Neste, World Energy, Alder Fuels and SkyNRG lead the SAF race
Neste, World Energy, Alder Fuels and SkyNRG are the current front-runners in the sustainable aviation fuel race. The four companies are well-positioned to become the key players in an industry predicted to make billions of dollars in the coming years.
According to Simple Flying, sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is predicted to make up a large chunk of the airline industry's quest for net-zero emissions by 2050. The industry is expected to reach over $15 billion by the end of the current decade.
In Simple Flying’s analysis, SAF producer Neste is at the front of the pack. Its SAF is powering planes from North America to the Asia-Pacific. The company is set to increase its SAF production from 34 million gallons per annum to 515 million gallons per annum next year at its refineries in Rotterdam and Singapore.
World Energy became the leading supplier of SAF for several companies. World Energy is currently expanding its production facilities in Paramount, California, in a $2 billion project in collaboration with Air Products.
Agricultural residues
Alder Fuels makes SAF that uses feedstocks like degenerative grasses and forest and agricultural residues. According to the US Department of Energy (DOE), forestry residues and agricultural residues alone could provide enough biomass energy to generate more than 17 billion gallons of jet fuel and displace 75% of US aviation fuel consumption.
SkyNRG has sourced and blended SAF for 40 airlines worldwide. In the Netherlands, SkyNRG has also invested in startup Synkero, set to begin production of synthetic e-fuel from green hydrogen and renewable energy. Its facilities will be located in the Port of Amsterdam, which already has an existing kerosene pipeline to Schiphol Airport, and produce 50,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel annually.
