FairPlay founder Francois Baird calls on the South African government to stop dithering and throw its weight behind proposals to produce aviation fuel from sugar cane.
Key takeaways:
- Missed opportunity: Due to more than a decade of government inaction, South Africa missed the window to establish a large-scale vehicle biofuel industry to counter the crisis of dumped sugar imports.
- Shift to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): With the rise of electric vehicles reducing road fuel demand, the sugar industry is pivoting toward producing sustainable aviation fuel from sugar cane, which represents a highly lucrative, growing global market.
- Urgent call for government action: Following a $1 billion plant investment announcement and interest from President Ramaphosa, advocacy groups are urging the government to implement regulations and resources rather than delaying further.
South Africa missed the bus when it came to bioethanol blending for diesel and petrol. But there’s still time to catch the plane.
For more than a decade, the South African sugar industry has been at crisis point because of dumped sugar imports. For more than a decade, the sugar industry has sought to diversify away from sugar, principally into using sugar cane to produce biofuel to help fuel the cars and trucks on our roads.
Unfortunately, over those same years, the South African government thought about it, and largely did nothing. Yes, legislation provides for small amounts of ethanol blended into petrol and diesel, but the large biofuel industry the sugar producers were hoping for, established with government help, didn’t happen.
Other countries took action. Brazil is the world’s largest producer of bioethanol from sugar cane, and it makes up a substantial percentage of the fuels powering Brazil’s vehicles. The United States has mandated a mix of bioethanol made from maize. In Asia it is palm trees.
That is standing those countries in good stead during the current fuel crisis, with petrol and especially diesel prices rocketing because of oil shortage caused by the Iran war.
However, the internal combustion engines that use petrol and diesel will become a declining market as South Africa’s vehicle manufacturers increase the share of electric-powered vehicles. That’s where we missed the bus.
Aviation fuel is a much better prospect. There’s little likelihood of battery-powered jetliners travelling between continents in the near future. And aviation fuel prices have also risen sharply because of the Iran conflict.
That’s why the South African sugar industry is pointing to the immediate and longer-term potential for what is known as sustainable aviation fuel – made from sugar cane and blended into jet fuel. The airline industry is looking at the possibility of eventually powering their planes on 100% sustainable fuel.
That’s a growing global market. The sugar industry wants the government to move fast, and take advantage of a beckoning opportunity.
FairPlay has consistently backed the sugar industry’s calls for diversification into biofuels to mitigate the effects of dumped sugar imports. Now there’s added urgency, with a narrowing window of opportunity.
Things are moving at last. The Indian agro-industrial group UPL has announced plans to invest $1 billion in a bioethanol plant in South Africa. And President Ramaphosa has asked his ministers to provide him with a plan to incentivise biofuels.
FairPlay calls on the government to do more than think and plan. It must decide that it wants a sustainable aviation fuel industry. It should then look urgently at what is needed, in terms of resources, regulations and investment, and act swiftly to make this plan a reality.
Don’t dither again, and miss the plane.
