In this episode, we speak with Philipp Furler, Founder and CEO of Synhelion, who shares how the Swiss technology company is working to scale synthetic fuels by tackling some of the fundamental cost and infrastructure barriers facing SAF today.

Furler discusses:

• The path to $1/litre production costs: How Synhelion targets production costs of around $1 per litre within 10-15 years through three key advantages: cheap solar energy with thermal storage enabling 24/7 operation, avoiding electrolysis and green hydrogen entirely, and achieving over 90% energy conversion efficiency.
• From fuel producer to technology licensor: How Synhelion plans to demonstrate business case viability by developing projects, building plants, and selling fuel up to 30,000 tons annually by 2030, then transitioning to a project developer and technology licensing model.
• Multi-product revenue streams reduce risk: Why producing not just 70% SAF but also diesel, naphtha, and gasoline creates multiple revenue streams, enabling customer partnerships and market momentum to support scale-up.
• Seamless integration with existing refineries: How Synhelion supplies synthetic crude oil directly into refineries in the Lufthansa and Swiss network where it’s co-processed with fossil crude in a mass-balanced system, demonstrating that decarbonisation requires only building new production plants, not rebuilding downstream infrastructure.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Tim Boeltken, Founder and Managing Director at INERATEC, who shares insights into the company’s modular technology platform and the potential of e-fuels to revolutionise the future of SAF. Check it out here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More:

Synhelion

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) – a renewable synthetic fuel - Synhelion 

German firm Synhelion opens ‘world’s 1st’ industrial solar fuel plant - Interesting Engineering 

SWISS integrates first supplies of Synhelion solar SAF into flight operations - GreenAir News  

In this episode, we speak with Sabrina Tekle Krarup Jensen, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation at Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH), who shares how the airport is navigating some of aviation’s most complex sustainability challenges.

Jensen discusses:

• CPH’s unique role as neutral facilitator: How the airport leverages its position outside the commercial fuel supply chain to support multiple SAF projects, and connect stakeholders across the entire aviation value chain.
• The eSAF financing gap challenge: Why eSAF prices remain 8-10 times higher than Jet A-1, preventing offtakers from signing the long-term agreements producers need to scale, and why regulatory intervention may be necessary to bridge this gap.
• Proven SAF impact on local air quality: Results from the ALIGHT project measurement campaign showing 40% SAF achieved a 30% reduction in ultrafine particle emissions.
• Denmark’s green domestic route: How Norwegian Air Lines will launch the country’s first green domestic route in March 2026 using 40% SAF.
• Battery energy storage system and electrification: Implementation of a battery system to store renewable energy and manage power spikes from electric ground support equipment and future electric aircraft charging.
• Real-world fuel variability research: The FuelTrack campaign with German Aerospace Centre and SAS that links specific fuel chemistry (aromatics and sulphur content) directly to tailpipe emissions.
• Airport-to-airport collaboration on innovation: CPH’s partnership with Schiphol Airport pooling resources on local air quality challenges.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Anko van der Werff, President & CEO of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), who shares the airline’s plans to lead the charge in sustainable aviation. Check it out here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More:

Sustainability - Copenhagen Airports 

Groundbreaking study linking jet fuel properties to aircraft emissions - CPH

Copenhagen Airport installs large battery for green energy storage - CPH 

ALIGHT project  

In this episode, Dirk Singer speaks with James Hygate, Founder and CEO of Firefly Green Fuels, about one of the more unconventional and potentially scalable sustainable aviation fuel pathways: converting sewage biosolids into jet fuel.

Hygate discusses: 

• Why Firefly is “feedstock-led”, and why that matters more than the technology
• How sewage biosolids emerged as the preferred feedstock for Firefly due to their abundance, consistency, and increasing difficulty of disposal.
• How hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) works like “a pressure cooker” to turn sewage into biocrude and biochar 
• Why Firefly believes its fuel could achieve over 90% lifecycle CO2 savings, potentially even becoming carbon-negative
• How sewage-to-SAF could scale in the UK  and why it could “come from left field” in mandate maths
• What is required for SAF projects to be bankable including long-term feedstock supply and offtake agreements
• How sewage-based SAF can reach cost parity with Jet A

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Dr Mar Fernández-Méndez, Co-founder of MacroCarbon, who shares how the startup plans to turn seaweed into SAF. Check it out here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More:

Firefly Green Fuels

What & How - Firefly

Poop-powered planes: Could jet fuel made from sewage take off? - CNN

Wizz Air and Firefly collaborate on turning human waste into SAF - Biofuels International Magazine 

In this episode, we speak with Adam Klauber, Chief Sustainability Officer at World Energy, who has been at the forefront of developing book and claim mechanisms for sustainable aviation fuel since its earliest days.

He discusses:

• The co-claims approach: Why aviation needed to diverge from renewable electricity market models by enabling both airlines (scope 1) and their corporate customers (scope 3) to claim emissions reductions from the same SAF molecules, unlocking new sources of funding.
• What it took to get early deals done: How some of the earliest SAF buyers like Microsoft moved before the supporting infrastructure was fully in place, including clear registries and standardised accounting rules, and why that early willingness mattered.
• Insetting vs offsetting: The moral hazard of buying cheap offsets outside aviation, and how insetting addresses this while maintaining economic efficiency.
• Making SAF contracts “bankable”: How long-term commitments from credible corporate buyers can help producers secure debt capital at lower interest rates, thereby lowering financing costs and easing the SAF price premium over time.
• Building market infrastructure that benefits the whole sector: Why World Energy deliberately builds frameworks that benefit competitors, recognising that growing the overall SAF market serves everyone’s interests and that no single company wins with only a trickle of supply.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Gene Gebolys, founder and CEO of World Energy, who delves into the intricacies and future of SAF. Check it out here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More:

World Energy

Blueprints for Bankability - RMI 

Re-thinking the blueprint for financing SAF - SimpliFlying

Efficient, effective decarbonization with carbon insets - World Energy  

In this episode, we speak with Rachel Gardner-Poole, GAIN steering group chair and sustainable aviation consultant at NATS, the UK’s leading air traffic control provider. 

Gardner-Poole shares how GAIN (Green Aviation Insights Network) is bringing together air navigation service providers from around the world to optimise flight paths and reduce emissions using tools and insights that can deliver results today. She discusses:

• GAIN’s dual purpose: A global collaboration of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and a dashboard tool that measures airspace efficiency, enabling ANSPs to identify inefficiencies, benchmark performance by airline and route, and track CO2 emissions in real time.
• Why airspace efficiency matters now: Whilst SAF faces supply constraints and hydrogen aircraft remain years away, airspace optimisation can deliver immediate carbon savings. 
• Breaking down communication barriers: How misaligned assumptions between airlines and air traffic controllers often lead to suboptimal flight paths, and how GAIN’s data visualisation enables targeted conversations to unlock tactical savings.
• The founding members’ impact: With five founding members helping shape the tool, GAIN could save over 450,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
• Addressing greenwashing concerns: Unlike complex carbon credit schemes or predictive modelling, GAIN uses real, verifiable flight path data.
• Future expansion plans: The goal is to reach 40% of the world’s 160 ANSPs by 2030, with potential features including non-CO2 effects like contrails, and partnerships with organisations across the aviation sector.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Sian Andrews, SESAR Environmental Lead at NATS, who shares how air traffic management can reduce aviation’s environmental impact. Check it out here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More:

NATS 

Green Aviation Insights (GAIN) - NATS 

NATS and leading ANSPs unite to drive sustainable aviation through a novel data-driven insights tool - CANSO

NATS environmental initiative GAIN-ing momentum - Aviation Week Network  

In this special year-end episode, we explore conversations with industry leaders revealing where sustainable aviation truly stands in 2025.

• Matt Gorman, Director of Carbon Strategy at Heathrow Airport, reveals airports control just 0.1% of their carbon footprint directly but use landing charges to incentivise SAF adoption.
• Tamara Vrooman, CEO of Vancouver Airport, explains moving their net-zero target forward to 2030 by leveraging control of central infrastructure.
• Lena Wennberg, Chief Sustainable Development Officer, and Therese Forsström, Head of Environmental Department at Swedavia, explain achieving fossil-free operations in 2020 and how they are looking to support fossil-free domestic flights in Sweden by 2030.
• Aaron Robinson, Vice President of SAF at International Airlines Group, identifies airlines’ reluctance to adopt SAF as a cultural problem rooted in safety-first mindsets that resist innovation.
• Matthew Ridley, Director of Sustainability at The oneworld Alliance, discusses their $150 million fund with Breakthrough Energy Ventures for next-generation SAF.
• Trevor Best, CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, details their photocatalytic technology converting biogas into SAF at smaller scales, targeting jet fuel parity.
• Tim Boeltken of INERATEC explains their modular e-fuel technology deployable wherever green hydrogen is produced.
• Marc Allen, CEO of Electra, describes how electric aircraft will succeed by enabling new capabilities like 150-foot takeoffs rather than competing with jet fuel.
• Billy Thalheimer of Regent introduces Seagliders – wing-in-ground effect vehicles offering new transportation for coastal routes.
• Jolanda Stevens, Program Manager for Zero Emission Aviation at KLM, emphasises airlines’ responsibility in enabling hydrogen and electric aircraft.
• Luke Farajallah, CEO of Loganair, discusses how their mandatory £1 carbon levy receives almost no passenger complaints.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love all the conversations we had through the year with dozens of industry executives, technology leaders and scientists. Check out the archive here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More:

Book: Sustainability in the Air, Vol Two - SimpliFlying

Sustainable Aviation Outlook Report 2025 - SimpliFlying  

In this episode, we speak with Nanna Baldvinsdottir, co-founder of IðunnH2, about how Iceland’s unique energy system could turn the country into a green fuel bridge between Europe and North America. 

A veteran of Iceland’s power sector, Nanna has spent two decades working in renewables before turning to hydrogen and e-fuels development.

Nanna shares how IðunnH2 is developing a 300 MW, ~70,000 tonne-per-year e-SAF project near Keflavík International Airport, designed first to decarbonise Icelandic aviation and only then supply the wider world via book-and-claim. She explains why social licence for new wind power, local energy security, and predictable permitting make Iceland a testbed for scaling e-fuels where other regions are still stuck on the drawing board.

Nanna discusses:

• Why SAF, not hydrogen export, came out on top in IðunnH2’s feasibility work – and how switching mid-study unlocked a path to true commercial scale rather than niche pilot projects.
• The Helguvík project: locating a commercial-scale e-kerosene facility a stone’s throw from Iceland’s main international airport, using 100% renewable power contracted via long-term PPAs.
• Book-and-claim as a strategic tool: using it to serve committed early partners like Luxaviation and other motivated buyers outside Iceland, while keeping the bulk of production for Icelandic decarbonisation.
• Moving beyond “Jet A price parity”: why chasing price parity with fossil jet fuel misses the point since jet fuel is heavily subsidised and untaxed, and how 15-year price stability can be more valuable to airlines than simply being the cheapest.
• Her role as a “system builder”: why e-fuel plants are far more complex than traditional power projects, and what it takes to keep partners aligned on timelines, risk, margins, and ambition.
• The wider Icelandic hydrogen roadmap: how aviation, maritime, and road transport could all draw on the same hydrogen and e-fuels backbone as the market matures.
  
  

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book “Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2.” Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & more:

• IðunnH2
• Why Iceland? - IðunnH2
• SAF – IðunnH2
• Hydrogen and E-fuels Roadmap for Iceland
• Nanna Baldvinsdottir - LinkedIn
• EU ReFuelEU Aviation Mandate

In this episode, we speak with Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and CEO of REGENT, who shares how the company is redefining travel with their all-electric Seagliders. 

Thalheimer discusses:

• Solving the regional travel gap: How seagliders address the transportation problem on 50–200 mile coastal routes, creating a faster, cheaper, and greener alternative for the 40% of the world’s population living in coastal communities.
• Three breakthrough technologies in one vehicle: How REGENT combines wing-in-ground effect aerodynamics, hydrofoil systems (providing five feet of wave tolerance).
• Maritime certification, not aviation: Why seagliders operate as vessels under Coast Guard and IMO jurisdiction rather than FAA oversight, with operators certificated as master mariners rather than pilots—solving the regional pilot shortage whilst creating a six-week training pathway for professional mariners.
• Commercial and defence applications at scale: How REGENT has secured over $10 billion in orders from airlines, ferry operators, and energy companies, with use cases ranging from commuter services to offshore wind farm logistics and military operations.
• Infrastructure advantage and electrification: Why existing docks can accommodate Seagliders with minimal modification, creating “high-speed rail without the billions in rail infrastructure” whilst leveraging emerging port electrification efforts from the cruise and ferry industries.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Nathan Millecam, President & CEO of Electric Power Systems (EP Systems), where he talks about designing the ideal battery to power electric aircraft. Check it out here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More:

REGENT Craft 

REGENT Craft successfully conducts high-speed test of its electric ‘Seaglider’ - MSN

This ‘flying boat’ could be the future of travel in Scotland - The Independent 

REGENT lands major order for 27 all-electric seagliders to advance coastal mobility - Offshore Energy

In this special compilation episode, recorded live at the Dubai Airshow 2025, five aviation industry leaders share their perspectives on whether the Middle East can balance rapid aviation growth with sustainability goals.

Featuring insights from:

• Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports
• Julien Manhès, Head of SAF and CDR, Airbus
• Yousif Bin Saeed Al Lootah, CEO, Lootah Biofuels
• Darren Hulst, Vice President of Commercial Marketing, Boeing
• Michel Azar-Hmouda, President of Commercial Aviation, CAE

Together, they answer one central question: where does the Middle East have the greatest opportunity to lead in sustainable aviation, and what could stand in the way? 

Throughout the episode, the aviation leaders explore the region’s unique advantages, including large scale infrastructure, abundant renewable energy, strategic geography, and strong political commitment, positioning it as a proving ground for next generation sustainable aviation technologies. They also address the challenges that can potentially threaten progress, from workforce development and supply chain alignment to the difficulty of turning ambition into reality.

This is a compilation of highlights from five in-depth conversations. Stay tuned for the full interviews on our Sustainability In The Air platform.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love all the conversations we had through the year with dozens of industry executives, technology leaders and scientists. Check out the archive here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Sponsor message: This episode was recorded live in partnership with the Dubai Airshow 2025 and CAE.

For nearly 80 years, CAE has delivered cutting-edge training and simulation solutions across 240 sites in over 40 countries, preparing aviation professionals for critical moments while putting sustainability at the center of what they do.

In this episode, we speak with Julia Fidler, former Director of Market Development for Energy, Connectivity, and Sustainability at Microsoft, who shares how the company built partnerships that are reshaping corporate approaches to scope 3 emissions.

Fidler discusses:

• How Microsoft’s early carbon fee on scope 1, 2, and 3.6 emissions created the foundation for treating business travel not just as a measurable category, but as a gateway to solving fuel emissions.
• How Microsoft’s Sustainability Grant Program supported early exploration of emerging SAF markets through seed funding for consulting guidance and partnerships, creating a model for corporate innovation in hard-to-abate sectors.
• Why Microsoft chose to support the most expensive SAF pathway (e-fuels/power-to-liquids) and how the concept of “green premium” enabled a three-way collaboration between Microsoft, Alaska Airlines, and Twelve.
• How the partnership with IAG and the Chooose removed barriers for hundreds of Microsoft suppliers to purchase SAF for the first time.
• Why Microsoft’s approach balanced carbon removal procurement with SAF investment alongside demand management, treating these not as competing priorities but as complementary strategies.

Fiddler also shares her journey from corporate travel management to leading industry-defining collaborations with airlines and SAF producers, and discusses how she’ll now be scaling these lessons globally through her new role at the RSB.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Etosha Cave, Co-founder & Chief Science Officer of Twelve, who shares how the carbon transformation company harnesses CO2 from industrial waste streams to produce e-fuels. Check it out here. 

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More:

Microsoft Sustainability 

Alaska Airlines teams with Microsoft to aid development of Twelve’s E-Jet power-to-liquid fuel - GreenAir News 

How Microsoft is using an internal carbon fee to reach its carbon negative goal - Microsoft Industry Blogs  

Microsoft signs sustainable aviation fuel purchase deal with IAG to tackle Scope 3 emissions - ESG Today 

Why Twelve believes power-to-liquids will revolutionise sustainable aviation fuel production - SimpliFlying