Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (First sitting)

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 15th July 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q You have all mentioned how essential SAF is to decarbonisation. Could you expand on its environmental impact? When and how will you be able to track the impact of the mechanism on your emissions? How will you directly be able to link it, or SAF more broadly, to any reduction in emissions?

Jonathon Counsell: This is very important. Generally, with 2G SAF there is an opportunity to have much lower carbon emissions than with 1G SAF, and that is one of the reasons that it is very attractive. We have a project up in Teesside, Project Speedbird, with LanzaJet and Nova Pangaea, that takes waste biomass, creates bioethanol and converts that into jet fuel; it also creates a co-product that goes into the ground, which is used by farmers to enhance the soil properties. The emissions from that whole life cycle are negative, because you are getting the benefits of the sequestration. That is a good example of the environmental advantages of 2G SAF.

When you start linking that with carbon capture technology as well, it can be even better. That is why we are funding it. There will not be enough 1G SAF to meet all our decarb requirements, and 2G is much lower emission. Then you get to 3G SAF, or power to liquid—the ultimate SAF, where you capture CO₂ from the atmosphere and mix it with green hydrogen. That is where we ultimately want to get to, but we accept that that is a bit further away. Generally, 2G SAF is a lot better for the environment than 1G SAF, and that is why it is critical for us.

Another thing worth mentioning is that there is also a non-CO₂ environmental impact, typically from contrails—the white lines that you see in the sky. They are believed to have a significant warming disbenefit. Early evidence has shown that using high ratios of SAF reduces the incidence of contrails, so there is a secondary benefit from using SAF. Many more trials need to be done, but that is another environmental plus from SAF.

Luke Ervine: In 2023, Virgin Atlantic ran the first ever 100% SAF transatlantic flight, and we did a lot of studies in addition to those on the carbon benefits. We worked with Imperial College and the University of Sheffield, and—to back up Jonathon’s point—the particulate emissions from that SAF were 40% lower than from traditional jet fuel. That has a direct correlation with the number of contrails that it can form. More studies need to be done, as Jonathon says, but there is a very direct correlation between particulate and contrail formation—and SAF provides that benefit. On Jonathon’s point, 2G SAF is better environmentally and sustainably than 1G. The UK Government have done a great job in creating a GHG-based mandate, which will reward lower carbon intensity SAF—and that can be monetised, as well. In producing those 2G SAFs, we can kick-start a very unique pot of SAF that has better environmental attributes and can drive better value for money for us and therefore consumers.

[Alice Macdonald]

Q I want to pick up on the monitoring point. For example, say a consumer feels that they have had to pay a little more for a flight that is more environmentally friendly; how soon would you be able to quantify whether that mechanism had had an effect? In a year’s time, would you be able to say that it has meant that the carbon has been decreased by x amount?

Jonathon Counsell: Definitely. All SAF has to be independently assessed for its life cycle emission savings. Before we purchased it, we have to prove that, and as I said, get an independent authority to test the life cycle emissions. We will be able to declare publicly, of any SAF that we use, the independent assessment of its life cycle savings.

Lahiru Ranasinghe: If you look at the mechanics of how it works for meeting the mandate, there is a minimum threshold that we set when buying compliant fuel. In this case, compliant fuel is kerosene: fossil-based kerosene blended with SAF. When we pay for the supply, we get the product transfer documents, which have the sustainability criteria associated with that specific batch of SAF. At that point we can very accurately calculate the emissions saving. In terms of planning, we have to set a range, because there is some variation depending on the pathway and the SAF provided. Building on what my colleagues here have said, there is an opportunity for the UK both in home-grown production and up and down the value chain in the development and export of the technology and the financing and trading of SAF in the longer term. We have what is seen as a gold standard for sustainability criteria, especially going to 2G SAF and the conversion of waste into usable fuels, which addresses multiple issues at the same time and is something that we can export to the rest of the world.

[Mr Kohler]

Q Mr Counsell, I would like to quiz you on your first point. Given the premium on SAF, the mandate is going to cost far more than the RCM?

Jonathon Counsell: Yes.