Objective In the global roadmap for combating climate change, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has emerged as a key pathway for the decarbonization of the aviation industry. By analyzing the current state of the SAF industry and forecasting its future trends and market scale, this paper aims to provide a basis for governmental policy formulation and adjustment and corporate investment decisions, thereby promoting the industry's healthy development.

Method This study presents a panoramic view of the SAF industry chain by visualizing the upstream-downstream relationships, industrial structure, and key players in major economies, including Europe, the Americas, and China. Based on Argus data, the global distribution of SAF projects and their production capacities were analyzed to predict future development directions and potential trends.

Result The analysis reveals that in major economies like Europe and the Americas, the SAF industry has formed a closed-loop, synergistic development model characterized by "diversified technologies, scaled-up production, commercial application, and strong policy support." In these regions, the industry chain is approaching maturity. In contrast, China's SAF industry is still in its nascent stages. Furthermore, Europe and the Americas show different focuses in their future SAF production pathways, while China's development trajectory remains to be clearly defined.

Conclusion To advance the green transition of China's aviation sector, it is recommended to expedite the establishment of a mature and robust SAF production and supply system, accelerate the construction of a complete SAF industry chain, and rationally develop production capacity.