UK SAF use more than doubles as mandate starts to bite

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplied to the UK has more than doubled so far this year, according to the government’s first provisional figures for the second year of the UK SAF Mandate.

The Department for Transport’s first provisional 2026 SAF Mandate statistics show suppliers had reported 291.7 million litres of SAF in data available to 1 September.

SAF accounted for 3.92% of the aviation fuel reported in the 2026 dataset so far.

The figures offer the first indication of how the market is responding as the UK’s SAF requirement increases following the mandate’s introduction in January 2025.

UK SAF mandate rises in 2026

The UK SAF Mandate began with an obligation equivalent to 2% of total UK jet fuel demand in 2025. The requirement rises progressively towards 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.

For 2026, the government’s compliance methodology translates the obligation into 3.734% of obligated aviation fuel, reflecting the way the mandate and certificate system calculate compliance.

Source: UK Department for Transport, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate statistics 2026, first provisional release. Figures rounded to one decimal place from DfT’s SAF_0101 dataset. Data are provisional and reflect information received by DfT as of 1 September 2026.

*The August-to-September supply period is incomplete in this first provisional release. Figures may change as further supplier information is received and assessed.

The provisional supply figures put reported SAF volumes around the level implied by this year’s mandate. However, the figures cannot yet show whether individual suppliers will comply with their obligations.

DfT stresses that the data are incomplete and provisional. Suppliers can report fuel after the period in which it was supplied, and the figures can change as information is submitted, verified and cross-checked against HMRC data.

The complete 2026 dataset will be published in November 2027. A second provisional release is expected in April 2027.

Nearly as much SAF has already been reported in 2026 as in all of 2025

Around 337 million litres of SAF were reported for the 2025 obligation period, according to provisional government data. The 291.7 million litres reported so far for 2026 already amount to about 87% of that figure.

Reporting for both years remains provisional, and the datasets cover different reporting stages.

SAF has also moved out of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation statistics. Since the SAF Mandate came into force on 1 January 2025, aviation fuel has been accounted for through its own mandate and certificate system rather than through the RTFO.

Under the system, suppliers receive SAF Certificates for qualifying fuel, with certificates linked to the greenhouse gas reductions delivered by the fuel rather than its physical volume.

SAF supply is rising, but scaling remains the challenge

The early figures suggest considerably more SAF is entering the UK market as the statutory requirement increases.

The mandate requires SAF to reach 10% of UK jet fuel demand by 2030—five times the headline 2% starting requirement in 2025—before climbing to 22% by 2040. It will also increasingly encourage fuels produced using more advanced pathways as restrictions are introduced on SAF made through the widely available HEFA process.

That puts production capacity, feedstock availability, investment and new fuel technologies at the centre of the industry’s ability to meet future targets.

SAF Global Summit brings industry to London

The SAF Global Summit 2026, taking place at London’s QEII Centre on 22–23 September, will focus on these issues.

The two-day event brings together policymakers, airlines, fuel producers, energy companies, investors, airports and aircraft manufacturers to examine how the industry can move from SAF mandates and targets towards commercial-scale production.

This year’s programme focuses on four areas particularly relevant to the UK’s latest figures: policy, investment, production and supply-chain scale-up, and new SAF technologies.

The timing puts the summit immediately after publication of the UK’s first provisional 2026 mandate data, providing an early indication of how rapidly demand is growing as government requirements increase.

The summit agenda includes discussions on international SAF regulation, investment and commercial scale-up, while the second day turns to supply-chain constraints. A UK-focused session will examine the measures needed to create a domestic SAF industry.

With the UK mandate moving towards 10% in 2030, the question is increasingly shifting from whether airlines and fuel suppliers will need SAF to where sufficient quantities will come from, how quickly production can scale and who will finance it.

Advance will be at the summit and reporting