From Kitchen Waste to Jet Fuel: India’s First Sustainable Aviation Fuel Plant
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India’s journey toward green aviation is taking flight as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) prepares to launch commercial-grade Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production at its Panipat refinery by December 2025. This marks the country’s first certified SAF facility dedicated to transforming used cooking oil (UCO) into jet fuel.
The refinery has secured the ISCC CORSIA certification, a global benchmark under the International Civil Aviation Organization’s emissions offset scheme, validating its ability to produce SAF that meets stringent international standards. At launch, the facility will boast an annual production capacity of 35,000 tonnes, enough to satisfy India’s mandated 1% SAF blending requirement for international flights starting 2027, with expectations to scale to 2% by 2028.
The fuel’s feedstock will come from major hotel chains, restaurants, and snack manufacturers such as Haldiram’s—traditionally discarded after single use. IOC plans to collaborate with aggregators for efficient collection across the supply chain. The conversion process, which transforms recycled oil into “drop-in” jet fuel, requires no modification of existing aircraft engines or infrastructure.
SAF offers substantial environmental benefits—reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80–94% compared to conventional jet fuel, depending on source and technology. Moreover, it aids in waste management and bolsters energy security.
Though promising, the initiative faces challenges: collection logistics from smaller users and the higher production cost of SAF—estimated to be three times that of conventional jet fuel.
Nonetheless, IOC’s venture signals a critical turning point in India’s aviation sector—blending sustainability with innovation, and setting the stage for broader adoption of green fuels in flight.
