“We, the ministry of civil aviation, along with ministry of petroleum are working to mandate a certain percentage of blending as we go forward. That is still work in progress," Civil Aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal said on Tuesday.
“We do realise that unless we mandate a certain percentage of blending over a time period, the demand will not be created and unless there is demand, the production won’t be there," Bansal added.
The government has discussed the proposal with airlines, which are in agreement with the mandate on blending jet fuel with sustainable fuel, he said.
However, the main challenges for the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel are capacity building and technology transfer.
“We are working with like-minded countries to build consensus on how this energy transition can happen, should happen, and will happen—but it will happen at a pace that our industry can absorb," he said.
On 16 September, Mint reported that the ministries of civil aviation and petroleum are working on issuing a roadmap for sustainable aviation fuel use.
Sustainable aviation fuel is any fuel that has similar properties to conventional jet fuel but generates lower carbon emissions.
The concept of sustainable aviation fuel among Indian airlines is still new. So far, there have been a handful of demonstration flights on blended fuel for lower carbon emissions. In 2018, SpiceJet operated the first such flight which operated on a blend of 75% aviation turbine fuel and 25% biojet fuel made from jatropha plant.
In December 2021, Indigo signed an agreement with Dehradun-based Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIRIIP) to manufacture and deploy sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) globally. In Febuary this year, the airline took delivery of an aircraft which runs on sustainable aviation fuel.
Airlines under the Tata umbrella signed a memorandum of understanding with Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research–Indian Institute Of Petroleum (CSIR–IIP) in September to collaborate on research, development and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels.
The first periodic review of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) was conducted at the 41st International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in October 2022, where member-states pledged to strive for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“India is expected to be a party to CORSIA from 2027 and this could entail a mandate to operate minimum percentage of sustainable aviation fuel," a senior aviation ministry official said.
“Incentives play a major role in such a transition. The mandate approach by India can create demand but we will have to wait and see what are the other measures that are put in place for this demand to grow," an executive with an aircraft manufacturer said.
