Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prioritising sustainable aviation fuel when securing non-recyclable municipal solid waste as a feedstock, in the context of the number of available near-term options for decarbonising the aviation sector.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government confirmed that a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate would be introduced in 2025 requiring at least 10% (around 1.5 billion litres) of jet fuel to be made from sustainable feedstocks by 2030. Recycled carbon fuels such as non-recyclable municipal solid waste have the potential to become a key feedstock for UK produced SAF, and supporting them via the SAF mandate will broaden the existing feedstock pool. This is consistent with the Government’s approach to waste policy as guided by the waste hierarchy, where the best environmental outcome for waste that cannot be either prevented or prepared for reuse is for material to be recycled. Where waste cannot be prevented, reused or recycled, the Government supports maximising the value of residual waste through recovering energy, including supplying electricity or heat, or through use as, or conversion into, a fuel. There are a range of recovery options - both established and emerging - available to waste handling operators, which will be selected according to market conditions and local needs, taking account of the waste hierarchy and the need to ensure the best available environmental outcome for the waste. There is nothing preventing the production of fuel from residual waste if this is determined, by local authorities or other waste handlers, to be the best overall value for money and environmental outcome for such waste.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
When he plans to respond to the sustainable available fuel mandate consultation.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A mandate to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will be introduced in 2025, leading to at least 10% SAF in UK jet fuel by 2030. Following the close of the second SAF mandate consultation in June 2023, the department has made significant progress in updating the evidence base and finalising the design of the Mandate. I can confirm that the government response will be published in spring 2024.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will set out his Department's strategy on sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK government’s SAF programme has three key pillars. We are driving demand for SAF through a new mandate which will be introduced in 2025, requiring at least 10% of jet fuel to be from sustainable sources by 2030. We are kick starting a domestic SAF industry and have allocated over £135m for UK SAF production facilities through the Advanced Fuels Fund. We are working with industry and investors to build a long term UK SAF supply and have committed to design and implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support a UK SAF industry.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will review the position of sustainable aviation fuel within the waste hierarchy.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The best environmental outcome for waste that cannot be either prevented or prepared for reuse is for material to be recycled. However, we know that that is not always possible. Where waste cannot be reused or recycled, the Government supports maximising the value of residual waste through recovering energy, including supplying electricity or heat, or through use as a fuel.
The process of converting waste into fuels is an energy recovery operation for the purposes of the waste hierarchy. We do not consider it the role of the waste hierarchy to determine the priority of recovery processes through which residual waste should be managed. There is nothing preventing the production of fuel from residual waste if this is determined to be the best overall value for money and environmental outcome for non-recyclable wastes. We therefore have no plans to change the position of sustainable aviation fuel within the waste hierarchy.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish a formal response to the Pathway to net zero aviation: Developing the UK sustainable aviation fuel mandate consultation.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the close of the consultation in September 2023, the department has made significant progress in updating the evidence base and finalising the design of the Mandate. I can confirm that the government response will be published in spring 2024.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made towards its aim of having at least five sustainable aviation fuel plants in production by 2025.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Government and industry have a shared ambition to see at least five sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plants under construction by 2025. There are currently two commercial-scale SAF plants operational or under construction in the UK, Phillips66 and Kew. We are supporting the development of the industry by driving demand through a SAF mandate which will be introduced in 2025, requiring at least 10% of jet fuel to be from sustainable sources by 2030. Government has awarded 13 potential SAF projects a share of £135m through the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF), to support them to reach commercial scale. Government has also committed to consult on a revenue certainty mechanism to further support the industry.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's press release entitled New measures to support sustainable aviation fuel industry, published 4 September 2023, how many commercial sustainable aviation fuel plants are under construction.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are currently two commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plants operational or under construction in the UK. The Government’s Advanced Fuels Fund has allocated £135m across 13 projects to support private investment in UK SAF projects by overcoming perceived technological and construction risks and will support our industry shared aim to have at least five commercial SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to their policy that by 2030 at least 10 per cent of jet fuel used for commercial flights by UK airlines should be sustainable aviation fuel, what actions they are taking to ensure that such fuel is manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure we have a resilient sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply system, the Government wants to see a balance of domestic production, imports and exports. Therefore, the SAF mandate will not differentiate between SAF made in the UK and that made overseas.
However, we recognise that SAF delivers wider benefits when produced domestically, by providing fuel security, potentially supporting up to 5,200 UK jobs by 2035 and a further 13,600 through global exports, and supporting economic growth.
Therefore, we are kickstarting a domestic SAF industry by allocating over £135m for UK SAF production facilities through the Advanced Fuels Fund and committing to design and implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support investment in SAF production.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the use of sustainable fuel in the aviation sector.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is introducing world leading measures to support the development, production, and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK. We have confirmed that a SAF mandate will be introduced in 2025, driving the demand for SAF by requiring at least 10% (around 1.5 billion litres) of jet fuel to be made from sustainable feedstocks by 2030. In November we supported Virgin Atlantic to deliver the world’s first 100% SAF transatlantic flight on a commercial aircraft, with up to £1 million of grant funding.
To secure SAF supply and meet our aim of having 5 plants under construction by 2025, we are kickstarting a domestic SAF industry by allocating over £135m for UK SAF production facilities through the Advanced Fuels Fund. To support investment in SAF we have also committed to implement a revenue certainty mechanism for SAF production.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to require aircraft to use unleaded fuels.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is supporting the development of new aviation fuels through a range of measures including developing a Sustainable Aviation Fuels mandate and the Advanced Fuels Fund.
There are some specific issues for replacing avgas, a fuel used in piston aircraft which represents less than 1% of total UK aviation fuel use.
An unleaded alternative, Unleaded 91, is now commercially available and may be used by much of the General Aviation sector. In addition, battery-electric aircraft have been certified for use in flight training. The Government encourages General Aviation operators to use unleaded alternatives to avgas when suitable for their aircraft.
The Government has no plans to require the testing of children.
DfT will continue to monitor progress in the transition away from leaded fuels working with DEFRA and the Health and Safety Executive who lead on the regulation of chemicals.