Confusion around pricing and the perceived lack of a policy framework could stall the roll-out of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Europe, says International Airlines Group (IAG) chief executive Luis Gallego.
Speaking at the Sustainable Skies World Summit 2023, Gallego said there"needs to be a floor in the price to have some sort of certainty to make a plan".
The feedback from financiers, the IAG chief said, was that they "cannot invest in something without a pricing mechanism".
In contrast to Europe, where Gallego said "we need more of a policy framework", across the Atlantic "you have a very attractive credit environment to produce SAF in the US", according Jimmy Samartzis, chief executive of Lanzajet, a fuel technology company based in the state of Georgia.
Willie Walsh, the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said governments "need to get off the fence" if ambitions to fuel the industry with SAF are to be realised.
"Demand is there but the production is not", Walsh said, asking "to see absolute clarity from policymakers".
Samartzis said near-term industry goals such as using three billion gallons of SAF available by 2030 would be a "tall order", reminding the Farnborough attendees that around 20 billion gallons of old-style jet fuel were used in the US in 2021, around 20% of global needs.
"We can get there, we may fall short slightly, we may even exceed the target", Walsh said.
But, Walsh added, echoing warnings from the industry that flying would be more expensive in future, SAF is "always going to be at a premium" compared to jet fuel.