Macquarie pours $292m into sustainable jet fuel play

The news: Financial giant Macquarie is investing €175 Million ($292 million) in Dutch sustainable jet fuel supplier SkyNRG, as the aviation industry looks to second-generation biofuels to approach net zero, Bloomberg reports.

The numbers: The investment is Macquarie's green asset division's first venture into the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) space, and comes alongside similar bets on grid scale batteries, hydrogen, metals recycling and green transportation. SkyNRG has potential long term commitments of up to €4 billion from partners including Boeing and KLM. The Dutch company launched the first SAF-fuelled commercial flight in in 2011 and began operating in the space in 2010.

The context: SAF is a biofuel chemically similar to commercial jet fuel, but is sourced from sustainable feedstocks including cooking oil, non-palm waste oils and solid waste from homes and business, resulting in a reduction of carbon footprint over the fuel's lifecycle. SAF is seen as a key ingredient to the decarbonisation of the aviation sector, but can cost up five times more than traditional jet fuel, according to Bloomberg.