Sustainable Aviation Fuel Takes Off: Agriculture Emerges as a Key Growth Engine, a WIA Takeaway

By Michelle Pelletier Marshall, Women in Agribusiness Media (November 4, 2025)

This was the SAF Panel: Its official title was the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Panel, but we are going to take advantage of the ambiguity of an acronym and also label it the “Super Ag Females (SAF) Panel” based on the knowledgeable, talented, accomplished speakers featured in this key session at Women in Agribusiness Summit 2025 in Orlando.

SAF has been a buzzword for some time now and has quietly been making strides behind the scenes, especially in unexpected partnership among divergent companies such as was highlighted in this WIA session featuring Delta Air Lines, Gevo and Syngenta. The companies signed an agreement in 2022 where Gevo is to supply Delta with 75 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel per year for seven years. And where does Syngenta come in? They are involved in the production of feedstocks (like corn and other agricultural materials) used to produce the SAF that Gevo, a low carbon chemicals and fuels producer, supplies to Delta.

As an overall goal, this partnership is part of Delta's broader commitment to using SAF, aiming to incorporate at least 10 percent SAF in its operations by 2030. Delta needs to secure 400 million gallons of SAF annually by 2030 to reach its goal. For Gevo’s part, they have signed an agreement with Future Energy Global (FEG) where FEG will acquire carbon abatement credits from Gevo's alcohol-to-jet (ATJ-60) facility. This will help airlines and other companies reduce their CO₂ emissions through SAF.

But before we get too technical and speak in acronym soup, here’s a bit more on SAF.

SAF represents a key solution in the aviation industry's efforts to reduce carbon emissions and transition to more sustainable operations. It is quickly becoming an influential factor in agriculture and biofuels markets.

It is produced from renewable feedstocks such as used cooking oil, agricultural residues, municipal waste, or synthetic sources using green hydrogen and captured CO₂. It offers up to 80 percent reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional jet fuel.

The SAF landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by a mix of market demand, government policies and technological advancements, yet today represents only a small fraction of total aviation fuel consumption. According to a study by MarketsandMarkets, the global demand for SAF is going to see significant growth in the decades to come and could be a $7 billion market by 2030. By 2050, it expected to comprise 12 percent of the global aviation energy demand, with significant potential for more.

Liz Hunt, head, North American Sustainability, Syngenta, noted “Sustainable aviation fuel is the single largest lever that aviation has to decarbonize in what we call a ‘hard to decarbonize’ sector. And that need is ultimately going to continue to increase when you look at the fact that in the next 10, 20-plus years, you're going to continue to see an expansion in flying and the global emissions of aviation are going to continue to grow and will grow proportionately greater than those other sectors that have an easier pathway to decarbonize.”

Jacqui Fatka, moderator of the panel and lead economist for farm supply and biofuels at CoBank, added, “There’s a lot of excitement surrounding SAF, but we are still just a drop in the bucket for worldwide use. In 2023, we were at 0.17% worldwide use of SAF and last year we were at 0.3%.” Fatka noted that the EU implemented a 2% mandate this year for SAF use which is helping to push higher inclusion rates.

With farmers looking for alternatives for their renewable waste, SAF fits the bill. “I’m excited about everything that brings opportunity to rural America and SAF is one pathway that will continue to keep those communities alive,” added Hunt.

Key to this was the extension this summer of the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit, which was included in the new U.S. administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This federal tax credit for producers of clean transportation fuels with lower lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, incentivizes production, said Hunt.

Fatka cautioned, “The extension for 45Z actually decreased the SAF tax credit down to just a dollar tax credit and made it on par with 45Z that would qualify for on-road fuels.” She explained that a renewable diesel plant is the decision-maker about whether it wants to run SAF or renewable diesel based on the tax credit revenue potential.

Challenges for the SAF Market

Speakers on the panel addressed the challenges for SAF producers: having the capital to build the infrastructure, the facilities to produce it, access to adequate feedstock, and a way to get the product to the customer from a processor's perspective. “If you look at the total target for how much fuel we need to meet global reduction targets, carbon reduction targets, we need agricultural feedstocks to meet about a third to a half of that total demand. And when I say agricultural feedstocks, I'm really talking mostly about corn and soybeans. Yes, there'll be some sugarcane in the mix, and there'll be some vanilla and other things. But practically speaking, we're talking about a volume of feedstock that is needed to hit global demand,” said Hunt.

Erin Heitkamp, vice president of supply chain development for Gevo, provided further background on carbon reduction opportunities through a project they have managed under its USDA climate-smart agriculture grant. This project assists farmers with carbon monitoring through the adoption of a Gevo software system that tracks and traces all farm practices, providing an account for the carbon that is a part of each farmers’ value chain. Gevo also provided agronomic support and financial incentives to farmers in this program.

Heitkamp explained, “We found that we had 100% retention of the farmers who enrolled. When we measured the carbon value that they were generating, we would compensate them for that. In total, at the end of that program, we had about 430,000 acres enrolled. So we're not talking about a small-scale pilot, and on average, the farmers were making a little over $24 an acre, and that equated to about $56 per ton of carbon sequestration.” She noted that on average, the farmers saw a 9% yield increase, and so overall, it was a highly successful endeavor.

"Sustainable aviation fuel, especially aviation in general, is expected to continue to grow over the next two decades. It's the single largest lever that aviation has to decarbonize,” added Yvonne Domeier, sustainability consulting for Delta Air Lines.

Thanks to the in-depth knowledge of this speaker panel, WIA attendees left with a deeper understanding of the broadening SAF sector and the significant potential for it to reduce aviation emissions and revitalize rural economies through increased demand for agricultural feedstocks. Key to this was being cognizant of how challenges, such as high production costs and uncertain policy environments, require diligent collaborative efforts across industries and government organizations to realize SAF's economic and environmental benefits.

Learn more about SAF and other biofuels in this interview by North American Ag with Jacqui Fatka. See all of the topics on the WIA Summit 2025 agenda here, and take a peek at how Summit 2026 in New Orleans is shaping up. Registration is open!