.55 billion (£2.22 billion) per annum and could provide up to 1,000 high-skilled jobs in direct and indirect employment. Further export opportunities could significantly increase these numbers. The research finds that the biggest opportunity for Ireland lies in Power to Liquid (PtL) production of eSAF, a synthetic fuel produced by combining green hydrogen (extracted through electrolysis from water using renewable energy) with biogenic CO2. SAF derived from bio-based intermediates like renewable natural gas has potential to scale up more rapidly to fulfil the advanced biofuels portion of the ReFuelEU mandate.
Significant progress is required for Ireland to be able to develop eSAF at scale, particularly to ensure there is enough excess renewable power available to produce hydrogen in the required quantities. The increased levels of offshore wind power generation that Government initiatives are targeting by 2030 will put the country in a stronger position to develop a domestic SAF industry.
