Aviation calls on UK government to subsidise ‘Jet Zero’ push

Britain will struggle to create an industry producing sustainable aviation fuel unless the government provides regular subsidies to manufacturers, leading airlines and airports have warned. The government has set a 2050 “Jet Zero” target for the airline industry to eliminate net carbon emissions, mainly through the use of green fuel produced by household waste such as cooking oil, known as “SAF”. The government has promised GBP165mn as seed capital to encourage manufacturers to open at least five plants producing the new fuel and hopes they will be under construction by 2025. It has also set a target under which 10 per cent of aviation fuel must be SAF by 2030. But leading airports and airlines, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester Airports Group, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have written to Mark Harper, the new transport secretary, calling for more state intervention to get the fledgling industry off the ground. The letter is also signed by some of the manufacturers with plans for SAF plants in the UK, including Fulcrum, Velocys and Alfanar. “We believe UK SAF production has the chance to become a domestic success story, but the government needs to act now to ensure manufacturers get the price certainty needed to unlock private investment into this sector,” the groups wrote. They want the government to create “contracts for difference” (CFDs) to agree a set price for SAF, similar to those the state has used to underwrite nuclear and offshore wind projects.<br/>