Why was FGA set up?
FGA was developed by Sarah Wilkin in 2019, founder and now CEO of Fly Green Alliance. Sarah co-wrote a grant application with Shiju Raveendran, a chemical engineer and catalyst specialist, from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and subsequently they were awarded a sustainable travel grant by Booking.com to develop the hydro thermal liquefaction (HTL) tech to make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the research project www.jetfuelfromwaste.com.
Fly Green Alliance was the first global alliance to bring stakeholders together to accelerate SAF awareness, acceptance and take up; and has been listed as one of the top innovators in sustainable business travel. Our startup spun out from the University of Amsterdam, booking.com funded SAF project, and is now Innovate UK supported with a net zero program and membership in place, and discussed as “market makers” “business model disrupters” for low carbon and digital solutions within travel and transport.
Pictured here, Shiju Ravendraan and Sarah Wilkin, during the Booking Cares workshop, December 2018, at Booking.com HQ, ni Amsterdam
The start in 2019: While Sarah was business developing for the University of Amsterdam SAF project she realised after some time that the investors were not ready to invest in SAF, 10 years in the making, there were barriers to accessing funding for research, there was little public awareness and the customer was not there. SAF was not on the agenda, not part of many grant programmes and it became apparent that the next funding would not be found within 12 months, and the grant would run out.
After speaking to the airlines in 2019 it was clear they alone could not commit to paying 3 times + the price of kerosene for the new low carbon fuel (SAF), while staying competitive and accessible; and policy and incentives were not yet encouraging investors to take the plunge at this time. Was that the end of the project? No, this was the start of Fly Green Alliance, a multi stakeholder alliance pioneering new fuels to displace the fossil based jet fuel market and to decarbonise travel and transport, more broadly. Several years later SAF mandates and incentives are legislated by 60% of the aviation fuel buying markets and more supporters, advocates and investors have joined.
Sarah originally switched from digital marketing to pursue this new career initially in the self-taught circular economy area in 2018, and then moved into aviation, travel and carbon reduction to directly contribute to the energy transition once granted. Since then, through FGA, Sarah has become a sustainable aviation fuel expert and has spoken at 45+ events to evangelise the tech, teach audiences about the science based approach to net zero that SAFs can provide, and to build market acceptance and demand. She has been named “trailblazer”, “pioneer”, “innovator”, “thought leader” and works across industries to facilitate, coordinate, educate and create net zero plans and business development strategies for multiple sectors moving them closer to net zero in travel and transport. She is passionate about innovation and tech and happily brings this to FGA to connect dots across aviation, sustainable travel and carbon pricing.
You can watch FGA’s story being told by our founder online here and watch Sarah’s walk and talk interview with https://www.aviationnetzero.org/.
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Fly Green Alliance (FGA) - sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), thought leaders, travel & transport, fuels, multi modal, SAF 