Que: SAF is increasingly seen as a critical lever for decarbonising aviation. How do you assess the current role of SAF and biocrude in addressing emissions in hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation and maritime?

Ans: Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF, is one of the most practical near-term levers for reducing aviation emissions because it works in existing aircraft and airport fuel systems – no major retrofits needed. The same holds for maritime shipping, which moves most of the world’s trade and remains a major emissions source. Biocrude adds a powerful pathway: it turns agricultural waste and forestry residues into an intermediate that refiners can upgrade into SAF, renewable diesel, or marine fuels.

For hard-to-abate sectors, the value is clear: drop-in compatibility, up to 80 percent lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, and a realistic route to scale without waiting for entirely new fleets or infrastructure. These solutions are no longer theoretical. They are increasingly part of the near-term decarbonisation toolkit, especially for airlines and shipping operators that need deployable options today. Recent policy moves, such as the government’s April 2026 amendment allowing SAF blending in jet fuel, will further strengthen this momentum.

Que: India has an abundance of agricultural residues and a growing ethanol industry. How can these resources be effectively leveraged to scale SAF and biocrude production?

Ans: India has a strong advantage because of its large agricultural residue base and a growing ethanol ecosystem. The opportunity lies in connecting those resources through a stronger supply chain. The first step is to build local aggregation and pre-processing systems so residue can be converted and moved more efficiently through the value chain. Ethanol can also play a useful role, especially in alcohol-to-jet pathways and in hybrid fuel strategies that combine multiple renewable inputs. Just as important, the ecosystem needs aggregation models that bring together farmers, aggregators, and fuel producers at scale, because residue supply is too fragmented to rely on one-off sourcing.

This is also where policy and private capital need to work together. When residue collection is organised, offtake is visible, and conversion pathways are aligned to local feedstock availability, SAF projects become far more investable. That is the difference between a promising idea and a bankable commercial model. Once that collection layer is in place, projects become far more bankable, since lenders and investors can see consistent feedstock availability, clearer logistics, and a more predictable path to commercial operation. A diversified approach across residues, ethanol, municipal waste, and used cooking oil will be key to building resilience and scale.

Que: How is Honeywell’s technology portfolio supporting advanced feedstock conversion, particularly in challenging feedstock categories?

Ans: Our portfolio is built to handle a wide range of feedstocks, including some of the more challenging ones. Ecofining converts vegetable oils, animal fats, greases, and even algal oils into SAF and renewable diesel, helping expand the renewable fuels pool without depending on a single feedstock stream. Fischer-Tropsch Hydrocracking provides another pathway for producing lower-carbon jet fuel from synthesis gas. eFining supports methanol-to-jet production, which is important for future power-to-liquid routes. Biocrude Upgrading is the newest addition, and it is designed to process forestry and agricultural waste into drop-in fuels. Together, these technologies give us the flexibility to match the right solution to local feedstock availability and project needs – exactly what India requires to scale sustainably.

Que: What are the key challenges in scaling SAF and biocrude production in India, from pilot to commercial scale?

Ans: The biggest challenge in scaling SAF and biocrude is not just the technology itself, but the wider ecosystem that supports it. Feedstock consistency, logistics, project financing, blending infrastructure, and clear standards all need to move together. Certification frameworks for feedstock, carbon intensity, and fuel quality will also be critical, because long-term offtake only becomes viable when airlines and refiners trust the product and the economics behind it. Pilot projects can prove technical feasibility, but commercial scale requires predictable supply chains, policy certainty, and bankable demand. That is where partnerships become essential, because the move from demonstration to deployment depends on execution across the full value chain.

In India, this also means getting the certification and testing ecosystem ready early, so producers are not stuck waiting for every project-specific approval at the end of the chain. The faster the standards, tracking, and offtake frameworks mature, the faster commercial projects can move.

Que: India is targeting 1-5 percent SAF blending by 2030. What policy measures and incentive mechanisms are critical to achieving this target?

Ans: India’s blending ambition sends a strong market signal, and that signal is essential for investment. The government’s recent amendment to the ATF Order is a positive enabling step. It now officially allows blending of sustainable and synthetic fuels, including SAF, in jet fuel. This removes a key regulatory barrier and aligns with the indicative targets of 1 percent by 2027, 2 percent by 2028, and 5 percent by 2030 for international flights. However, with no mandatory blending in place yet, supply will only follow if early projects are supported with the right incentives. Clear phased mandates create demand visibility, but supply will only follow if early projects are supported with the right incentives.

Viability gap funding, duty relief on eligible feedstocks, and carbon credit frameworks can all improve project economics in the early years. Support for collection infrastructure and faster permitting will help reduce execution delays. Long-term offtake arrangements with airlines, refiners, or public sector partners can further de-risk investment. Just as importantly, policy needs to reward domestic production in a way that creates confidence for first movers. The early years are always the hardest, so the market has to see that low-carbon fuel production will be supported consistently, not just announced. If policy, supply, and demand move in step, India can build a domestic SAF ecosystem that supports aviation growth while reducing import dependence.

Que: Honeywell has been actively involved in sustainable fuel technologies globally. Could you elaborate on your key offerings and projects in India related to SAF and biocrude?

Ans: Globally, our renewable fuels portfolio spans Ecofining for lipid-based feedstocks, Fischer-Tropsch Hydrocracking for gas-to-jet pathways, eFining for methanol conversion, and Biocrude Upgrading for waste-based feedstocks. In India, our collaboration with a leading green energy company marks an important step, as it explores SAF production from captured CO₂ and green hydrogen using our eFining pathway. These projects also show the breadth of our India engagement. Alongside the NTPC Green work, the SAF One collaboration brings together Honeywell technology and Tata Projects’ EPC capability, while the TruAlt agreement demonstrates how ethanol-based SAF can be scaled in India through a grassroots production model. That kind of collaboration matters because it connects global technology with local opportunity.

Backed by our India team and our Gurugram R&D capability, we are focused on adapting solutions to local feedstocks, policy conditions, and infrastructure realities. Just as importantly, we see India not only as a market, but also as a place where partnerships can help build commercially relevant clean-fuel pathways at scale. This is why partnerships matter so much in India. The combination of global technology, local execution, and domestic feedstock planning is what will make these pathways commercially relevant, not just technically possible.