Latin America has the potential to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), however, barriers to growth remain, such as availability, cost, and a lack of public policies .
David Ortiz, Senior Fuel Manager at Aeroméxico , stated that Latin America has significant potential for biofuel development due to its wealth of natural resources and raw materials for its production.
He indicated that Brazil already has experience with ethanol production and the use of biofuels, while Mexico and Colombia are using technologies to generate its production.
“Our advantage as a Latin American country, as a Mexican country, is the availability of raw materials. The only challenge is being able to advance the regulatory and economic aspects that drive the projects. It’s a multidisciplinary work process, involving all ministries, associations, and industry, because otherwise, it won’t be a successful project,” he said during the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Outlook webinar in Mexico.
The specialist emphasized the need for incentives for the development of the SAF in order to secure investment.
Meanwhile, Diego Martínez del Río, Corporate Sustainability Manager at LATAM Airlines , said that one of the barriers to SAF is its high price , as this fuel represents between 30% and 40% of the cost structure.
In this regard, he commented that among the actions they are taking to remove these barriers is accessing scientific information for the creation of public policies, such as the study, carried out in conjunction with industry participants, to decarbonize the industry, specifically in six countries in the region, including Mexico.
“The study identified that, without a doubt, the country best suited to producing SAF in our region is Brazil, for a combination of different reasons. First, it has abundant biomass production capacity and a very mature biofuels industry. They have been producing biofuels successfully for over 40 years, and they have the raw materials and the know-how,” he emphasized.
Along these lines, he noted that Mexico has a very broad range of biomass resources, but it still lacks the experience to do so. “Beyond the public policies currently underway, what Mexico and the region in general need is evidence-based public policies, not necessarily rushing out and trying to do what Europe or the United States is doing.
He considered that the country needs more in-depth studies on the raw material , although the opportunity lies in the sugarcane industry for the generation of first- and second-generation SAF based on ethanol.
For his part, Mauricio Arellano, Senior Manager, Infrastructure & Airport Services at Viva Aerobus , indicated that in Mexico it is necessary to strengthen the regulatory framework, which will allow both socially and economically to generate strengths for meeting the 2050 goals in the use of SAF.
“In the country, demand is around five billion liters; we hope to become the second largest consumer of jet fuel,” he explained.
Diana Olivares, second vice president of the National Chamber of Air Transport (Canaero) , said that the organization is working on a roadmap that is “ad hoc” to the region and costs.
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