The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) has launched the SAFc Connect platform, which has been developed to connect corporate buyers with sustainable aviation fuel certificate (SAFc) providers.
SABA, a joint initiative of RMI and Environmental Defense Fund, with support from the Center for Green Market Activation, said that the development of the platform gives buyers a ‘more flexible pathway to invest in high-integrity, commercially available SAF‘, as well as enabling firms to meet aviation decarbonisation goals.
Decarbonisation targets
“To meet the decarbonisation goals for the aviation sector, we need to encourage both near and long-term investment into SAF,” commented Kim Carnahan, CEO of the Center for Green Market Activation and head of the SABA Secretariat. “With SAFc Connect, participants have a continuous SAF procurement opportunity that progresses climate goals now, while strengthening the foundations of the SAF market for future growth.”
According to SABA, its member companies accessing SAFc Connect have an immediate demand for approximately $30 million worth of SAF certificates.
To date, some six SAFc providers, including Alaska Air, Future Energy Global, International Airlines Group (the parent company of airlines including Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL, and Vueling), JetBlue, Targray, and Valero, have committed to participating in SAFc Connect, with SABA expecting to double that umber in the coming months, as its membership numbers expand and companies ramp up 2030 decarbonisation efforts.
The unveiling of the new platform follows on from SABA launching a third RFP for next-generation fuels, designed to facilitate 5- to 10-year forward purchasing commitments on behalf of its members, earlier this month.
SAF certificates
Since launching in 2021, SABA has worked with corporate buyers to aggregate demand for over $400 million in SAF certificates – initially through a proof-of-concept pilot procurement, followed by 2023-2024’s groundbreaking multi-year procurement that supported tens of millions of gallons of SAF.
The SAFc Connect platform is open exclusively to SABA members.
‘The platform will be updated on a recurring basis with additional platform participation and offer volumes,’ SABA commented. ‘The enhanced flexibility and responsiveness built into the system is expected to encourage new SAF production and capture long term pricing benefits associated with economies of scale.’ Read more here.
