MC Exclusive | Govt considering mandatory blending of sustainable aviation fuel in jet fuel: Hardeep Puri

Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs

Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri has once again reiterated that India needs to make the blending of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with jet fuel mandatory. The minister, while speaking to Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview on the sideline of the India Energy Week 2024, said that discussions are underway to introduce mandatory blending of SAF with jet fuel.

He added that India and Brazil are the only two countries in the world capable of becoming major SAF manufacturers.

"If Europe introduces mandatory SAF blending of 5 percent with Jet Fuel, India and Brazil are the only two countries capable of manufacturing the required SAF," Puri said.

He added that if the Indian government started incentivising the collection of used cooking oil from hotels, restaurants, and street vendors, the country could increase its SAF manufacturing many folds.

"India uses close to 1 million barrels of cooking oil per day, if this used cooking oil is collected and the government comes out with a system to collect this cooking oil, it can boost SAF manufacturing," Puri said.

Back in November 2023, the National Biofuels Coordination Committee set a target to blend 1 percent of sustainable aviation fuel with jet fuel in 2027 and 2 percent in 2028, the petroleum ministry said in a statement November 25.

These will apply to international flights initially, added the ministry, as the country looks to cut emissions of greenhouse gases from the aviation sector. The targets were set after considering stakeholders' feedback, which included rising SAF capacities from new plants in the country and projections of jet fuel sales.

India had planned to use 1 percent SAF for its domestic commercial flights by 2025, which would require around 140 million liters of SAF per year to achieve, Hardeep Singh Puri said.

The minister added that if the target is raised to 5 percent SAF blend, the country would require around 700 million liters of SAF/ annum.

Puri also said that Indian airlines should look to acquire more wide-body aircraft to reduce dependency on international hubs like Singapore and Dubai for long-haul flights.

"Indian airlines would become international players if they buy more widebody planes, no one would fly to stop like Dubai when flying from Canada or the US, they would all take direct flights," Puri said.

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