Sustainable Aviation Fuel Task Force

Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) are a ‘drop in’ fuel. This means that they can be blended into fossil-based aviation fuels and can be used in existing aircraft without modification. SAFs are considered sustainable because they have lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional fossil-based jet fuels.

It is widely recognised that SAF will play the greatest role in the short to medium term in reducing emissions from the aviation sector.

The use of SAF worldwide remains very low, as the SAF industry is still at an early stage of development, with limited production capacity. Due to the importance of SAF in reaching international climate goals, there is an impetus on States to introduce policies to accelerate SAF deployment.

The Department of Transport is currently developing a national SAF Policy Roadmap, targeted for delivery by the end of 2024, which will help guide policy development.

To assist in the development of the SAF Policy Roadmap, the Department of Transport established the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Task Force in December of 2023. This Task Force brings together stakeholders with responsibility for, and interest in, policy development and implementation in relation to SAF.

Membership of the Task Force includes Government Departments and Agencies, airlines, airports, academia and representative bodies.

As per the Terms of Reference (ToR), the Task Force will:

• Assist on the development of a national SAF Policy Roadmap, which will help inform policy development and identify the actions necessary to ensure that Ireland can meet its regulatory obligations to decarbonise aviation and consider the broader opportunities for SAF in Ireland.

• Assess the potential for local production of SAFs in the State and to identify what barriers exist to market entry for SAF producers, including competing demand for feedstock and critical paths.

• Identify potential funding streams, including at EU level, established for the purpose of promoting/facilitating the production/uptake of sustainable aviation fuel.

• Act as a facilitator and co-ordinator between Government Departments and industry to support the sharing of information/data and identify any synergies and areas of duplication in relation to SAF.

• Provide a forum for stakeholder engagement to evaluate the deployment of SAF within the Irish context, whether that be through importation of fuels, potential indigenous production, incentives individually or in combination.

• • The SAF Policy Roadmap is targeted for the of the year and this will set out the direction of travel for SAF deployment and supporting policy/regulatory measures in Ireland. It can be expected that this will then be further built upon in future years and will be an evolving document. The SAF TF will run until publication of the roadmap. When the work of the SAF TF is complete, the SAF TF and its members may revise the ToR to continue engagement.

The Secretariat to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Task Force, can be contacted, via emailing DoTSAFTaskForce@transport.gov.ie or writing to:

Aviation Services Division

Department of Transport

Leeson Lane, Dublin, D02 TR60

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