Sustainability In The Air

In this episode, we speak with Conor Madigan, founder and CEO of Aether Fuels, a climate technology company converting abundant waste carbon into low-cost sustainable fuels for aviation and ocean shipping. Madigan is one of the few founders approaching the SAF cost problem from an engineering-first, problem-first standpoint.
He discusses:
A problem-first approach to company building: Why Madigan began with a blank sheet of paper in 2020, fixed on the problem before choosing a technology, and only then exclusively licensed foundational technology from Chicago-area research institute GTI Energy.
Moving beyond the HEFA feedstock ceiling: Why today's dominant SAF process, which converts waste fats, oils and greases, cannot keep pace with projected SAF demand demand as mandates tighten towards 2030.
A contrarian bet against cheap hydrogen: Why Aether chose in 2022 to prioritise biogas, biomass and industrial off-gases over CO2-and-hydrogen e-fuels, judging that optimistic hydrogen price forecasts were unlikely to hold.
The Aether Aurora technology: How tri-conversion merges two reaction steps into one reactor, how an electrified reactor lifts yield, and how novel catalysts cut the cost of fuel upgrading, all aimed at the capital cost that makes waste-fed plants expensive.
Why Singapore won Project Beacon: How a fast-moving partnership with Aster, predictable government policy and ties to Temasek made Singapore the site of Aether's first commercial plant, and what other countries can learn from the model.
Discipline on offtakes and the real scaling bottleneck: Why Aether has resisted investor pressure to sign speculative offtake agreements, and why Madigan sees project development and financing, not chemistry, as the constraint on scaling SAF.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Synhelion’s Founder and CEO Philipp Furler who unpacked how the Swiss technology company is working to scale synthetic fuels by tackling some of the fundamental cost and infrastructure barriers facing SAF today. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry's challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It's about time.
Links & More: 
Aether Fuels 
Aster and Aether Fuels partner on the first next-generation commercial SAF plant in Singapore 
RTI supports Aether Fuels in scaling sustainable aviation fuel 
Singapore Airlines Group and Aether Fuels sign MoU for sustainable aviation fuel
Aster and Aether Fuels Partner on the First Next-Generation Commercial Sustainable Aviation Fuel Plant in Singapore

In this episode, we speak with Maria del Mar Whittaker, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer at Abra Group, the holding company behind airlines like Avianca and Gol. 
Whittaker discusses:
Aviation as an essential service: Why flying in Latin America is an essential service because the geography of the continent makes road and rail alternatives impractical for several routes.
Balancing growth and sustainability: How Avianca grew by nearly 20% between 2019 and 2024 while cutting its emissions intensity by a similar margin.
A cross-border compliance book-and-claim mechanism: How Abra Group has developed a novel proposal under which SAF produced in Brazil can be physically used domestically, while Japanese entities can purchase the corresponding SAF certificates, effectively subsidising the green premium for Brazilian airlines and creating bankable demand that can unlock project financing.
Revenue certainty mechanisms and double-auction systems: How Abra Group is proposing a multilateral-funded revenue certainty mechanism for Brazil, modelled loosely on the UK’s approach.
A systems-level view of SAF sustainability: Why Whittaker insists that SAF feedstock decisions must account for water, biodiversity, and indirect land use impacts at a systemic level.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Lahiru Ranasinghe, Director of Sustainability at easyJet, who shares what it takes to move a major low-cost carrier from a sustainability blueprint to real-world results. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry's challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It's about time.

Links & More: 
Avianca’s growing connectivity while improving overall emission performance
Abra and Sumitomo partner to unlock industry solutions to airline decarbonisation in Brazil - Biofuels International
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement - UNFCCC 
Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM)

In this episode, we speak with Lahiru Ranasinghe, Director of Sustainability at easyJet, who shares what it takes to move a major low-cost carrier from a sustainability blueprint to real-world results.
He discusses:
From strategy to execution: How easyJet’s net zero roadmap has evolved from a planning document into an operational programme — and why the shift from building a strategy to delivering it changes everything about how sustainability operates within the business.
Fleet renewal and the gauge advantage: Why replacing A319s with A320NEO and A321NEO aircraft is one of the clearest wins available right now.
SAF’s structural scaling problem: Why easyJet has deliberately not committed its roadmap to uplifting SAF beyond mandated levels, and the structural reason why the first-mover advantage in SAF works in reverse compared to aircraft procurement.
Long-term technology bets: The significance of the completed Rolls Royce hydrogen gas turbine engine test at NASA Stennis, what it means for narrow-body hydrogen propulsion at the 30,000-pound-thrust level the industry needs, and 
Partnership with JetZero: How JetZero’s blended-wing-body (BWB) plane could change the aerodynamics of the aircraft and deliver 50% aerodynamic efficiency savings.
Contrails and the airspace connection: Why easyJet sees contrail avoidance as an opportunity to be a rule-maker rather than a rule-taker, and why effective contrail management cannot be separated from the broader project of airspace modernisation.
Regulatory frameworks and the wait-and-see problem: How both RefuelEU and the UK Revenue Certainty Mechanism have successfully created demand certainty but have inadvertently encouraged producers to wait for more favourable conditions before committing to production.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Tom O’Leary, CEO & co-founder of JetZero, who shares how the company is developing the world’s first commercial blended wing body aircraft. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.
Links & More: 
Our destination is net zero - easyJet 
easyJet and Rolls-Royce complete hydrogen engine test - Fuel Cells Works 
ATOBA, easyJet and World Fuel sign MoU for long-term supply of SAF - Biofuels International 
easyJet believes hydrogen propulsion is the future of short-haul flying - SimpliFlying

In this episode, we speak with Bruce Fleming, CEO of Montana Renewables, the leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel in the United States. 
Rather than building a new SAF facility from the ground up, Montana Renewables converted a portion of an existing crude oil refinery in Great Falls, Montana to process feedstocks including used cooking oil, agricultural waste, and emerging crops into SAF, renewable diesel, and renewable hydrogen.
Fleming discusses:
The retrofit model: Why converting an existing crude oil refinery is a fundamentally different capital proposition from building a greenfield SAF plant.
Feedstock agnosticism: Why the company is indifferent to which renewable feedstocks run through its system, including its claim to be the first producer to have made SAF from camelina, a cover crop that does not compete with food production and carries a very low carbon intensity score.
The investment drought: Why private capital has effectively exited the SAF space, and the direct link between regulatory unpredictability and the absence of long-term investment. 
The book-and-claim efficiency case: Why separating the physical movement of SAF from its associated emissions certificate could save a dollar per gallon in logistics costs, and how a global book-and-claim system could accelerate SAF adoption.
Fuelling small, not large: Why the immediate SAF opportunity lies in general aviation and regional operations rather than long-haul commercial carriers.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Adam Klauber, Chief Sustainability Officer at World Energy, who shares how the book-and-claim model has evolved from a concept to a practical mechanism for scaling corporate demand for SAF. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It's about time.
Links & More: 
Montana Renewables 
Sustainable Aviation Fuel - Montana Renewables 
Montana Renewables and World Energy join forces to drive efficiency and scale in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) deliveries - World Energy 
Montana Renewables launches MaxSAF™ Blended, accelerating SAF supply - ChemAnalyst

In this episode, we speak with Martina Di Palma and Achilleas Achilleos, Sustainable Aviation Officer and Strategic Programs Officer respectively at the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). 
They discuss:
Why existing CO2 calculators fall short: How today’s flight emissions tools rely on estimates rather than actual fuel burn data.
The regulatory foundation: How the Flight Emissions Label (FEL) sits within Article 14 of the RefuelEU Aviation regulation, and why EASA is confident the scheme is here to stay regardless of whether it becomes mandatory.
The first-mover dilemma: Why some airlines pushed back against early adoption of the FEL, what the genuine commercial risks of being first are.
SAF integration as an incentive mechanism: How the label discounts CO2 emissions based on SAF use, why this creates a direct reputational and financial incentive for airlines to increase SAF uptake, and how EASA is working with airlines including Air France KLM to optimise SAF accounting within the label.
Label 2 and the road ahead: What the next phase of development could include, and why EASA has made its flight emissions calculator open-source in the hope that other regions will adopt a similar standard.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Rachel Gardner-Poole from NATS, who shares how GAIN (Green Aviation Insights Network) is bringing together air navigation service providers from around the world to optimise flight paths and reduce emissions. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.
Links & More: 
EASA - European Union Aviation Safety Agency 
Flight Emissions Label (FEL) 
RefuelEU Aviation Regulation - European Commission 
Google Travel Impact Model 
DigiMove - EU Digital Transport and Logistics Forum