SABA members back next-gen SAF production with long-term purchase commitments

The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance announced Sept. 22 commitments from members to purchase sustainable aviation fuel certificates (SAFc) associated with Infinium Energy’s Project Atlas, an eSAF facility expected to produce approximately 100,000 metric tons of SAF annually, providing the long-term structured contracts that are catalytic to securing project financing.

The results of SABA’s latest procurement were supported by leading member organizations, including Aveva, Bain & Company, Google, McKinsey and others, and mark an important addition to SABA’s market model.

Through exclusive focus on supporting projects toward final-investment decision (FID), this procurement represents a first-ever application of SABA’s approach to drive new production of highly scalable, high-integrity SAF.

Infinium submitted its winning proposal jointly with American Airlines, which will take physical delivery of the fuel and oversee fuel logistics.

Contracted volumes under these agreements are expected to support greenhouse-gas (GHG) abatement of over 212,000 metric tons of CO2e, equivalent to the emissions of over 3,500 JFK to LAX commercial flights.

“Reducing emissions from business travel is an important part of our sustainability efforts,” said Isabelle Schuhmann, the global director of environmental sustainability at McKinsey. “By supporting next-generation sustainable aviation fuel, this purchase helps advance a promising solution for decarbonizing aviation at scale, while enabling the travel that is essential to serving our clients.”

Aviation currently accounts for approximately 2 percent to 3 percent of global GHG emissions, yet SAF supply remains limited and at a significant premium to conventional jet fuel.

Infinium, which was selected through SABA’s procurement process earlier this year, produces ultra-low carbon eSAF at commercial scale using waste CO2 and renewable energy, converting captured carbon into drop-in aviation fuel compatible with existing aircraft and infrastructure. 

“We’re proud to partner with SABA members including Aveva, Bain & Company, Google, McKinsey and others, as well as American Airlines to bring Infinium Energy’s next world-scale eSAF facility to life,” said Infinium CEO Robert Schuetzle. “Their commitment reflects a shared conviction that decarbonizing aviation requires real investment in next-generation supply.”

Jill Blickstein, American Airlines’ chief sustainability officer, added, “The companies purchasing SAF certificates through this agreement are demonstrating the leadership needed to help scale a critical solution for aviation. Their commitments broaden participation in the SAF market, support investment in new production and show how customers can work alongside airlines and fuel producers to advance aviation decarbonization.”

SABA procurements use a book-and-claim model that allows corporate customers to invest in SAF and claim the associated environmental benefits, even when the fuel does not flow directly into the planes their employees or freight fly on.

Participating companies purchase SAFc, while the corresponding fuel is delivered to an aircraft operator.

American Airlines will serve as the physical offtaker for the SAF purchased through this deal and facilitate the allocation of the associated scope 3 emission reductions to SABA’s participating members.

“Next-generation sustainable aviation fuels have tremendous potential to transform aviation,” said Sam Israelit, the chief sustainability officer at Bain & Company. “High-integrity market mechanisms can help translate corporate demand into the long-term investment signals needed to bring these technologies to commercial scale.”

While the SAF market is growing rapidly, more investment is needed, especially for next-generation technologies the aviation sector requires to meet its long-term decarbonization goals.

SABA helps accelerate future supply by aggregating SAF demand from corporate buyers and channeling it into offtake agreements with SAFc suppliers who meet rigorous sustainability criteria.

SABA’s next-generation SAF procurement was specifically designed to drive investment into the innovative new technologies needed to bring scalable supply to the market in the years to come.

“Long-term, bankable offtake is often the missing puzzle piece that keeps new SAF plants from getting financed and built,” said Kim Carnahan, CEO of the Center for Green Market Activation and head of SABA Secretariat, the operational and administrative body that manages SABA. “We’re thrilled to be working with our SABA members, Infinium and American Airlines to fill this need and help get more ultra-low carbon aviation fuel to the market.”

Jon Creyts, the CEO of RMI, said, “We already know innovation can take us much further, faster, but only if we create the conditions for it to scale. Novel technologies are critical to meeting future demand for sustainable aviation fuel, but they will not be operational in time without investments made today. This procurement demonstrates how aggregated, long-term demand can help take promising eSAF projects from idea to reality.”

To date, SABA has aggregated $500 million in demand for SAFc from over 35 member companies, driving needed investment toward sustainable aviation fuels.

SABA’s procurements are supported by robust market infrastructure, including the SAFc Registry, SAFc Accounting and Reporting Guidance, and SABA’s Sustainability Framework.

Combined, these tools ensure high-integrity transactions across the market.

Recent guidance from standard-setting organizations, including the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), has recognized environmental-attribute certificates from book-and-claim systems like SAFc as a legitimate tool for decarbonizing hard-to-abate value-chain emissions.

With the binding, multiyear offtake agreements from SABA customers in hand, SABA said Infinium is positioned to advance to FID and secure financing to build the facility.

In addition to serving voluntary customers, Infinium also plans to sell eSAF compliant with renewable fuels of nonbiological origin (RFNBO) from the facility into European regulatory markets.

“eFuels represent one of the most sustainable pathways to help decarbonize aviation—but they are more expensive to produce,” said Fred Krupp, the president of Environmental Defense Fund. “Deals like this one prove that high-integrity eSAF is investable today, not just in theory. The next test is turning early demand signals like SABA’s into the long-term policy and financing conditions that will enable eSAF suppliers to scale beyond a single project.”

Plans for SABA’s next procurement are already underway, offering future opportunities for companies to purchase and apply SAFc to their climate targets.