Unraveling Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Aviation Fuel

A survey of 23 companies by RMI and the Mission Possible Partnership reveals that airlines and corporate customers are willing to pay a significant green premium for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and SAF certificates (SAFc). Airlines showed an average WTP of $6 per gallon, while corporate buyers averaged $300 per ton of CO2 abated. The study finds a preference for waste-based feedstocks and shorter contract durations. These findings suggest that SAF projects, particularly those using the HEFA pathway, could be bankable today by meeting the financial returns required by investors.

• Airlines and logistics service providers expressed an average willingness to pay (WTP) of $6 per gallon for SAF, which is nearly three times the fossil jet fuel price of $2.29 per gallon at the time of writing.
• Corporate buyers showed an average WTP of $300 per ton of CO2 emissions abated for SAF certificates (SAFc), with values ranging from $298 (industrial companies) to $325 (corporate travel and consulting firms).
• Buyers prefer SAF produced from waste-based feedstocks, such as tallow, over crop-based alternatives due to concerns regarding food sector competition and sustainability issues like water quality and biodiversity.
• There is a preference for shorter offtake contracts; longer durations decrease the probability of purchase and lower the WTP, likely because buyers expect SAF costs to drop as the market matures.
• In the US market, the WTP for SAFc suggests that SAF projects—especially those using the HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids) pathway—can be bankable, potentially providing the 15-20 percent levered equity returns sought by private equity energy transition funds.

APA

RMI (2024). Unraveling Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. https://rmi.org/resources/unraveling-willingness-to-pay-for-sustainable-aviation-fuel/

Chicago

RMI. Unraveling Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/unraveling-willingness-to-pay-for-sustainable-aviation-fuel/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Unraveling Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Aviation Fuel |date=17 September 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/unraveling-willingness-to-pay-for-sustainable-aviation-fuel/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024unraveling, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Unraveling Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Aviation Fuel}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/unraveling-willingness-to-pay-for-sustainable-aviation-fuel/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }