The ACT-SAF EU-AI Part II project is funded by the European Union and implemented by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The overall objective of the action is to enhance the partnership between the EU and partner States in the area of environmental protection and climate change in general, and Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in particular. The intended achievements resulting from the action cover long-lasting increase of capabilities of the partner States to implement relevant policies to address their aviation sector’s climate impact, with a focus towards an increased usage of SAF.
The EU is funding the ACT-SAF Africa-India project (€ 4,000,000.00), which implementation is split between EASA (€ 2,400,000.00) and ICAO (€ 1,600,000.00), demonstrating an efficient and complementary support to the Partner States:
Part I ICAO providing 10 Feasibility/Business Implementation Studies for 9 African States, plus India
Part II EASA providing wider range of support to facilitate actioning of SAF production in 14 African States, plus India
The specific objectives of the ACT-SAF EU-AI Part II project are the following:
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Promote regional policy dialogues with partner States on mitigating GHG emissions from civil aviation, specifically on the role SAF as a key measure;
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To support partner states in the implementation of global environmental standards such as CORSIA and in the planning of production, distribution, use and claiming of SAF abiding by CORSIA sustainability criteria.
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To support Partner States in fostering SAF value chains (production, sustainability criteria, certification, distribution, logistics, access to financing), promote the creation of national/regional SAF alliances.
Background informationSince the 1960s, ICAO has been working to minimize the environmental impacts of aircraft. At the 41st Session of the ICAO Assembly in 2022, the European Commission (EC) and ICAO signed a Declaration of Intent to fund a 4 Million Euros initiative to continue the cooperation to address climate change and to reduce the environmental impact of international aviation through the promotion of SAF in support of the implementation of the LTAG of net-zero aviation carbon emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement's objectives. This new cooperation initiative under the ICAO ACT-SAF Programme supports India and states in Africa in enabling the production and supply of SAF in their own States. The Global Gateway stands for sustainable and trusted connections that work for people and the planet. It is the new European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. Among other financial instruments, the EU is providing technical cooperation resources to support third countries in the development and deployment of SAF, either as part of the ICAO ACT-SAF Programme or directly through other cooperation or financing mechanisms. SAF is recognised as one of the Flagship projects under the Global Gateway. |
Project activities
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DATE TITLE TEXT 19.05-21.05.2025 3rd Kenya National SAF Committee and Technical Working Group Meetings in Naivasha, Kenya This meeting followed the support provided by the project to organise the 2nd NSC in Mombasa in October 2024 and the TWGs working session in April 2025.
The 3rd NSC has also hosted working sessions of the Technical Working Groups, organised in breakout sessions to ensure quality time to advance the work plan and with the NSC plenary scheduled at the end to allow for reporting of progress and surfacing of interdependencies between TWGs.
The 3rd NSC and Technical Working Groups gathered 48 participants from 27 organisations or Governmental Departments/Agencies along the 3 days.
08.05-09.05.2025 Nigerian SAF Stakeholder Event, Lagos Nigeria The workshop, organized by NCAA and NCCC, seamlessly continued the discussions after the Regional Workshop on “Access to Finance for SAF” in the Nigerian context with over 30 participants from 18 organizations and governmental departments in Nigeria. The event shaped the platform to formally initiate and constitute six SAF Task Working Groups by the signature of a founding document by all group representatives.
- Policy and Regulation
- Feedstock and Production
- Funding and Investment
- Technology and Innovation
- Environmental and Social Impact
- Infrastructure and Logistics
Moreover, a consensus could be reached on the need to proceed with a SAF Feasibility Study conducted under the project in 2025 to assess the viability of SAF production pathways in Nigeria including the need for Nigeria’s active engagement in the study to generate real ownership on its content and recommendations. This commitment should ensure the definition of practical and realistic actions for the countries SAF stakeholders to develop and launch SAF production.05.05-07.05.2025 2nd Regional Workshop on “Facilitating Access to Finance for SAF Production Projects” in Lagos, Nigeria This 2nd ACT SAF Regional Workshop for Africa provided the occasion to take stock of the developments of SAF in the continent, to showcase and provide concrete linkages for the access to finance SAF projects, including relevant derisking strategies, collaborative approaches to SAF development and technical feasibility and to increase awareness of environmental and social impact associated with SAF. The workshop created a very active momentum also on the feedstock side and with a number of SAF production projects being formulated.
Over 450 participants (80 onsite) from 27 African States, representing over 200 organisations and governmental departments were able to create synergies bringing the continent one step closer to be an active part of the transformation of the aviation sector.
09.04-11.04.2025 SAF Task Working Group Meetings, Nairobi, Kenya The meetings moved the SAF agenda in Kenya forward with the 6 Technical Working Groups (TWGs) in an orchestrated and output-driven manner, it prepared and set the scene for the next (3rd) National Steering Committee Meeting from 19-21 May 2025, to define next concrete steps, required engagement, messages and requests / actions for Kenya’s Ministries Higher Representatives (Ministerial Principle Secretaries) to expedite the development of SAF at National level and throughout all involved Ministerial lead actors.
Over 45 participants from 22 organisations / governmental departments participated.
23.-24.01.2025 Kick-off Workshop in New Delhi about SAF with ICAO Jointly organized with DGCA India, the workshop supported India in developing SAF production by increasing its readiness and fostering SAF value chains. Realising the large SAF potential of India will assist the decarbonisation efforts in the aviation sector by greening aviation fuels, and aligning with the country’s net-zero goals to fight climate change.
The two-day meeting allowed intense discussions with the Indian Administration and potential SAF stakeholders.
Senior representation of the Ministries that will play a role in SAF development joined the workshop and showed strong lead and high commitments to explore the potential for SAF production. More than 90 participants from Indian Administration and potential SAF stakeholders in New Delhi met to explore the potential for SAF production in India
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DATE TITLE TEXT 04.-06.11.2024 2nd SAF Consultative Meetings in Abuja, Nigeria The three-day event co-organised with Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Nigerian Council for Climate Change (NCCC) brought participants to a common level of understanding on SAF and challenges and opportunities for Nigeria were discussed. Over 100 participants from potential SAF stakeholders (oil & gas industry, feedstocks, air operators) and relevant departments (NCAA, NCCC, Ministry of Aviation, Agriculture, Energy, Environment) from the Nigerian Administration gathered.
03.-04.10.2024 2nd Kenya National SAF Committee in Mombasa, Kenya The NSC was organised by KCAA back-to-back to the Regional SAF Workshop “SAF Direct Supply Lines”.
The main goal of the NSC was to move forward the SAF agenda in Kenya and to activate the 6 Technical Working Groups (TWGs) in an orchestrated and output-driven manner. The work was organised in 3 breakout sessions, with contribution from the project team in the three of them:- Breakout 1: TWG-1 on Financial Model and TWG-6 on SAF Roadmap
- Breakout 2: TWG-2 on Macroeconomic Benefits and TWG-5 on SAF policies
- Breakout 3: TWG-3 on Feedstocks and TWG-4 on Repurposing Mombasa Refinery.The NSC meeting achieved consolidating the lead and composition of the TWGs, define the first tasks, identify current gaps and brainstorm on the interdependencies between TWGs.
The NSC was supported under the ACT-SAF Africa-India Project, with complementary in-kind financial and technical contributions from GIZ and technical assistance by the ASCEND 93 Project (MIT and Hasselt University) and ICAO ACT-SAF team. Over 70 people, 30 stakeholders engaged
30.09.-02.10.2024 1st ACT-SAF Workshop on “SAF Direct Supply Lines (DSL)” in for Africa in Mombasa, Kenya The viability and bankability of SAF Direct Supply Lines (DSL = SAF production project including the whole SAF value chain from feedstock to end-users) were outlined and discussed to raise awareness of the main de-risking factors in SAF Direct Supply Lines, reflecting on the roles of the different actors along the SAF value chain and overall (e.g. Governments), a first direct contacts and alignment with the project Focal Points in the 14 African countries under the ACT-SAF Africa-India Project could be made, and synergies with other SAF Partner were enabled (e.g. ICAO, ASCEND 93, NL, GIZ). The workshop has been organised in collaboration with KCAA and coordination with ICAO.
A number of financial institutions have participated (e.g., WB, EBRD, SMBC, Freshfields) giving their perspective on essential de-risking factors to enable financing SAF production projects (e.g., strong and long-term SAF policies, offtake agreements, sound technical production projects with relevant partnerships) and showing positive signals to explore investments in Africa.
A field trip to Mombasa Refinery and Pipelines system was included, facilitated by KCAA. The field trip allowed for tangible examples of the challenges but also of the opportunities in the upcoming SAF production projects. Over 230 participants, 14 African States, 90 organisations/governmental departments
Technical Cooperation Project Details
Project Manager: santiago.haya-leiva [at] easa.europa.eu
Operational Manager: ralph.kossmann [at] easa.europa.eu
Project Assistant: natalia.russimova [at] easa.europa.eu
