This is where another element of the SAF jigsaw comes into play, tax credits and incentives! Various governments around the world are offering tax incentives or tax credits as a way to help produce (and I include farmers in this role though not all SAF is produced by farming) SAF become viable and economic compared to fossil originated aviation fuel. One of the more interesting recent announcements comes from the United States where President Biden announced a program that could give corn farmers a tax credit of between USD 1.25 – 1.75 per gallon, maybe more, for ethanol based SAF, as long as they demonstrated a 50% reduction in emissions when compared to petroleum-based jet fuel5


. Now…without getting into the whole fuel versus


food argument, which could take many more pages, there are problems in this instance with this program, especially for US corn farmers and for some US soybean growers.


In essence, farming corn & corn does not currently meet the 50% reduced emissions rule. However, changes are possible that would make them eligible, specifically ‘Ethanol-based SAF can meet that threshold, according to the guidance, only if corn farmers use a bundle of agriculture practices that include no-till, cover cropping and efficient fertilizer application that hold carbon in the soil.’ and also ‘Soy-based biodiesel will also qualify if the soy farms use a combination of no-till and cover cropping, according to the announcement.’6


. Those


practises, which are also part of Sustainable Farming and have elements of Regenerative Farming, have been seen and highlighted elsewhere in what is becoming a major change in agricultural practises. However, there has been some regional pushback in the U.S. on this, with soybean growers in the Northern Plains countering both no-till and cover crops7


Midwest and Iowa especially, indicating it wouldn’t work for them5


and some involved in renewable fuels in the .


Despite these objections, the aviation industry is now seeing SAF no longer as an engineering problem but as a financial one and one that could produce strong returns. The aviation industry is at a pivotal point in achieving its net zero emission targets by 2050 with an estimated production value need in excess of USD 3 Trillion to produce the equivalent of 186,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of SAF. The production of SAF has been called a ‘unicorn industry’, with potential to provide some 30% rates of return for big investors, whilst also achieving overwhelming environmental benefits8


Eddie Tofpik E: eddie.tofpik@admisi.com T: +44(0) 20 7716 8201


5. farmpolicynews.illinois.edu – 1st May 2024 6. reuters.com – 1st May 2024 7. Brownfield/ASA – 7th May 2024 8. Theloadstar.com – 14th May 2024


5 | ADMISI - The Ghost In The Machine | Q2 Edition 2024


. The pressure


is now on from the airline industry & others involved in aviation, to make this happen.


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