India scores 52% on SAF readiness as demand, financing lag feedstock potential: RSB

India has sufficient feedstock and technical potential to meet its emerging sustainable aviation fuel targets, but weak demand certainty, limited financing and fragmented supply chains leave the country only moderately prepared for commercial deployment, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials said Sept. 29 in a new report.

India scored 52% in the RSB's assessment of readiness across nine areas needed to establish a scalable SAF industry, indicating that the country is progressing beyond early development but remains constrained by gaps in its enabling ecosystem.

Feedstock was India's strongest category, scoring 78%, while production capacity and technology readiness each received 60%. Market demand scored only 30%, with investment and financing and enabling infrastructure and services each at 40%. Supply chain and logistics readiness stood at 45%.

"The main barriers to scaling SAF thus lie in the enabling ecosystem rather than in physical or technical capability," the RSB said in Assessing India's Readiness for Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

India has indicated aspirational international aviation blending targets of 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% by 2030, alongside its entry into the mandatory phase of CORSIA from 2027. However, the targets are nonbinding, do not cover domestic aviation and are not supported by a dedicated national SAF roadmap.

Feedstock exceeds projected requirement

India would require approximately 53 million liters of SAF for a 1% blend in international aviation in 2027, rising to 290 million liters for a 5% international blend by 2030.

Including domestic and international operations, demand would reach around 130 million liters/year at 1% and 720 million liters/year, or about 600,000 mt/year, at 5%.

The 2030 requirement remains well below the 14 million-33 million mt/year of theoretical SAF production potential identified by RSB.

Residue scores above crops

Processing residues, particularly sugarcane bagasse, achieved the strongest feedstock score at 4.44 out of 5, followed by agricultural and forestry residues at 4.25. Municipal solid waste and waste oils and fats each scored 4.06, while sugar and cereal crops received 2.75 because of food-security, water-use and land-use concerns.

India generates more than 120 million mt/year of bagasse, but only around 30 million mt/year may be available for additional biofuel uses after accounting for its established role in powering sugar mills.

The country also produces more than 500 million mt/year of crop residues, with a surplus of up to 178 million mt/year. However, fragmented and seasonal collection systems limit their practical availability. Around 90 million mt/year of crop residues, mainly rice straw, are burned in the open, creating scope for SAF supply chains to support rural income and pollution reduction with another 104 million mt/year of forestry residues potentially available.

Used cooking oil is similarly constrained. India generates an estimated 2 million-5 million mt/year, but only around 50,000 mt is collected formally, while an estimated 60% is improperly reused in the food chain.

Demand remains nonbankable

Indian SAF demand is currently driven largely by test flights, memoranda of understanding and anticipated compliance rather than binding purchases.

The report identified no binding, long-term offtake contracts. Airlines remain reluctant to commit while SAF costs are typically 2.5-3 times conventional jet fuel and no cost-sharing mechanism exists.

RSB recommended converting India's indicative targets into enforceable blending obligations and eventually extending them to domestic aviation. It also called for a national SAF roadmap and incentives linked to lifecycle carbon intensity.

To move projects from pilots to commercial plants, India should consider SAF-specific viability-gap funding, tax credits or contracts for difference, alongside public-private partnerships and blended finance, the report said.

The report also recommended a national feedstock atlas, district-level resource mapping, regional aggregation hubs and digital traceability. Additional investment will be needed in airport storage, blending, testing and certification infrastructure.

HEFA is expected to anchor near-term production, while AtJ is positioned as India's principal scale-up pathway because of its compatibility with the domestic ethanol industry as FT remains a medium-term option and power-to-liquids a longer-term prospect.

Platts,part of S&P Global Energy, assessed Sustainable Aviation Fuel HEFA-SPK FOB Straits, reflecting CORSIA-certified cargoes, at $2,420/metric ton on Sept. 29, down $20/mt from Sept. 28,