Catalysing Sustainable Aviation Fuel Deployment

Dublin, 10 June 2026 - SMBC, SMBC Aviation Capital and Trinity College Dublin have today published a new report, Catalysing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Deployment, outlining the key barriers and actions required to scale SAF production and support aviation's decarbonisation. The report is based on discussions held at a roundtable convened in December 2025 and reflects a system-level perspective on the technological, financial and regulatory factors shaping SAF deployment.

The report reflects insights from a cross-industry roundtable of stakeholders across aviation, finance and academia, highlighting that while demand for SAF is strengthening, supply remains structurally constrained.

SAF is widely recognised as a critical enabler of aviation's transition to net zero. However, discussions at the roundtable event suggested that progress is being slowed by a combination of interlinked challenges, including limited access to capital, lengthy fuel qualification processes, feedstock competition, infrastructure gaps, and regulatory uncertainty.

As a result, many announced SAF production projects have yet to reach final investment decision, underscoring the need for coordinated intervention to unlock deployment at scale.

Commenting on the publication of the report Annabel FitzGerald, SVP Sustainability & Corporate Affairs, SMBC Aviation Capital, said, "Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a key enabler on the journey to decarbonising the aviation sector. While there is broad agreement on its importance, alignment alone will not deliver SAF at scale. This report highlights the structural challenges that continue to inhibit deployment, including access to capital, infrastructure and regulatory clarity. Overcoming these barriers requires coordinated action across industry, policymakers and finance to create a credible, investable pathway.

As a leading global aviation platform, we are committed to advancing sustainability in a way that maintains global connectivity and supports economic growth. Crucially, we must also show that progress is possible by turning ambition into action and demonstrating that scaled SAF deployment is achievable."

The report outlines a series of targeted recommendations across three key areas:

Technology and Supply Chain

• Expand early-stage testing and fuel validation capacity
• Invest in SAF storage, blending and logistics infrastructure
• Improve transparency and standardisation of technical data

Finance and Investment

• Introduce government-backed de-risking mechanisms to unlock capital
• Ring-fence public funding for SAF projects
• Enable portfolio-based investment and aggregation models to support scaling

Policy and Market Design

• Strengthen alignment across global regulatory frameworks
• Introduce carbon intensity-based incentives to support innovation
• Promote mechanisms such as book-and-claim to enhance market flexibility

Professor Stephen Dooley, Lead of the Trinity SAF Lab and the EU SAF Clearing House, explained, "Policy Makers are united on the concept of transitioning aviation to SAF due to the net-zero compatible carbon savings that it will bring. The benefits of wide-scale deployment of SAF will be universally shared - a more climate-resilient environment and a more sustainable aviation sector.

The findings from our latest advocacy efforts are set out in Catalysing Sustainable Aviation Fuel Deployment, articulating what we are learning from discussions with SAF value chain actors. We find pinch points in delivering first-of-a-kind SAF projects at large scale. Debt and equity providers struggle to support final investment decisions for SAF projects due to perceived risks around the high price of SAF and large-volume contracts.

To mitigate this risk and allow projects to reach a final investment decision, a debt-matching or price guarantee scheme from governments to reduce first-of-a-kind risks is needed. Innovation in the SAF value chain is seen as key to a competitive, plural marketplace that competes on carbon intensity and price intensity. SAF is a unique product - it must be low in carbon, low in cost, but high in technical safety performance. Ring-fencing of EU or national innovation funds for SAF innovation is necessary to allow SAF projects to compete with other, less technically challenging opportunities.

Martin Forman, Director, ISD New Energies & Natural Resources, EMEA, SMBC, said, "While there is clear demand for sustainable aviation fuel, too few projects today meet the thresholds required to attract large-scale capital. The report reflects the shared view that unlocking capital will require clearer policy signals, improved risk-sharing mechanisms and greater alignment across the value chain. At SMBC, we are already supporting SAF projects and remain committed to working with partners to help transform a strong pipeline into bankable, deployable solutions, leveraging our global experience across sectors."

The report concludes that no single stakeholder can address these challenges in isolation. Delivering SAF at scale will require coordinated action across industry, policymakers and the financial community to create a more stable and investable market environment.

Building on this work, SMBC Aviation Capital, SMBC and Trinity College will convene a follow-on roundtable at the upcoming SAF Congress in Amsterdam, bringing together industry leaders to progress the recommendations and help drive coordinated action across the SAF value chain.

The full report, Catalysing Sustainable Aviation Fuel Deployment, is available here.