India to become energy Atmanirbhar by 2047 using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

A significant step towards self-sufficiency and the decarbonisation of the aviation industry is the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made with domestic feedstock and Make in India technologies.

Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Housing & Urban Affairs, highlighted the importance of India becoming an energy Atmanirbhar by 2047, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s explicit directive. It should go without saying that the petroleum industry will have to make significant contributions in order for this goal to be realised. He was addressing to a distinguished audience of captains from the media and business worlds in New Delhi. Also present was Pankaj Jain, Secretary for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

India’s first commercial passenger flight utilising an indigenously produced Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend was successfully flown, marking a significant advancement in the decarbonisation of the aviation industry. The I5 767 flight operated by Air Asia was fueled by SAF mixed aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which was made by Praj Industries Ltd using indigenous feedstock and supplied by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. At the airport, the Minister received this special flight.

Describing the occasion as a significant milestone in the country’s efforts towards net-zero emissions by 2070, Hardeep Singh Puri said, “I am glad to witness this historic occasion and receive the first commercial flight fuelled by SAF blended ATF. This would be the First domestic commercial passenger flight with SAF blending up to 1 percent as demonstration mode”. “By 2025, if we target to blend 1 percent SAF blending in Jet fuel, India would require around 14 crore litre of SAF/annum.  More ambitiously, if we target for 5 percent SAF blend, India required around 70 crore litre of SAF/ annum”, the Minister informed.

Puri reiterated the Prime Minister’s vision for an Atmanirbhar Bharat by creating indigenous SOLUTIONS to reduce the environmental impact of aviation and pave the way for the widespread adoption of SAF in India while congratulating the homegrown industry giants IndianOil, Air Asia, and Praj Industries. Aloke Singh, Managing Director of AirAsia, Shishir Joshipura, CEO and MD of Praj Industries, and S M Vaidya, Chairman of IndianOil, were also present.

Hardeep Singh Puri, shedding light on the Indian civil aviation industry, claimed that in 2019 (pre-COVID), it used roughly 8 million tonnes of ATF and released roughly 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. In contrast to the predicted maximum demand for SAF in India, taking a 50 percent blend into account, of 8 to 10 million tonnes per year by 2030, the country has feedstock for potential production of 19 to 24 million tonnes of SAF per year.

The petroleum minister spoke with gratitude about this historic day, emphasising how employing indigenous biological feedstock (sugarcane molasses) will not only boost rural economies but also provide farmers additional income. By providing sugarcane as feedstock, 1 percent SAF blending benefits more than 5 lakhs of farmers.  There will also be the generation of more than 1 lakh green jobs. By transforming India into an international SAF centre, this Atmanirbhar step could bring forth a significant transformation.