US aircraft maker Boeing has chosen Israel’s Technion to jointly develop sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a low-carbon jet fuel alternative, as the global aviation industry faces the challenge of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and meeting cost-effective future energy needs.

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan hailed the partnership as a “historic collaboration of national importance” for the Israeli economy, energy security, and civil aviation.

“Through this collaboration, Technion experts are taking on a tremendous mission: to develop technologies for producing clean fuels through sustainable processes, thereby making a significant contribution to aviation—and no less importantly, to human health and the environment,” said Prof. Sivan.

As part of a strategic partnership, Boeing and the Haifa-based Technion will advance the production of competitive, commercially viable SAF from feedstocks, including hydrogen, a gas widely seen as a source of green power for the future, and carbon dioxide. SAF is a type of biofuel made from various sources of feedstocks, such as municipal waste, agricultural residues, and cooking oil, rather than fossil fuels.

The collaboration comes as airlines around the world are committing to ambitious decarbonization goals. Boeing has a target to deliver commercial airplanes capable of flying entirely on SAF by 2030. International regulations require the commercial aviation industry to switch to sustainable fuels to achieve zero net emissions by 2050.

SAF has the potential to cut aviation’s carbon emissions by up to 80 percent, compared with traditional jet fuels. However, the key issue is availability and cost, the latter of which is expected to remain two to three times higher than fossil-based jet fuel over the coming years. SAF accounted for a mere 0.6% of total jet fuel consumption in 2025........

© The Times of Israel