Modi government urged to use cooking oil for making aviation-fuel
What's the story
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Association has suggested using used cooking oil (UCO) to produce sustainable aviation fuel in India. The industry body, which is a leading platform for promoting SAF production and deployment, emphasized the need to explore all technological pathways and feedstock routes to decarbonize aviation. The sector contributes about 2-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Suggestions
What did SAF Association recommend?
The SAF Association has recommended the Indian government use UCO for SAF production and avail Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) benefits. The body also suggested stronger collection systems across restaurants, hotels, catering services, and food processing industries. It believes that if India collects just 15% of commercial UCO, it could produce around 1.36 million tons of SAF annually, far exceeding the estimated SAF demand of 0.8 million metric tons required for India's 5% blending target by 2030.
Mandate acceleration
SAF blending roadmap in line with global decarbonization commitments
The SAF Association has also urged the Indian government to fast-track its SAF mandate. The country is likely to introduce a SAF blending roadmap of 1% by 2027, 2% by 2028, and 5% by 2030. This move is in line with global aviation decarbonization commitments. The association believes that technology integration, innovation, as well as investment across diverse feedstocks will be key in developing a globally competitive SAF ecosystem in India.
Feedstock potential
UCO from commercial kitchens fastest deployable feedstock for SAF
Among the various pathways to produce SAF, UCO from India's kitchens is one of the fastest deployable feedstocks. India consumes nearly 29 million tons of edible oil annually. Of this, around 40% is consumed in commercial kitchens while 60% goes into households. However, according to estimates based on FSSAI RUCO framework, only about 6% of available UCO is collected in India leaving nearly 94% untapped.