Sustainable aviation fuel production volume in 2024 reached 1 million metric tons, double the 500,000 metric tons produced in 2023, according to the International Air Transport Association, but well below the 1.5 million metric tons IATA previously estimated.
One reason for the shortfall is SAF production facilities in the United States have "pushed back their production ramp up to the first half of 2025," according to IATA.
SAF in 2024 accounted for 0.3 percent of global jet fuel production this year. For 2025, IATA projects SAF production to reach 2.1 million metric tons, comprising 0.7 percent of total jet fuel production.
"SAF volumes are increasing, but disappointingly slowly," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement. "Governments are sending mixed signals to oil companies, which continue to receive subsidies for their exploration and production of fossil oil and gas. And investors in new generation fuel producers seem to be waiting for guarantees of easy money before going full throttle."
Walsh added that airlines are eager to buy SAF, and "there is money to be made by investors and companies who see the long-term future of decarbonization," he said.