Aircraft Leasing Ireland (ALI) has announced the funding of a new four-year research project on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production during the association's second Global Aviation Sustainability Day Conference at the Convention Centre Dublin.
Created to investigate potential avenues for manufacturing SAF in Ireland, the primary focus of the study will seek to identify how Ireland can establish a sustainable and viable supply chain of the raw materials required to produce SAF, alongside proposing scenarios in which a substantial quantity can be produced efficiently.
Describing how Ireland is “well positioned” to become a significant SAF producer given its “sophisticated agriculture industry and plans to harness large amounts of renewable offshore wind electricity,” Elizabeth Bowen, newly appointed director of ALI, added: “The question is whether the details add up in the right way to make SAF production in Ireland both sustainable and profitable."
The study (which is set to commence in 2024) will be conducted in partnership between Aircraft Leasing Ireland, the University of Limerick and Trinity College Dublin.