Biofuels versus synthetic fuels - which is the best solution for aviation?

Abstract

Alternative fuels can reduce aviation’s climate-relevant emissions. First, we compare the most promising options: biofuels and synthetic fuels (power-to-liquid, short: PtL or e-fuels). Our assessment criteria include CO2 reduction potentials as well as specific advantages and barriers including costs. Results from a supply perspective show that biofuels are advanta-geous in the short term while synthetic fuels could be favorable in the long run, once sufficient economies of scale will have been achieved. As it would certainly be too costly to finance a transitional biofuel system, it might be better to prioritize the use of synthetic fuels from the start. Also, building up a PtL system could take place gradually through increasing blending with conventional fuel. Second, we analyze possible political measures for the promotion of PtL fuels. Here it shows that on the one hand a variety of measures would be useful while on the other hand the international character of aviation makes improvements difficult to realize.