International Air Transport Association announces matchmaker platform for airlines, SAF suppliers

The International Air Transport Association announced Sept. 24 that it will create the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Matchmaker to link airlines and SAF suppliers.

The development was announced at the World Sustainability Symposium with an expected launch date in the first quarter of 2025.

“Our vision is to create a transparent, efficient and accessible matchmaking platform that will accelerate the uptake of SAF as the aviation industry progresses towards net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s senior vice president of sustainability and chief economist. “The platform will do that by reducing the costs and complications that airlines face when looking for SAF suppliers. The SAF market’s maturity and globalization will be enhanced by the transparency that the SAF Matchmaker will enable. Every step in that direction is of great importance, considering that SAF is air transportation’s most significant decarbonization tool.”

Specifically, the SAF Matchmaker will address three critical issues:

• Connectivity: SAF producers and suppliers will be able to post available or planned SAF volumes and airlines will be able to register their interest in purchasing shown or desired SAF volumes. Any subsequent trades will take place outside the platform.

• Visibility: The platform will carry comprehensive information on the SAF available, such as volumes, feedstock used, the location and technology of production, the emissions reductions, as well as compliance with the Carbon Offsetting Reduction Scheme for International Aviation or the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

• Efficiency: The availability of a central platform will simplify SAF procurement by making it easier and faster for all parties to connect. It will also facilitate the development of market intelligence based on data that the platform will generate.

The initial focus of the platform will be airlines and SAF suppliers.

IATA said governments and nonaviation corporate SAF buyers will also be able to participate in due course.