Marking a major milestone in sustainable aviation, AirAsia India flight departed from Pune to New Delhi using a blend of indigenous Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) supplied by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) in partnership with Praj Industries Ltd. (Praj). The SAF was produced indigenously by Praj Industries using captive agricultural feedstock in partnership with Gevo Inc., which has developed a breakthrough Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) technology for the production of SAF using bio-based feedstock.
Describing the occasion as a significant milestone in the country's efforts towards Net Zero emissions by 2070, India's Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri said: “I am glad to witness this historic occasion and receive the first commercial flight fuelled by an indigenous SAF blended ATF. This would be the First domestic commercial passenger flight with SAF blending up to 1% as demonstration mode”. “By 2025, if we target to blend 1% SAF blending in Jet fuel, India would require around 14 crore litres of SAF/annum. More ambitiously, if we target for 5% SAF blend, India requires around 70 crore litres of SAF/annum.”