The SAF Podcast

In this episode of The SAF Podcast , host Oscar Henderson welcomes back Gorka Penalva, Exolum , to discuss the company’s latest milestone — the launch of its new SAF blending facility at Redcliffe Bay in the UK. Gorka shares how Exolum is transforming its legacy fuel infrastructure to support a low-carbon future and reveals the vision behind what they’re calling the “SAF Superhighway.” Exolum is t...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast, Diana Birkett Rakow , Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability at Alaska Airlines and incoming CEO of Hawaiian Airlines , joins Oscar for a deep dive into how the airlines are shaping their SAF strategy and how it plays into overall emissions reductions ambitions.  We dig into Alaska’s five-part path to net zero by 2040—operational efficienc...

Hot off the heels of their public announcement, Mel Courtney, Catagen is the latest guest on The SAF Podcast.  We discuss the spinning out of Catagen ClimaHtech Green Flight, utilizing the technology honed in the 15 years of emissions testing, for their modular sustainable aviation fuel facilities through electrified reverse water gas shift Fischer-Tropsch.  Unlike conventional centralized refiner...

This week on The SAF Podcast Kata Cserep and Salem Esber, PA Consulting join Oscar to discuss the recent Cacophony to Symphony: Successfully Scaling Sustainable Aviation Fuel report.  With nearly 600 survey participants spanning airlines, airports, fuel producers, investors, and policymakers, the report reveals critical challenges in scaling SAF—most notably fragmentation across the ecosystem, cos...

This week Matti Lievonen, EcoCeres joins Oscar on The SAF Podcast. Matti shares insights from his illustrious career from the transition from traditional refining at Neste to pioneering renewable fuel production in the rapidly expanding Asian SAF market. The conversation reveals the company's innovative approach to feedstock traceability, managing relationships with over 100,000 restaurants f...

This week on The SAF Podcast we turn both eyes and ears to Asia with the three founders of the Asian SAF Association, Fabrice Espinosa, Gabriel Ho and Dietmar Posselt. Covering 48 vastly differing countries from the Middle East across to APAC, ASAFA aim is to promote production levels to decarbonise the regions growing aviation footprint. Rather than waiting for perfect policy frameworks, Asian co...

Ever wondered what MI6 was evaluating after World War II that could help solve our aviation climate crisis today? The answer lies in a century-old technology that's experiencing a remarkable revival. Peter-Paul Langerak of Gidara Energy joins us this week to take us through the evolution of High Temperature Winkler (HTW) gasification technology – from its 1920s origins through its refinement...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast, David Lloyd from Emerging Fuel Technology joins Oscar to discuss sustainable aviation fuel production, biogas feedstocks, and the challenges of scaling renewable fuel projects. Lloyd, a former airline strategy executive turned SAF technology entrepreneur, shares his transition from Qantas to the emerging fuels sector and explains why biogas represents an untappe...

This week on The SAF Podcast we are joined by Greg Constantine, Co-Founder & CEO, AIRCO (Formerly Air Company).  Originally from Australia, Greg explains the strategy behind building out technology development from revenue generating consumer products like carbon negative Vodka, hand sanitizer and perfume building towards production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel. This allows for ongoing revenue...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast , host Oscar Henderson speaks with Gianluca Ambrosetti , CEO and co-founder of Synhelion , to explore the future of solar fuels and their role in scaling sustainable aviation fuel ( SAF ) production. Synhelion’s pioneering thermochemical process converts CO₂ and biomass-derived carbon into renewable liquid fuels using high-temperature solar heat and thermal energ...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast , we sit down with Martin Forman, Director at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), to explore the challenges and opportunities in financing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects. With a background spanning energy M&A, hydrogen, CCS, and biofuels, Martin brings a pan-European and global view on decarbonisation finance. We discuss why Japanese institu...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast we are joined by Richard Mathers, Senior Director of Business Development at Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions, for an in-depth exploration of Honeywell’s expanding role in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technology.  If you follow any form of SAF news, you will have heard of Honeywell given their announcements of the ongoing $1.8bn all cash acquisition...

This week's SAF Podcast is our now annual deep dive into the global SAF Market Outlook from SkyNRG and ICF. This year we were joined by Anna Liznerova, SkyNRG and Mark Kelly, ICF. After weeks of late nights and weekends on this extra curricular project they share key insights and methodologies from the report. The conversation kicks off with the key takeaways from the report notably, Europe&a...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast, we are joined by Jim Stonecipher, Managing Director at EdyMac and former executive at Fulcrum BioEnergy.  With over 30 years of chemical engineering experience, Jim offers a candid, behind-the-scenes look at Fulcrum's high-profile journey—from promise to Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's ambitious vision to convert municipal solid waste into sustain...

This week on the SAF Podcast Smitha Hariharan, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Gulfstream Aerospace, discusses how one of the leading business jet manufacturer is pioneering sustainability through a comprehensive three-pillar strategy that balances environmental responsibility with business performance, with a heavy focus on Sustainable Aviation Fuel since 2011.  From Gulfstream...

This week Andre de Fontaine, Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) joins us on The SAF Podcast. Founded in 2021, SABA has been at the forefront of driving the Book and Claim conversation and allowing corporates to purchase SAF for their operations when they cannot control what fuel they fly on.  Andre explains how SABA has grown to include approximately 35 major companies—including BCG, Bank...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast , we welcome Gediminas Ziemelis, Founder and Chairman of Avia Solutions Group, to discuss the company’s move into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production through its NorSAF project. As the world’s largest wet-leasing provider, Avia Solutions Group operates across six continents and is now leveraging its extensive infrastructure to help decarbonize aviation. Ge...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast , we welcome back our first returning guest, Dani Charles, CEO and Co-Founder of Veriflux. Following his deep dive into U.S. policy in his first appearance, Dani returns to unpack the increasingly critical—and complex—world of feedstock traceability in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and how AI can could be the secret to doing it accurately at scale. ...

This week we are joined on The SAF Podcast by Kwame Bekoe, AfriSAF. With over 20 years of aviation experience spanning engineering, sales, and sustainability, Kwame shares his vision for Africa as a major player in the global SAF industry. He discusses how the continent’s vast agricultural residue—estimated at over 150 million tons annually—can be leveraged to produce SAF, fostering energy indepen...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast , we go behind the curtain of UK sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policy with former Aviation Minister and former Member of Parliament for the UK Robert Courts.  Listeners will gain a rare glimpse into the complexities of government policymaking—from managing cross-departmental collaboration and limited civil service bandwidth to ensuring stakeholder engagement an...

 In this episode of The SAF Podcast , Oscar sits down with Michelle Carter, Head of Transport at Innovate UK Business Connect, to explore the current state and future trajectory of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK. With over a decade of experience in SAF, Michelle offers a unique lens into the evolution of the UK’s SAF ecosystem—from early-stage innovation to national mandates and public...

Connor Madigan, founder of Aether Fuels, joins Oscar on this week's episode of The SAF Podcast.  Madigan shares his journey from founding a successful OLED manufacturing equipment company to pioneering a transformative approach to SAF technology through Aether's Aurora solution.  At the heart of our conversation is Aether Fuels'  Aurora technology, developed with GTI Energy, which r...

 In this episode of The SAF Podcast , host Oscar is joined by Lahiru Ranasinghe, Director of Sustainability at EasyJet, to explore the airline’s journey toward net zero. With aviation’s decarbonization at the forefront of industry discussions, Lahiru outlines EasyJet’s three-pronged strategy—Reduce, Replace, Remove —which balances efficiency improvements, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) adoption ,...

In this episode of The SAF Podcast , Alex Kueper, VP of Renewable Aviation at Neste, the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)joins Oscar. As the industry pushes towards net-zero emissions by 2050, Alex provides a deep dive into Neste’s expansion, the evolving market landscape, and the key challenges shaping the future of SAF.  What began as Finland's post-WWII oil refin...

 In this episode of The SAF Podcast, we dive into the evolving world of biomass-to-liquid fuels as Oscar chats with Anders Edling Hultgren, Founder of Votion Biorefineries. With nearly two decades in biofuels, Anders shares his journey from the Swedish forestry sector to pioneering innovations in bio-oil production.   Hultgren shares his groundbreaking approach to converting diverse biomass feedst...