Insights from off-airport SAF value chain – upstream Insight: Infrastructure, feedstock production and collection Before SAF reaches an airport, a complex web of supply chain activities determines its availability, cost and quality. The journey begins upstream, at feedstock aggregation and conversion. What we heard SAF can be produced from multiple production pathways (Appendix: TRL Tables). Hence SAF plants rely on the collection of a wide range of sustainable feedstocks, including crops, agricultural residues, tallow, used cooking oils and municipal solid waste. On top of sustainability challenges associated with certain feedstocks (not covered by this report), some, but not all, industry stakeholders expect future supply chain constraints due to geographical location and dispersion, alongside seasonal variability and trade dynamics. In addition, when collected, each feedstock presents its own challenges. For instance, biomass is often bulky, heterogeneous and more difficult to process and store, while municipal solid waste is subject to regulatory requirements that are often set at a municipal level. Why it matters Several reports are confident in the availability of a wide range of feedstocks that can be unlocked to produce SAF, such as a recent paper from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). However, real world feedstock availability challenges as well as processing can significantly affect both the commercial and technical feasibility of SAF production.6 To secure investment, producers made clear that SAF facilities need reliable, long-term feedstock supply – since investors are concerned about the prospect of short-term market disruptions and alternative use of bio-resources resulting in competition across sectors, short-term price hikes and uncertain long-term supply. Even when feedstocks are secured, their heterogeneity can poison catalysts, reduce process efficiency and ultimately lead to project failure. Smart solutions The continuation and expansion of scientific studies and inventories on existing and potential feedstock availability across regions can deepen the sector’s understanding of product potential and feasibility of conversion into SAF. Alongside continuous R&D, this can help identify new pools of feedstocks that can be used for future SAF production, subject to fuel quality and regulatory approval, as well as assisting with sustainability certification. Some of these feedstock resources will increasingly be sought after by other sectors too – whether to produce biofuels for shipping and road transport or for other hard-to-decarbonize sectors – highlighting the need for a cross-industry discussion on sectoral feedstock allocation and prioritization that could lead to the formation of policy principles governing the use of finite resources. To manage feedstock variability, processing and conversion, greater knowledge-sharing of lessons learned from existing projects is needed (including failed projects), while alternative feedstock procurement processes need exploring, such as tolling models, that could increase focus on players well-suited to managing feedstock supply risks while reducing price impacts. Turning Challenge into Opportunity: Supplier Voices from Heavy-Emitting Sectors 7

Turning Challenge into Opportunity 2025