France: accelerating the decarbonization of aviation

The French government announced Tuesday its intention to accelerate the availability of renewable fuels to decarbonize aviation. This initiative comes in response to European regulatory pressure and massive American investment in the sector.

Ambitious objectives

The government has announced ambitious targets for reducing CO2 emissions from aviation. Indeed, the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, recalled that the government aimed at 2% incorporation of renewable aviation fuels (SAF) in the tanks of aircraft in 2025, 5% in 2030 and 50% in 2050. These targets could be further tightened by the European Union.

A “task force” to accelerate the establishment of a sector of these fuels

To achieve these ambitious goals, the French government has announced the creation of a “task force” composed of energy companies, researchers, aircraft manufacturers, airlines and airport managers. This tightly-knit team will have to draw up a very concrete, credible roadmap, with intermediate milestones, in order to accelerate the establishment of a sector for these fuels, made from waste oils or biomass (plant residues), for example. This roadmap is to be presented by June 2023 at the Paris Air Show, the industry’s biennial showcase.

Challenges of competitiveness and sovereignty

The Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, has called for the acceleration of the availability of renewable fuels for reasons of competitiveness and sovereignty. In fact, since it is not possible to produce them in France, FAS would be massively imported from third countries, in particular from the United States, which has put in place powerful tax incentives to develop production.

Major challenges to be met

However, in order to meet the French government’s ambitious targets, airlines will have to rely on SAF for 65% of their operations. However, current production is far below the quantities needed to meet demand. Global aviation would consume 450 billion liters of SAF per year by mid-century, 1,500 times more than was produced last year. It is therefore imperative to create large-scale production channels to lower the price of FAS. The targets set by the French government are ambitious, but the airline industry federations believe they can be achieved through the adoption of innovative technologies and increased use of renewable fuels.