"Intermediate and degraded land crops no ‘miracle’ solution for SAF" (T&E study)

"Intermediate crops and crops grown on “severely degraded land” could only meet 4% of the EU's demand for bio-SAF by 2050. Therefore, the sector needs to focus on producing scalable green solutions like synthetic fuels", according to a study conducted by Cerulogy on behalf of Transport & Environment, announces the European organisation on 04/05/2026.

Intermediate or severely degraded land crops are often presented as more sustainable than traditional fuel crops as they do not require new land. However, the study shows "that the claimed environmental benefits are severely undermined if these new crops disrupt crop cycles for food production or if fertiliser use is not strictly limited".

Besides, the research also shows that production potential is limited: the 7 Mha of land suitable for intermediate crops and the 3 Mha of severely degraded land could produce of a maximum 1 million tonnes of bio-SAF, potentially covering 40% of the EU’s 2030 bio-SAF demand. Combined with domestic waste oils, these feedstocks could theoretically meet the majority of the short term 2030 EU SAF targets…