# Renewable diesel and SAF: Overview

Why California and Sweden can run engines on it neat

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/overview/

What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.

Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO, or renewable diesel) is made by reacting oils and fats with hydrogen to strip out oxygen, giving paraffins identical to fossil diesel. Shifting the cut gives HEFA jet fuel, the main sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). World output is about 16-19 Mt a year (2025, indicative), led by the US (Diamond Green Diesel) and Neste. SAF was only 1.9 Mt in 2025, 0.6% of jet fuel, at about twice the price of fossil jet (IATA). Mandates (ReFuelEU 6% by 2030, India's 1% target for international flights from 2027) and waste-fat supply now decide growth.
 Volume about 16-19 Mt a year of HVO and SAF (2025, indicative, basis: US renewable diesel about 2.9 billion gallons (about 8.6 Mt), Neste 4.1 Mt sales, other EU and Asian producers); SAF 1.9 Mt in 2025 and 2.4 Mt forecast for 2026 Market value about $35-40 billion a year (indicative, basis: about 17.5 Mt x $2,000-2,300/t) Growth SAF roughly doubled in 2025 (1.0 to 1.9 Mt); US renewable diesel projected at 4.32 billion gallons in 2026, up about 48% on 2025 IATA press release No. 57, 9 Dec 2025; farmdoc daily, Jun 2026; Neste Financial Statements Release 2025 (Feb 2026); value indicative

#### Key uses

| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Road diesel (blends and HVO100)** | 85% | about 15 Mtbasis | HVO is a drop-in fuel with no blend limit, high cetane and good cold flow, so California, Sweden and other high-credit markets use it neat. US renewable diesel averaged 243 million gallons a month in 2025 (farmdoc). farmdoc daily, Jun 2026; share indicative | FAME biodiesel Battery-electric and hydrogen trucks Biomethane |
| **Aviation (HEFA SAF blended up to 50% with jet A-1)** | 11% | 1.9 Mt (2025)basis | Aviation has few other options for long-haul decarbonisation; ReFuelEU requires 2% SAF in 2025 rising to 6% in 2030, and the UK and India have mandates. HEFA is the only route at scale. IATA press release No. 57, 9 Dec 2025; European Biodiesel Board Statistical Report 2025-2026 (Jun 2026) | Alcohol-to-jet Fischer-Tropsch SAF e-SAF (power-to-liquid) offsets under CORSIA |
| **Bio-naphtha and bio-propane (co-products) for chemicals and LPG** | 3% | about 0.5 Mtbasis | HEFA units yield some naphtha and propane; naphtha feeds bio-based polymer crackers (mass balance) and propane goes to LPG. indicative | Fossil naphtha |
| **Marine and off-road** | 1% | about 0.2 Mtbasis | Small volumes for ferries, ports and construction machinery under green procurement rules. indicative | FAME bunker blends methanol |

 Aviation share from IATA 2025 SAF output against about 17.5 Mt total (indicative); other shares indicative.

#### From raw material to user

1. **Feedstock collection** Used cooking oil, tallow, distillers corn oil and soy or canola oil; California's biomass-based diesel used UCO 29%, tallow 25%, corn oil 23%, soy 17% in 2022 (CARB).
2. **Pre-treatment** Metals, phosphorus and chlorides are removed so they do not poison catalysts.
3. **Hydrotreating** Oil reacts with about 3-4% hydrogen by mass at high pressure, removing oxygen as water and CO2 (indicative).
4. **Isomerisation and fractionation** Paraffins are isomerised for cold flow and split into HVO, HEFA jet, naphtha and propane.
5. **Blending and certification** SAF is blended up to 50% under ASTM D7566 and certified under ISCC or CORSIA schemes.

#### Made from (commodity table)
[PO Palm oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/palm_oil/)[Soy Soybeans](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/soybeans/)[Rs Rapeseed](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rapeseed/)

#### Three things to know

- SAF output was 1.9 Mt in 2025, only 0.6% of jet fuel, and costs about twice fossil jet, up to five times in mandated markets (IATA, Dec 2025).
- Diamond Green Diesel's two plants have 1.595 billion gallons a year of capacity, about 65% of US Gulf Coast renewable diesel capacity (EIA, Jan 2026).
- EU defaults put HVO from used cooking oil at 16 g CO2e/MJ against 73 g/MJ for palm oil HVO from open-pond mills and 94 for fossil diesel (RED II Annex V).

#### Read the tabs
[Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/routes/)[Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/production/)[Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/feedstocks/)[Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/cycles/)[Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/trading/)[Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/movement/)[Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/regulation/)[Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/characteristics/)[Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/emissions/)

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/index.md)
- [Energy overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/energy/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/correlation/index.md)
- [Efficiency](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/efficiency/index.md)
- [Techniques](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/techniques/index.md)
- [Resources and labour](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/resources/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/biosphere/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/links/index.md)