Building Africa’s green flight path: How PPPs can unlock sustainable aviation fuel

The global aviation industry, which accounts for around 2-3% of global emissions, faces the difficult challenge of decarbonisation. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are emerging as the most important near-to-medium-term solution that can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional jet fuel.

For Africa, where the aviation sector is expected to grow by more than 5% annually, adopting SAF is not just an environmental imperative, but also a strategic economic opportunity.

However, the continent’s transition is hampered by significant gaps in infrastructure, finance, and policy. This paper argues that strategically structured public-private partnerships (PPPs) are not just a promising model, but an essential catalyst for building the comprehensive infrastructure needed to scale up the production and use of SAFs across Africa.

Infrastructure Essentials: A Multi-Billion Dollar Gap

Technology alone is not enough. For SAF to transition from a niche product to a mainstream solution, a fully integrated value chain infrastructure is required, including feedstock aggregation and pretreatment facilities, biorefineries, blending stations, dedicated storage tanks, and integrated airport hydrant systems.

The scale of the challenge is enormous. Current records show that global SAF production accounts for less than 0.2% of total jet fuel demand, and infrastructure is virtually non-existent in Africa. The continent remains dependent on imports of fossil-based jet fuel, and its supply chain is optimized for a centralized fossil-based model.

Africa’s potential as a SAF producer is significant, leveraging its rich resources such as agricultural residues, non-edible oils and, ultimately, solar-powered green hydrogen for a power-to-liquids pathway.

But without infrastructure, this potential remains untapped. Building one commercial-scale biorefinery can cost anywhere from $500 million to more than $1 billion. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that reaching the 2030 global SAF production target will require more than $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment worldwide.

Africa’s share of this investment is significant, but current capital flows are negligible. PPPs provide a proven framework for de-risking these large, capital-intensive projects and aligning them with national development goals.

Leverage financial and technical expertise through PPP structures

PPPs have successfully mobilized infrastructure investment in Africa’s energy, transport and communications sectors. The power of this model lies in its risk-sharing mechanisms, which combine the leveraging of public sector power and policy with the efficiency, capital, and technical expertise of the private sector.

The scale of investment required exceeds public sector budgets in most African countries. PPPs can attract private capital from project finance banks, infrastructure funds, and climate-focused investors by building qualified bankable projects.

Public partners can facilitate this through mechanisms such as viability gap funding and concessional financing from development finance institutions (DFIs), or by providing sovereign guarantees to reduce perceived political and regulatory risks. For example, the African Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank have demonstrated the growing demand for green infrastructure that can be supported by PPP frameworks.

State-of-the-art SAF production routes, such as hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) and alcohol-to-jet (ATJ), require specialized technology and operational expertise, primarily owned by international companies.

A well-designed PPP mandates technology transfer and local capacity building as core elements. This enables partnerships between global SAF producers (such as Neste, World Energy and emerging technology providers) and local organizations to ensure projects adapt to local feedstock characteristics and create a skilled indigenous workforce. This will move Africa from being a passive exporter of raw materials to an active producer of high-value fuels.

Creating a bankable market using policy frameworks

The main barrier in Africa is the lack of a coherent SAF-specific policy framework. Uncertainty discourages investment. Here, PPPs serve as a dynamic dialogue platform where private sector input helps shape effective public policy, thereby creating the market certainty needed for investment.

Mixed obligations, as enacted in the EU, UK and US, create guaranteed long-term demand. Phased mandates provide robust demand to justify infrastructure investments.

Incorporating aviation into carbon markets or applying a carbon tax would make SAF more cost-competitive. Conversely, tax credits and fuel excise tax exemptions for SAF production can significantly improve project economics. South Africa’s carbon tax and Morocco’s renewable energy incentives set regional precedents.

Governments can facilitate long-term business buyout agreements and guarantee markets under the umbrella of PPP. Linking with international sustainability certification schemes will ensure African SAFs have access to global markets.

Africa’s strategic role in the global SAF network

With the right investments, Africa is poised to become a net exporter of sustainable energy. The global SAF market is expected to grow from $1.1 billion in 2023 to more than $15 billion by 2030, presenting a significant economic opportunity. By building infrastructure through PPPs, Africa can capture more value from biomass and renewable resources, create green jobs, strengthen energy security, reduce fossil fuel import charges, and position the aviation sector for carbon-neutral growth.

The path to expanding SAF in Africa is fundamentally an infrastructure challenge. Public-private partnerships offer the most viable mechanism to bridge the financial, technological and policy gaps that currently exist.

They transform the SAF proposition from a risky venture into a bankable, strategically aligned infrastructure asset. By leveraging PPPs to build a robust SAF ecosystem, African countries can move from being passengers in the global energy transition to being pilots and producers.

Now is the time to take strategic action. Through co-investment, Africa has the potential to not only embrace a sustainable aviation future, but actively define and supply it.

More than 100 countries, airlines, private companies, aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus, and other stakeholders are committed to net zero goals by 2050.

Growth in the airline industry is expected to more than double in terms of number of aircraft and billions of dollars in increased revenue. The Call to Action calls on governments to partner with the private sector to produce alternative fuels like SAF, create new green and sustainable businesses, develop trade and foster entrepreneurship to drive global economic transformation.

The author is a business leader and chairman of Adili Group. X@DiazChrisAfrica