Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Offtake Manual

The World Economic Forum's Offtake Manual outlines the technical, economic, and legal frameworks for procuring sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). It details various production pathways, accounting methods like 'book and claim', and provides a template for offtake agreements to help stakeholders bridge the 'valley of death' in green technology deployment.

• Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are estimated to have the potential to contribute to 65% of the emissions reductions needed for aviation to achieve net zero by 2050.
• SAF is currently significantly more expensive than fossil jet fuel, with production costs estimated between 1.5 to 3 times higher, partly because feedstocks can cost more than finished fossil-based jet fuel.
• There are seven ASTM-approved production pathways for SAF, including HEFA (the most mature), Alcohol-to-jet, Gasification, Fischer-Tropsch, and Power-to-liquid (PtL), the latter of which is currently expensive and requires further development.
• The 'book and claim' accounting approach is highlighted as the most flexible method for tracking environmental benefits, as it decouples the physical fuel from its attributes, allowing SAF to be injected into the system at the most logical logistical locations.
• Corporate buyers can reduce scope 3 emissions through 'insetting' by purchasing SAF certificates (SAFc), which allows them to claim emissions reductions without taking physical ownership or liability for the fuel.
• A SAF offtake agreement must at minimum include the identity of the producer and buyer, the airports of use, the annual SAF volume provided, and the time horizon.
• Standard fossil fuel supply agreements require modifications for SAF to address specific variables such as blending responsibility, feedstock conditions, and the allocation of environmental credits.
• The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) allows aircraft operators to reduce offsetting requirements using SAF that meets 12 sustainability criteria, seven of which are mandatory.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Offtake Manual. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainable_Aviation_Fuels_Offtake_Manual_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Offtake Manual. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainable_Aviation_Fuels_Offtake_Manual_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Offtake Manual |date=June 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainable_Aviation_Fuels_Offtake_Manual_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023sustainable, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Offtake Manual}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainable_Aviation_Fuels_Offtake_Manual_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }