IATA to launch platform connecting airlines to SAF suppliers

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is expected to launch a platform where airlines can be matched with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) suppliers in early 2025.

The ‘SAF Matchmaker’ aims to be a platform where SAF suppliers and airlines can connect before closing purchasing deals, with the goal of accelerating aviation decarbonisation.

SAF producers will be able to post available or planned SAF volumes, specifying the feedstock used, the location and technology of production, the estimated emissions reductions, and potential compliance with the Carbon Offsetting Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) or the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (EU RED).

Airlines will register their interest on the platform to purchase all or some of said volumes, with commercial transactions taking place outside of the platform.

Simplifying SAF procurement

Initially focused on simplifying SAF procurement by making it easier and faster for all parties to connect, the SAF Matchmaker could also facilitate the development of SAF market intelligence, based on the data generated on the platform.

“Our vision is to create a transparent, efficient, and accessible matchmaking platform that will accelerate the uptake of SAF as the aviation industry progresses towards net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The platform will do that by reducing the costs and complications that airlines face when looking for SAF suppliers. The SAF market’s maturity and globalisation will be enhanced by the transparency that the SAF Matchmaker will enable. Every step in that direction is of great importance, considering that SAF is air transportation’s most significant decarbonisation tool,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Chief Economist.

IATA director criticises EU sustainability policy

Speaking at IATA’s World Sustainability Symposium in Miami in September, Director General Willie Walsh called out the European Union for “undermining EU competitiveness” through sustainability policies.

Citing a report from Mario Draghi (former Italian PM and President of the European Central Bank) into the future competitiveness of the EU, Walsh asserted that ‘the EU is not the model to follow’. 

In a blog post published around the event, he supported Draghi’s suggestion that revenue from the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) should be used to help transport decarbonise and to de-risk investments in alternative fuels. 

“These are precisely the sort of incentive-based policies airlines have for years been advocating. Moreover, we would argue [Draghi’s] analysis of the price gap between SAF and conventional jet fuel highlights the importance of implementing a book and claim system to keep the market as efficient as possible and ensure competitive costs for SAF,” Walsh added.