The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced today the launch of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Registry, a new tool aimed at facilitating a global market for sustainable aviation fuel by tracking SAF transactions and environmental benefits, and connecting buyers and sellers.

Fuel accounts for the vast majority of the aviation sector’s emissions. Generally produced from sustainable resources, like waste oils and agricultural residues, SAF is seen as one of the key tools to help decarbonize the aviation industry in the near- to medium-term. SAF producers estimate the fuels can result in lifecycle GHG emissions reductions of as much as 85% relative to conventional fuels.

Efforts to meaningfully increase the use of SAF by airlines face significant challenges, including the low supply currently available on the market, and prices currently well above those of conventional fossil-based fuels. According to a recent IATA estimate, SAF production in 2024 reached 1 million tonnes, or 1.3 billion liters, roughly doubling production in 2023, but still accounting for only around 0.3% of global jet fuel production.

Developed in consultation with airlines, government authorities, OEMs, fuel producers and suppliers, and corporate travel management companies, the new registry is a global system to record SAF transactions in a standardized and transparent way, and will also record the environmental attributes of SAF as it moves across the value chain to enable claims against regulatory obligations and corporate climate goals, while also avoiding double counting.

According to the IATA, the new registry will help to solve the challenge of limited SAF supply by connecting airlines with SAF producers and suppliers, regardless of their geographical location, and by giving airlines’ corporate customers access to in-sector emissions reductions. The IATA added that the registry is technology and feedstock neutral, supporting the emergence of diverse SAF production streams.

The IATA said that 30 early users are currently in the process of onboarding the system.

Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, said:

“While this is of fundamental importance and a historically momentous advance, it is but one step along the way to a mature, transparent, and liquid global SAF market. The Registry cannot produce miracles on its own, but without it, no miracles can be produced.”