Iceland’s Ambassador to India, Benedikt Höskuldsson, has called for faster collaboration on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in India, arguing that solutions for decarbonising the country’s rapidly expanding aviation sector need to be developed and deployed now rather than treated as a longer-term objective.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the India SAF Conclave 2026, Höskuldsson said India’s growing aviation market creates an immediate need to bring SAF technologies, expertise and stakeholders together. The India SAF Conclave lists Höskuldsson as a confirmed keynote speaker.
“The time to bring the solutions to the table is now. They’re not in the distant future; they’re now.”
He linked progress in SAF to partnerships between governments, technology providers, industry and other stakeholders rather than the adoption of a single technology or national model.
Iceland Sees Scope for India–Iceland SAF Cooperation
Höskuldsson said Iceland does not offer a single SAF model that can simply be transferred to India. Instead, he said Iceland can contribute experience and technical expertise that can be adapted to India’s specific requirements.
“We don’t have solutions that you can copy-paste.”
According to the Ambassador, differences in national circumstances mean that SAF strategies need to be designed around local challenges, available resources and technology requirements.
The approach is relevant to India’s SAF market, where potential production pathways include fuels derived from agricultural residues, used cooking oil, municipal and industrial waste, as well as synthetic fuels produced using renewable hydrogen and captured carbon.
Carbon Capture and E-Fuels Form Part of Iceland’s Offering
Höskuldsson highlighted carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) as an area where Iceland has accumulated commercial experience.
He said Iceland has been working with carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies commercially for more than two decades and sees this experience as potentially relevant to international efforts to develop e-fuels and e-methanol.
Iceland’s climate and energy experience has increasingly been associated with technologies that combine captured carbon with low-carbon energy and hydrogen to produce synthetic fuels. Höskuldsson’s previous government role also included serving as Iceland’s Special Envoy for Climate and its permanent representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) from 2021 to 2024.
The Ambassador has also held senior positions in sustainable-energy and international development, including work as Lead Partnership Specialist and Senior Advisor at Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) from 2016 to 2021.
Icelandair Exploring SAF Development
Höskuldsson also pointed to Icelandair, Iceland’s national airline, in discussing efforts to advance SAF for aviation.
The broader point is that SAF development requires coordination across the value chain, from feedstock and carbon sources to fuel synthesis, certification, airlines and infrastructure.
For India, such cooperation could potentially provide access to international technical experience while allowing projects and fuel pathways to be designed around domestic feedstocks, energy resources and aviation requirements.
India–EFTA Agreement Could Support Cooperation
The Ambassador also pointed to the India–European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) as a framework that could support greater economic and industrial cooperation.
EFTA comprises Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Höskuldsson said bilateral economic mechanisms can provide a platform for bringing the relevant stakeholders together and developing practical opportunities.
He reiterated that Iceland is prepared to contribute its experience in clean technologies and climate-related solutions as India develops its SAF ecosystem.
India’s SAF Market Enters an Implementation Phase
India is developing its SAF ecosystem as aviation demand expands and international aviation decarbonisation requirements become more significant.
The India SAF Conclave & Awards 2026 describes its programme as bringing together policymakers, airlines, fuel suppliers, SAF producers, financiers, technology providers and agricultural value-chain stakeholders to address policy implementation, feedstocks, technologies and investment.
The Icelandic Ambassador’s comments therefore come against a backdrop of increasing international engagement around India’s SAF market. The discussion is shifting beyond individual technology options towards questions of feedstock availability, project economics, certification, infrastructure, international cooperation and access to markets.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
The significance of Höskuldsson’s comments lies less in proposing a particular SAF pathway and more in highlighting the potential value of international technology and knowledge partnerships as India’s SAF market develops. Iceland’s experience with carbon capture and synthetic-fuel technologies could be relevant to India’s emerging interest in e-fuels, particularly where captured carbon and renewable hydrogen can be combined.
However, technology transfer alone will not determine the viability of SAF projects. India will also need commercially competitive feedstocks, reliable low-carbon energy, appropriate certification pathways, project finance and offtake arrangements. Different SAF pathways will also have different cost, carbon-intensity and scalability profiles.
For India–Iceland cooperation, the EFTA framework provides an institutional channel for engagement, while the practical test will be whether partnerships translate into investable projects, technology deployment and certified SAF volumes.
