The SAF Matchmaker allows users to post or request SAF volumes and facilitates connections when supply and demand align. Once matched, the parties move their negotiations offline to define commercial terms such as price and payment.

The platform addresses three critical market challenges:

• Efficiency: By centralising SAF procurement in one transparent system—free from additional platform fees—it simplifies connections and supports the expansion of the voluntary SAF purchasing market.
• Connectivity: SAF producers can list available or planned fuel volumes, while airlines indicate their purchasing interest. Once aligned, further trade is completed independently of the platform.
• Visibility: Users have access to key information, including SAF volume, feedstock type, production location and technology, carbon emission reductions, and compliance with global standards such as CORSIA and the EU Renewable Energy Directive.

“To reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we need an accessible, transparent, liquid, and efficient SAF market,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist. “The SAF Matchmaker is another example of the work that IATA is putting in place to create a fully functioning market for SAF. It will accelerate the uptake of SAF by reducing the costs and complexity that airlines face when searching for SAF suppliers.”

The platform supports both spot purchases and long-term offtake agreements, and is initially available to airlines and SAF suppliers. Over time, IATA plans to expand access to other SAF buyers, including corporate customers outside the aviation sector.

SAF Matchmaker is hosted on the Aviation Energy Hub, a centralised digital environment providing the aviation industry with tools to manage the transition to more sustainable energy sources.