Sustainable aviation fuel is still a relatively new concept in the Indian aviation industry
Since aviation is one of the largest carbon-emitting businesses, the government is considering making it necessary for airlines to use a blend of sustainable fuel and aviation fuel. “We have put together an advisory saying we will look at 1% blending of sustainable aviation fuel by 2025, 2% by 2026, and 5% by 2030," Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said.
According to World Economic Forum’s “Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition Report 2021”, “India is particularly well-positioned to have a significant impact in the area. Of more than 80 private- and public-sector organizations that make up the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition, around 20 are from India.”
Any aviation fuel with qualities similar to conventional jet fuel but reduced carbon emissions is considered sustainable. Comparing green aviation fuels to traditional jet fuel used in aircraft, carbon emissions can be reduced by up to 80%.
Adopting sustainable aviation fuel presents difficulties and puts a strain on capacity development and knowledge transfer.
In the Indian aviation business, sustainable aviation fuel is still relatively new. There have only been a few demonstration flights using blended fuel so far.
SpiceJet conducted the first such flight in 2018, using a fuel blend consisting of 75% aviation turbine fuel and 25% biojet fuel derived from jatropha plants.
In order to produce and distribute sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) globally, Indigo and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIRIIP) of Dehradun signed a contract in December 2021.
During the COP26 conference in Glasgow, which took place in 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to have India reach net-zero emissions by 2070. Even the 2016 acceptance of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) by the International Civil Aviation Organisation won't be an option by 2027. All airlines and aircraft operators are required to make up any increase in CO2 emissions that occurs beyond the baseline of 2020. In fact, using sustainable air fuel will be crucial to attaining this goal.
India's aviation industry has already made some strides in this direction. With the CSIR-IIP, IndiGo signed a contract last year to spearhead the introduction of sustainable aviation fuel in India and around the world. One of the top organisations conducting research and producing sustainable aviation fuel in the nation is the CSIR-IIP, Dehradun. The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) includes the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) as a significant component la
Sustainable air fuel produced by CSIR-IIP technology has now been formally approved and certified for use on the Indian Air Force aircraft.