Holistic Sustainability Opportunities: How decarbonisation & sustainability technologies are evolving across Europe and North America
Ros Johnston
Senior Conference Producer and Content Manager
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Sustainable Aviation Futures
As the aviation sector continues its slow but steady approach towards sustainability goals, SAF remains at the heart of decarbonisation strategies. But, there are plenty of technologies to complement it, and a holistic approach is the best way to minimise climate impact!
To hone in on a few of those technologies: DAC, co-processing, and contrail management are rapidly gaining traction, and each offer a critical piece of the puzzle in reducing aviation’s warming effects. Yet adoption, investment, and policy support for these innovations are developing at different speeds across Europe and North America.
At both the Sustainable Aviation Futures Congress in Amsterdam (May, 6-8) and the Sustainable Aviation Futures North America Congress in Houston (October 14-16), expert speakers will explore how these technologies fit into a broader decarbonisation toolkit, market development, and airline strategies, and what it will take to bring them to commercial scale.
Direct Air Capture
In the past year, direct air capture (DAC) has moved from theoretical to tangible. With large-scale projects breaking ground in both the U.S. and Europe, DAC is becoming a serious player, not just for permanent carbon removal, but also as a potential feedstock for SAF.
North America currently leads on DAC deployment, thanks to strong policy incentives like the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the 45Q tax credit. Projects like 1PointFive’s Stratos plant in Texas are aiming to capture hundreds of thousands od megatons of CO2 per year, positioning the U.S. as a global hub for DAC innovation.
In Europe, DAC development is also accelerating, particularly in Iceland, Climework’s Mammoth project is located, and is currently the largest operational DAC plant in the world. The EU’s ReFuelEU Aviation sub-mandate to include eFuels from 2030, with eFuels from DAC derived CO2 expected to make up a majority of the 70% mandate by 2050, is likely increase growth and innovation in DAC in the coming years.
For SAF stakeholders in both regions, the key question is how quickly DAC derived CO2 can become economically viable as an input for eFuels and PtL production.
Co-Processing
Co-processing, blending biogenic feedstocks like lipids or oils into existing petroleum refining infrastructure, offers a near-term pathway to increase SAF volumes without waiting for entirely new facilities to be built, and just as importantly, without the significant expenditure of building those facilities. But the approach is viewed differently on either side of the Atlantic.
Europe is currently leading in co-processing deployment, showing how existing refineries can integrate sustainable feedstocks such as used cooking oil, animal fats, or other biogenic oils into traditional production systems to generate SAF-compliant fuels. Under the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, SAF produced through co-processing is explicitly permitted, and is eligible toward blending mandates, provided it meets strict sustainability criteria.
In North America, the situation is a little different. Although co-processing is gaining momentum, particularly in the U.S. where several refiners are actively exploring or piloting co-processing strategies, the pathway is still emerging and faces challenges around feedstock qualification, technology readiness, and certification alignment.
Non-CO2 Impacts
While carbon dioxide has dominated decarbonisation discussions, non-CO2 effects, particularly contrail-induced warming, are entering the spotlight.
Studies suggest that contrails may contribute up to half of aviation’s total climate impact. As a result, airlines, tech companies, and meteorological agencies are working to better predict and manage contrail formation through smarter flight planning and operational adjustments.
In Europe, initiatives like the EU’s DestinE project are advancing predictive tools which can help airlines optimise routes and altitudes to minimise contrail formation without compromising safety or efficiency. European airlines are already testing contrail avoidance in commercial operations, and under the EU ETS, airlines now also have to monitor and report non-CO2 Emissions, with the expectations that fines may be introduced for failure to meet standards in the future.
In North America, awareness is growing, fuelled by partnerships between airlines and data providers: Delta and American Airlines have both launched contrail research programs in the past 18 months. Although under the current administration sustainability initiatives may seem to take a back seat, the risk of fines to U.S. airlines flying out of Europe and the opportunity to be technology innovation leaders in this area, may bring non-CO2 into the fore.
While DAC, co-processing, and contrail mitigation are gaining momentum individually, the aviation industry’s greatest challenge, and opportunity, lies in integrating multiple technologies into a holistic sustainability strategy.
Other innovations, from hydrogen aviation to electric regional flight to smart airport electrification, will also be key to the industry. Building multi-technology roadmaps that maximise emissions reductions while managing cost, infrastructure, and energy demand is key, because one thing is clear: no single solution will decarbonise aviation alone. Success will require collaboration, and coordination.