Draft green aviation fuel plan mandates 5% blending by '30 on global routes

The draft policy proposes a phased SAF blending mandate for international flights, with fuel suppliers required to use domestically produced sustainable aviation fuel.

Fuel suppliers must blend at least 5 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with conventional aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by 2030 for international flights departing from Indian airports, using SAF produced only in the country, according to a draft policy formulated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

 

The draft National Policy on SAF, reviewed by Business Standard, has not yet been published for public comments.

 

SAF, as per the draft, is an aviation fuel that can be produced from biological materials such as agricultural residues and used cooking oil, synthetic fuels combining green hydrogen with renewable electricity and carbon dioxide, and recycled carbon from waste streams. The fuels must meet prescribed technical and sustainability standards.

 

The policy stipulates that airlines source at least 90 per cent of their annual fuel from Indian airports, imposing penalties for non-compliance and offering financial incentives to boost domestic SAF production, Business Standard has learnt.

 

The policy proposes mandatory blending of SAF with conventional ATF for international flights at 1 per cent in 2027, 2 per cent in 2028, 3 per cent in 2029 and 5 per cent in 2030.

 

It talks about increasing the blending requirement to 6 per cent in 2031, 8 per cent in 2032, 10 per cent in 2035 and 20 per cent in 2040. However, targets beyond 2030 are only suggestions, as a proposed National Council on SAF (NC-SAF) will decide mandatory blending requirements for the next decade at a later date.

 

The policy mandates the use of only indigenously manufactured SAF. Fuel suppliers, including oil marketing companies, will be responsible for blending SAF with ATF at production facilities, refineries or intermediate storage facilities before supplying it to airports. During the initial phase, suppliers can meet their annual blending obligations across their entire airport network.

 

"To ensure demand certainty for SAF, the policy envisages a mandatory obligation on airlines — both Indian and foreign — operating scheduled international services to uplift a minimum of 90 per cent of their annual sector aviation fuel from the international airports in India to avoid 'economic tankering'," the draft states.

 

Economic fuel tankering is a practice in which airlines carry additional fuel from a foreign airport to avoid purchasing fuel at a local destination where prices are higher.

 

Domestic flights of Indian carriers will be exempt from this 90 per cent uplift rule.

 

Airlines will have to submit annual reports detailing their actual fuel use at individual airports. Independent verifiers will examine these reports and forward them to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Humanitarian, medical and emergency flights will be exempt. Charter, ad-hoc and seasonal international operations may also get exemptions or reduced requirements.

 

"In order to ensure a level playing field of the aviation market and the adherence to the climate ambitions of the country, this policy envisages penalties on aviation fuel suppliers and aircraft operators in case of non-compliance. The level of the penalties will be proportional to the environmental damage and to the damage created on the level-playing field of the market inflicted by the non-compliance," the draft states.

 

The penalty amounts are yet to be specified. MoCA, in consultation with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), will frame the rules.

 

The draft proposes a centralised digital National SAF Registry under the DGCA to track SAF production, blending, supply and consumption.