The production of synthetic fuel Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has not yet received any investment from Brussels, although the European Union has set multi-year targets in 2023 to progressively increase its use by airlines. This is what emerges from a study published today by Transport and Environment, a non-governmental organization that promotes sustainable transport.

"We need to move from theory to practice and ensure that these synthetic SAF projects get underway, otherwise the law will just be wishful thinking", said Jerome du Boucher, aviation expert at Transport and Environment, who highlighted how SAF synthetic is produced by combining green hydrogen with Co2 (obtained from industrial waste gases, atmosphere, decomposing biomatter).

The organization said it had identified 25 large-scale industrial projects and another 20 pilot projects for the production of Saf synthetic fuel in Europe. However, none of these achieved a final investment decision from Brussels. A big problem if you consider that starting next year the European aviation sector will have to use kerosene mixed at 2% with SAF, reaching 6% target in 2030.