Aviation is one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize. The options of having electric aircraft of similar capacity to what we now use to fly commercially are, for now, unfeasible due to the weight of the batteries. Hydrogen is a promise, but it is far from becoming a reality. So, for now, commercial aviation is betting on SAFs - sustainable aviation fuels - to fly on its route to eliminating the use of fossil fuels by 2050.

The bulk of these FFS - which, due to their limited availability, are blended with conventional fuel to power aircraft turbines on some routes, such as those of United Airlines originating in Los Angeles, California - comes from biofuels, animal fat processing and the recycling of cooking oils.comes from biofuels, animal fat processing and cooking oil recycling. It's a market in its infancy-the first U.S. airline to use SAF on scheduled flights began doing so in 2016-but with exciting potential. And, in fact, the consultancy Americas Market Intelligence estimates that Latin America could produce some 4.7 billion liters by 2030, equivalent to 15% of global supply.

But biofuels are not the only promise for growing SAF supply. Startups are now emerging to produce synthetic aviation fuels made from CO2 capture, such as Dimensional Energy, Aether Fuels and Metafuels. The most advanced of these initiatives is Twelve, a startup that launched its first commercial-scale unit for converting CO2 into SAF in February. Twelve will sell the FFS produced at that plant to airline Alaska Air Group, and will also generate carbon credits for customers such as Microsoft and Shopify. Twelve's plant will be powered by hydroelectricity to transform CO2 produced at a nearby ethanol plant.

In Chile, the company HIF has begun pilot production in Magallanes of synthetic fuels from wind energy and CO2 captured from the atmosphere. This synthetic fuel is intended for land vehicles.