Introduction

Following a 2024 SAFc procurement, SABA is gearing up for two sustainable aviation fuel procurement streams over 2025. This year, SABA will run separate procurement processes to serve two discrete customer needs:

• More flexible, transparent, and near-term SAFc purchase opportunities than offered through traditional RFP processes  
• Scalable SAFc volumes that can meet long term goals for air travel emission reductions among corporate buyers  

SABA has forged a successful model that allows corporate members to address their air travel emissions while channeling important investment into the growth of the sustainable aviation fuels market. This 2025 procurement overview provides a summary of our progress and where we’re headed next! 

SABA 2025 Procurement Overview

The results of SABA’s multi-year RFP announced in April 2024 demonstrated the power of our demand aggregation model to achieve substantial impact. Approximately 20 global companies signed contracts to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) certificates for nearly 50 million gallons of high-integrity SAF – channeling close to $200 million of investment into the SAF market.

While the committed volumes associated with the 2024 procurement were significant, SABA was only able to meet about half of our members’ demand for SAFc.

Over the past year, SABA has engaged closely with airlines, fuel providers, and corporate customers to identify the best opportunities to incentivize scalable SAF supplies that align with SABA’s sustainability criteria. Through this work, we’ve determined that SABA can be most impactful and responsive to stakeholder needs while helping grow the market for SAF through the following pathways:   

• Providing SABA members with greater pricing transparency and flexible access to a range of purchase opportunities through a spot procurement model to help them meet their near-term climate targets.
• Putting the power of demand aggregation to work in directing significant longer-term investment to the e-fuels and advanced biofuels the market needs to scale past 2030.

Read on for details about the two distinct 2025 procurement streams designed in response to these priorities.

Procurement Stream 1: The SAFc Connect Database

In March 2025, SABA will begin an onboarding period for its spot procurement opportunity, the SAFc Connect database. Both SAFc purchasers and SAFc providers (air transport and/or fuel providers) stand to benefit from greater SAFc accessibility and near-term purchasing flexibility, increased SAFc market liquidity, standardized processes, and transparent pricing across participating SABA members.

How it works:

SAFc providers will be vetted prior to participating in the database. ​Once vetted, each qualifying SAFc provider will post their offerings, available to SABA corporate customers for a given period.

Eligible SABA member customers will be able to view the available offerings – including key information vetted by SABA, such as SABA eligibility, pricing, feedstock, fuel type, registry, and term length – and contact providers as desired.​

Why we’re excited about it:

SAFc Connect will offer a range of benefits to participants, both buyers and providers, who are interested in exploring new procurement opportunities.

Transparency

• SABA members will enjoy unmatched visibility into SAFc market availability and pricing
• Providers gain increased credibility knowing the offers they provide are vetted for eligibility with SABA requirements prior to being added to the database. They also gain access to a committed set of buyers with demonstrated interest in pursuing SAFc deals.

Flexibility

• Individual SABA member companies can evaluate the commercial terms and sustainability attributes of each offer against their own preferences and make their purchase decisions independently
• Providers can tailor offers to highlight their unique operating and offtake conditions to be most attractive to potential buyers.

Maximized purchase opportunities

• SABA member buyers can purchase according to their own schedules, based on the offers published in the SAFc database instead of having to align with an external procurement timeline.
• Providers benefit from a faster offer to sale cycle, allowing them to more quickly capture SAFc revenue associated with new SAF production volume. They can also make new offers on an ongoing basis as fuel supplies come online, rather than waiting for a lengthy RFP process to open up and unfold.  

Price benefits

• The enhanced flexibility and responsiveness of this model is expected to encourage new SAF production volumes and result in long-term pricing benefits associated with economies of scale
• The price transparency associated with the SAFc database will provide assurance to buyers that they are paying a fair price

What’s next for SAFc Connect:

Over the next couple of months, SABA is engaging with both SABA members and fuel providers to sign participation agreements related to the database. Following the database go-live, projected for mid-May, SABA will coordinate regular updates to all participants to ensure the most up-to-date information is housed within the database. SABA will also offer ongoing, baseline levels of support to members as they use the database to engage in bilateral SAFc offtake discussions.

Procurement Stream 2: Next Generation SAF RFP

SABA’s second 2025 procurement stream will be focused on helping next generation SAF facilities move to the Final Investment Decision (FID) stage through pre-commercial, longer-term contracts, anticipated to be in the 5-10 year range.

What is next-gen SAF and why is SABA making it the focus of its own procurement track?

When we talk about next-generation SAF, we are referencing fuel types that include eFuels, or biofuels using advanced feedstocks, such as agriculture and forestry residues and municipal solid waste.

SABA is focusing on next generation fuels because much of the commercially available SAF today will face feedstock limitations that impact their ability to scale beyond 2030. Fortunately, next-generation production pathways using alternative feedstocks have the ramp-up potential to reach the volumes needed to meet 2050 net zero goals – but immediate investment in these technologies is needed now to ensure their long-term success.

Goals for the next-generation SAF RFP

The goals of this procurement track are two-fold. SABA seeks to:

• Support uptake and secure supply of next-generation fuels
• Secure competitive pricing and contract terms for our members

To inform the RFP design, SABA sought input from key stakeholders across the SAF value chain, including providers, airlines, SAFc customers, and investors, in both interview and survey form. From those conversations, we gleaned key findings that have helped guide this effort, having heard a consistent message around the current investment gap for next-gen fuels that this RFP seeks to address.

• Most next-gen SAF plants will need to reach FID by 2026 to be operational by 2030, a year when many corporate customers have important decarbonization targets.
• Next-generation fuels continue to carry higher premiums relative to most forms of commercially available SAF. Partnership models that share the investment opportunity across multiple entities and/or utilize government incentives will be key to success.
• Creative contracting structures will be needed to bridge the gap between desired contract durations for investors and fuel providers (~8 to 10+ years) and Scope 3 customers (~5 years)

What’s next for the next-gen SAF procurement?

The target RFP publish date for the next-generation SAFc procurement is May 2025. All SABA members will be eligible to participate in the RFP.

We look forward to realizing the incredible potential of these procurements alongside our members, partners, and other stakeholders, during a time when voluntary action is poised to play an even greater role in decarbonizing aviation. To become a SABA member or to inquire about either of this year’s procurement tracks, email info@flysaba.org and follow our LinkedIn page for future announcements and engagement opportunities.