Singapore's green jet fuel mandate faces cost, supply headwinds

Demand for SAF should see a long-sought boost after regional airline hub Singapore said it would require SAF on flights from 2026, but high costs and uncertain raw material supply will mean barriers to wider adoption remain. The city-state will initially require flights to use 1% SAF, possibly rising to 3%-5% by 2030 depending on wider availability and adoption, which will be paid for by a levy on tickets, its transport minister said on Monday ahead of the Singapore Airshow this week. Aviation produces about 2% of the world's emissions and is considered one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise because of the high costs and lack of SAF supply and the long life of aircraft limits the introduction of newer technologies to lower emissions. SAF, which can be made synthetically from hydrogen or from biological materials such as used cooking oil or wood chips, can cost five times as much as conventional fuel and accounts for just 0.2% of the jet fuel market. Based on Singapore's targets, consultants Wood Mackenzie forecast that its SAF demand will rise to about 2,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2026, increasing up to 10,000 bpd in 2030. "More investments are required to bring down the price of SAF such that it can be more widely adopted, especially outside of Singapore where markets can be more price sensitive," said Sushant Gupta, research director for Asia Pacific, refining and oils market, at Wood Mackenzie.<br/>