Technoeconomic analysis of CO₂-derived sustainable aviation fuel: A comparative assessment across Saudi Arabia, the UK, the EU, and the USA

Electrochemical power-to-liquid (PtL) pathways converting captured CO₂ and renewable electricity into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are increasingly proposed as a route to decarbonise aviation. A multi-regional techno-economic analysis (TEA) and a Well-to-Wake carbon-intensity (CI) assessment are conducted for an integrated CO₂-to-SAF process employing an electrochemical conversion pathway. The process comprises CO₂ electrolysis to produce CO, water electrolysis to produce H₂, and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis for SAF production. A uniform 100,000 t yr⁻¹ PtL-SAF configuration was evaluated across four regions with contrasting renewable resource profiles: a solar–wind-grid hybrid in Yanbu (Saudi Arabia), a wind-based Teesside (UK), a balanced PV–wind in Tarifa (Spain), and a wind-dominant PV–wind–grid system in Texas (USA). Our renewable energy modelling shows significant regional differences in levelized electricity costs, from 29.1 USD/MWh in Yanbu to 65.7 USD/MWh in Tarifa. By contrast, electricity demand for the PtL-SAF system remains consistent at 29–31 MWh t⁻¹ SAF, with PEM water electrolysis and CO₂ electrolysis together accounting for more than 85% of total power consumption. On this basis, the resulting levelized costs of SAF span 1740–2800 USD t⁻¹ , while Well-to-Wake CI values range from 20.9 to 60.1 gCO₂e MJ⁻1. Across all regions considered, CI values remain substantially below the CORSIA fossil baseline of 89 gCO₂e MJ⁻1, indicating the potential techno-economic viability of PtL-SAF systems under low-carbon electricity supply.