Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels launches Canada’s 1st roadmap for SAF

The Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF) launched a roadmap June 5 detailing its policy framework, priority actions and the next steps to ensure that the Canadian aviation sector remains competitive as it transitions to a net-zero future by 2050.

The roadmap was written by lead author Bentley Allan and was developed in collaboration with the Transition Accelerator and Energy Futures Lab.

Created in February 2022 by a consortium of 60 airlines operating in Canada and key stakeholders in the Canadian aviation ecosystem including suppliers, aerospace manufacturers, airports, finance and academia, the council aims at facilitating the production and supply of affordable, low-carbon, made-in-Canada sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

As outlined in Canada’s Aviation Climate Action Plan, SAF will play an important part in decarbonizing aviation, especially for long-haul aviation, which comprises the largest portion of Canadian aviation emissions in coming decades.

“Successful implementation of SAF across Canada relies on industry and government working together to reduce cost, enhance sustainability and significantly expand production to achieve 1 billion liters (264 million gallons) of domestic sustainable aviation fuel in 2030,” said Geoff Tauvette, the executive director of C-SAF. “This roadmap is framed on creating a net-zero industrial policy to build sustainable and competitive SAF supply chains and clarify downstream demand while properly incentivizing carbon reduction practices at the feedstock stage.”

Canada has enormous opportunities already in the SAF supply chain—bountiful sustainable feedstock, existing refining capacity, innovative technology providers, as well as domestic and international airlines seeking to decarbonize, which is why this roadmap is premised on a target of 1 billion liters of SAF by 2030.

But this target, which represents 10 percent of all jet-fuel use in Canada, is just a waypoint on the way to net zero.

By 2035, Canada should be ready to produce SAF to meet 25 percent of total jet-fuel demand, which would reduce emissions by 15 percent to 20 percent for departures from Canada.

The first roadmap for SAF in Canada relies on three key objectives to balance:

• Decarbonize now—maximize SAF now from commercial-ready pathways

• Feedstock activation—establish commercial pathways for all Canada’s feedstocks

• Innovation drive—launch demonstrations with homegrown technology in multiple pathways

“C-SAF recognizes the urgency of the climate crisis, and we are fully committed to a sustainable future,” Tauvette added. “Canada has all the ingredients to create an affordable and reliable SAF market, and it is imperative to ramp up our efforts while pursuing the development of long-term solutions such as electric and hydrogen technologies. I am thankful today to see our vision come together and thank all our partners who will enable Canada to become a leader in the decarbonization of global aviation.”

C-SAF is a not-for-profit organization that aims to accelerate the commercial production and deployment of SAF in Canada by catalyzing the ecosystem and value chains, promoting public policy, strategies and a roadmap, acting as a neutral and balanced technical expert, and serving as the voice of its members to government and nongovernment stakeholders on SAF issues.

C-SAF was created by a consortium of 60 domestic, international and cargo airlines operating in Canada that own and operate aviation-fuel storage and distribution facilities at 11 international airports across Canada.

C-SAF is comprised of more than 110 members that represent key industry leaders committed to advancing SAF production and use in Canada.