The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today announced the official launch of its groundbreaking Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Matchmaker platform. This innovative digital solution is designed to revolutionize the procurement of SAF by directly connecting airlines seeking sustainable fuel with producers offering it, facilitating critical transactions necessary for the industry’s decarbonization efforts.
The SAF Matchmaker acts as a central hub where requests for SAF supply can be seamlessly matched with available offers. Upon a successful match, the platform enables airlines and SAF suppliers to connect directly and finalize specific terms, including price and payment, outside the system. This streamlined process addresses crucial challenges in the nascent SAF market.
Specifically, the SAF Matchmaker addresses three critical issues facing SAF adoption:
- Efficiency: By providing a centralized, fee-free platform, the Matchmaker simplifies and accelerates the procurement process, fostering the development of a robust voluntary market for SAF purchasing.
- Connectivity: SAF producers can post their available or planned volumes, while airlines can register their interest in purchasing those volumes, creating a direct and transparent line of communication.
- Visibility: The platform offers comprehensive details on available SAF, including volumes, feedstock, production location, and technology, emissions reduction data, and compliance with key regulations like the Carbon Offsetting Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) or the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (EU RED).
“To reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we need an accessible, transparent, liquid, and efficient SAF market. The SAF Matchmaker is another example of the work that IATA is putting in place to create a fully functioning market for SAF. The SAF Matchmaker platform will accelerate the uptake of SAF by reducing the costs and complexity that airlines face when searching for SAF suppliers,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist.
The SAF Matchmaker supports both spot purchases and long-term offtake agreements. Initially, the platform is exclusively available to airlines and SAF suppliers, with plans to extend participation to other SAF buyers, such as non-aviation corporations, in the future.
The SAF Matchmaker is hosted on the Aviation Energy Hub, a dedicated digital space providing the aviation industry with essential tools for energy management.
