Aviation: SAF
Within the green fuel landscape, SAF stands out as the hottest market. New regulations worldwide are requiring airlines to blend in ever-increasing shares of SAF into their jet fuel, turning compliance into a powerful driver of demand. The immediate question is not whether today’s supply is sufficient, but which technologies can realistically deliver the massive volumes needed to meet 2050 climate targets.
Beyond 2030, no single pathway yet guarantees the regulatory supply volumes required. Today’s leading option - HEFA-based biofuels derived mainly from recycled cooking oils and fats - is the closest to cost-competitive and scalable in the near term, but it remains a limited resource. And with infrastructure projects taking five years or more to design and build, the clock is ticking fast: we need viable, scalable solutions now to bridge the gap between regulatory ambition and real-world supply.
KPMG confirmed the gap in their jet fuel market report. That is a current $300bn and the only fuel market expected to grow.
Lessons applicable to SAF: Getting new solutions from Lab to FOAK fast
Collaboration across the whole eco-system and value chain early-on to de-risk each other: start-ups, industry, customers, regulators, investors.
Parallel not sequential processese as much as safely possible: apply a value to time.
Bio-SAF is currently covering the reglatory demands but will fail to do so past 2030. The hope lies with synthetic pathways to fill the ever increasing gap.
Urgency is real. The COVID Vaccine case study had similar time sensitive problem to solve to bring new technologies online at scale.
In that case, it took only 9 months to develop a vaccine, something that usually takes 9 years. We must apply the lessons learned here.
ocane <-> Aviation
At ocane, we are pioneering the next generation of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), currently working towards TRL4 and ready to accelerate towards our first-of-a-kind (FOAK) plant within five years. To make this journey possible, we are inviting forward-thinking airlines to join us in shaping the path from laboratory success to commercial reality.
The first milestone is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will set out our collaboration framework - defining how we work together across technology development, regulatory pathways, and the roadmap to legally binding offtake agreements. By agreeing on the triggers that will unlock these commitments, our partnership will give ocane the credibility and confidence needed to secure the funding required for FOAK. This is more than a business arrangement: it is a shared mission.
Help us to help you save the planet.
