India to expand use of used cooking oil for SAF production

India is preparing to scale up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, but around 94% of the country’s used cooking oil (UCO) still remains outside organised collection systems. India generates an estimated 1.8–2.6 mln tons of UCO annually, while only 110–156 thsd tons is formally collected.

India plans to introduce indicative SAF blending targets for international flights of 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% by 2030. Reaching the 5% target could require around 0.4–0.5 mln tons of SAF per year.

UCO alone will not be enough to meet future feedstock demand. India is also considering agricultural residues, bagasse, waste fats and oils, oilseeds, municipal waste and other feedstocks for SAF production.

India consumes around 29–30 mln tons of edible oils annually, creating substantial potential UCO availability. Industry groups have proposed mandatory collection targets, registration of collectors and aggregators, digital traceability and systems to verify feedstock origin.

Expansion of SAF could gradually intensify competition for biofuel feedstocks between aviation, road transport and other sectors. For India, scaling up UCO collection and the use of agricultural residues could also reduce dependence on imported energy feedstocks and create additional demand for agricultural products.

Tags: India, SAF, aviation fuel, used cooking oil