India can be a great producer of SAF; fuel can help reduce pollution: Airbus officials

India March 31 (PTI) India has many properties that can be a great producer of sustainable aviation fuels, which can help reduce pollution, a senior Airbus official said.

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and is slowly taking steps to use SAF.

Airbus, an aircraft manufacturer, has been working to increase the production and use of SAFs, currently in demand in Europe. It also has a partnership with the Dehradun Institute for Petroleum Research (IIP).

“India has many properties that can be an excellent SAF producer. The first is the availability of raw materials that can recover a lot of biomass waste, second-hand edible oil (and) municipal solid waste.

In an interaction in Toulouse last week, he asserted that SAF could help solve various problems including pollution.

“In India, for example, straw or wheat straw burned every year has very poor air quality in Delhi and can be used as a raw material for SAF,” he said.

Mance said India has a huge petrochemical industry, many refineries and engineering capabilities, among other aspects that can drive SAF production.

Airbus is working with the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), and they are producing SAF in a new way. “…we are helping IIP gain new approaches to new technology recognition…it’s a specific partnership in India,” he said.

He also said that by 2040 or 2050, India may produce 100 million tons of SAF or slightly less.

In December 2024, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that SAF production hit 2.1 million tons (2.7 billion liters) in 2025, and is forecast to be 1 million tons (1.3 billion liters) in 2024.

IATA represents about 340 airlines, including Air India, accounting for more than 80% of global air traffic.

Since SAF is much more expensive than today’s crude oil, Airbus said it should work hard to ensure that SAF is competitive with the quality scale it deserves.

“To reach mass size, you need policies. The government must ask for SAF or support SAF support. That’s why every country is conducting regulatory engineering to find the best regulatory mechanisms that can help the local ecosystem grow.

He noted: “In India, a lot of work is underway….”

Regarding the current demand for SAF, he said that when production is distributed in Europe, China and the United States, this demand is clearly in Europe. “What we are working on is to stimulate demand from other countries.”

Last week, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told PTI that the SAF, which could help reduce carbon emissions, offers an opportunity for India to be higher on the agenda of that India.