Guidance

Jet Zero Council: Sustainable Aviation Fuels Delivery Group terms of reference

Updated 6 October 2022

Purpose

The Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Delivery Group will support the overall objective and purpose of the Jet Zero Council (JZC) by:

• convening a wide range of experts to inform decision making
• providing advice on how government and industry can work together to deliver our SAF commitments:
  • to have at least 10% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK jet fuel mix by 2030
  • to see at least 5 commercial-scale SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025

Objectives

SAF Delivery Group’s objectives will be to:

• identify and maximise the strategic, economic, environmental, and international benefits of using and producing SAF in the UK, and identify the barriers and constraints industry faces in achieving these goals
• enable the establishment of UK production facilities for SAF, including first-of-a-kind plants, attracting investment, and commercialising the industry by driving down production costs
• support the development of the policy and regulatory framework needed to ensure SAF usage and production in the UK
• foster technological development and grassroots innovation in these areas and seek to make the UK the best place in the world to develop new SAF technology
• provide a platform for ministerial and senior industry leadership on efforts to deliver SAF in the UK

Subgroup objectives

Mandate subgroup

The Mandate subgroup will:

• provide expert advice and guidance on mandate policy issues that need refinement or further stakeholder or industry evidence during consultations and development of final policy positions
• provide advice on how best to implement the mandate, and how best to engage with wider industry on this

Commercialisation subgroup

The Commercialisation subgroup will work with Department for Transport to gather evidence, including on:

• the barriers to investment into the UK SAF industry
• how jointly industry and government can together best overcome these specific barriers

Technology subgroup

The Technology subgroup will:

• assess the emerging evidence on the non-CO2 impacts of using SAF (both blended and 100% SAF)
• consider how to maximise availability of feedstocks that could be used for SAF (including MSW, hydrogen and forestry residues) and whether any emerging feedstocks can broaden the range of feedstocks used
• understand how to achieve 100% SAF capabilities, and what initiatives industry and international governments are using to develop this
• understand the technology barriers to the scaling-up of different SAF production methods and how innovation could overcome these
• consider the practicalities of integrating CCS into SAF production facilities and the impact this would have across different SAF production pathways

Membership

The SAF Delivery Group (and subgroups) will bring together a wide variety of experts to ensure the membership provides cross-cutting input to inform policy makers. This will allow consideration of the full SAF supply chain, from production to end use.

DfT will be represented by the Deputy Director for Low Carbon Fuels, with other relevant officials also attending. Officials from other government departments will be invited on an ad-hoc basis.

The current membership list can be found in annex A.

DfT officials, together with the chair, will regularly review the membership of the delivery group to ensure it meets the current and future needs and priorities. Other experts on particular topics could be invited to individual meetings.

Role of the SAF Delivery Group Chair

The SAF Delivery Group Chair will have responsibility for:

• managing the meeting in accordance with corporate governance best practice including compliance with competition law
• reporting to the JZC and JZC CEO Steering Group on progress made by the SAF Delivery Group
• ensuring that meetings run effectively and smoothly, taking members through the agenda items, keeping members to time and summarising actions from each meeting
• ensuring that the full range of views expressed by members and invited experts are appropriately considered during meetings
• acting as an impartial and inclusive advocate and champion for UK SAF industry and R&D, nationally and internationally

Role of the subgroup Group Chairs

• Managing the meeting in accordance with corporate governance best practice including compliance with competition law
• Reporting to the JZC SAF Delivery Group on progress made by the group
• Ensuring that meetings run effectively and smoothly, taking members through the agenda items, keeping members to time and summarising actions from each meeting
• Ensuring that the full range of views expressed by members and invited experts are appropriately considered during meetings.
• Acting as impartial and inclusive advocates and champions for UK SAF industry and research and development, nationally and internationally.

Role of the Secretariat

Meeting agendas and material will be supplied by Innovate UK KTN, which will provide the secretariat function for the SAF Delivery Group and subgroups. The Secretariat will:

• confirm agenda items for forthcoming meetings with DfT officials and the Chair
• ensure the timely circulation of background papers and agenda to members
• arrange meetings with sufficient notice (at least two weeks in advance)
• commission more detailed update notes and digital surveys between meetings, focussing on topics relevant to the delivery group discussions that can support policymaking, as required
• disseminate and keep track of the agreed actions from each meeting
• where there is overlap between the topics covered by the subgroups, ensure that the relevant chairs are sighted of these discussions and outcomes
• minute each meeting (non-attributable), assemble and analyse records (including actions), share with members and responsible officials
• prepare short briefing papers for the Chairs to use to report to the JZC CEO Steering Group and the SAF Delivery Group on progress made by groups

Role of the members

Members are expected to:

• proactively contribute during meetings and fully participate in the discussion – wherever possible, members should have their camera on during the meeting
• ensure that only one person from each member organisation attends each meeting – delegation for any meeting is possible provided the Secretariat is notified in advance of the meeting
• read background material provided to them by the Secretariat before each meeting
• complete actions agreed and accepted during meetings, if any, in a timely manner and provide quantitative and qualitative evidence, if requested and  agreed during meetings, in a confidential way where needed, to support the points raised
• ensure the independence, objectivity and impartiality of the delivery group, by acting in the public interest and not being constrained by their own organisational or professional boundaries
• inform the Secretariat and Chair of any changes to their professional status, of affiliation, as well as any concerns regarding the delivery group

Meetings and timing

The first SAF Delivery Group was delivered in November 2020 and will meet at least on a quarterly basis. Ideally, meetings will be held between JZC meetings, to ensure continuous exchange of information between the 2 advisory groups. Meetings will be held virtually, but this will be reviewed by the Secretariat based on current circumstances.

Subgroups have been established to drive progress on specific workstreams. They will meet more regularly, and each will have a chair who will give feedback to the SAF Delivery Group. The workstreams are as follows:

• mandate
• technology
• commercialisation

DfT officials, together with the chair, will regularly review progress, objectives and membership to ensure the delivery group is effectively contributing to policymaking.

Each meeting will have a maximum duration of 2 hours, although there may be topics or circumstances that could require longer sessions. If that is needed, members will be notified in advance.