After a potentially too long break to end 2024. The SAF Podcast is back in 2025, a year set to have significant importance for the burgeoning SAF industry.

For our first episode Oscar sits down with Philip Fjeld from Refuels. As the UK and EU SAF mandates take effect in 2025, Fjeld shares valuable perspectives from his decade of experience in the biomethane industry and his role at the Renewable Transport Fuel Association (RTFA).

 The discussion delves into crucial market dynamics, examining how feedstock competition between SAF and biodiesel production could impact both sectors. Fjeld provides expert analysis on the challenges facing the industry in 2025, including the recovery from recent market disruptions caused by allegedly fraudulent feedstocks from Asia. He offers compelling insights into the differences between biomethane and waste oil feedstock availability.

The episode also explores critical policy mechanisms, comparing the established Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) with the new SAF mandate. Fjeld discusses potential challenges with the HEFA cap implementation from 2027 onwards and draws important lessons from the development fuel mandate experience in road transport. This episode is essential listening for SAF industry professionals seeking to understand the broader implications of transport decarbonization policies and their impact on feedstock markets.

A considerable amount of thinking in decarbonisation is siloed and this episode finishes highlighting the importance of  inter-sector collaboration to decarbonize transport. We discuss the intricate balance required between road transport policies and SAF mandates, highlighting the potential competition for vital feedstocks. Fjeld shares his vision for a diversified approach, advocating for aggressive blending mandates in the UK and a holistic view of alternative fuels' roles in maritime transport.

You can check out this full discussion on all the usual platforms and on our website: https://www.safinvestor.com/the-saf-podcast/