Building Resilient Biomass Value Chains for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Low-Carbon Growth in India: A Perspective

India produces significant amounts of agricultural waste, such as straw from rice, bagasse from sugar cane, and stalks from cotton, which are often burned as waste or underutilized. However, these wastes may be integrated into organized biomass value chains in the rural areas, providing farmers with new income streams, reducing the amount of wasted resources on the environment, and supplying biorefineries with sustainable feedstock. The objective here is to understand how a more robust rural biomass value chain can be to support the techno-commercial and social viability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production. Most research regarding SAF production in India has primarily focused on the technology used to produce SAF, as well as the carbon abatement potential of SAF. Little consideration has been given to how primary rural biomass value chains can support the scalability of SAF production as well as the participation of rural communities. This research uses a systems approach to understand biomass availability and value creation in order to identify methods to enable scalable SAF production in India. A geographically available biomass is mapped at the selected state level to identify feedstock clusters and how these can potentially be clusters for SAF’s integrated value chain. It is understood that the effectiveness of these rural value chains will depend on addressing seasonal residue variability, competing end uses, and logistical barriers that could disrupt continuous refinery operations. This can offer India a dual opportunity: (a) advancing aviation decarbonization while (b) stimulating rural economic development.