Airbus partners with DG Fuels to foster sustainable aviation fuel production in the United States

This partnership will support the scaling of a promising technology to produce sustainable aviation fuels from cellulosic waste and residues.

Airbus has become a strategic partner with DG Fuels, LLC (“DGF”), an emerging leader in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

"Sustainable aviation fuels play a crucial role in enabling aviation's decarbonisation roadmap. We are committed to supporting all efforts that contribute to making them available at scale around the globe," said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. "The partnership with DG Fuels supports the emergence of a new technological pathway allowing for the production of SAFs from a broader range of waste and residue sources, first in the U.S with a potential for large-scale production worldwide."

DGF’s fuel production system is based entirely on cellulosic waste products, such as wood waste from the logging industry, and renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power.

DGF’s plant aims to have an initial production capacity of 120 million US gallons (454 million litres) of SAF per year on average, which could save approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually from 2026.

"The DGF team is excited to have finalised this SAF partnership with Airbus," commented Michael Darcy, Chairman and CEO at DG Fuels, "and we look forward to working together to accelerate the initial SAF facility in Louisiana and the subsequent scale up at various locations in the United States and beyond.”

The partnership with Airbus supports DG Fuels’ goal of launching the equity process and reaching a final investment decision (FID) on building DG Fuels’ first SAF plant in the United States. The decision would be expected by early 2024. In this context, Airbus and DGF have agreed for a portion of the production of the first plant to benefit Airbus’ customers.

Date set for first long-haul flight to operate with 100% sustainable aviation fuel

Virgin Atlantic and Rolls-Royce this week confirmed the successful Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend ground test on the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine. The test marks a key milestone in the project which will see the world's first 100% SAF flight travel across the Atlantic from London Heathrow to New York JFK on a Boeing 787, set to take off on November 28, 2023.

Virgin Atlantic led consortium confirms the world's first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel flight across the Atlantic will fly on November 28, 2023, departing from London-Heathrow to NYC's John F. Kennedy International Airport, pending further regulatory approvals and testing

SAF blend of 88% HEFA and 12% aromatics completes successful ground test on Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine, a key milestone in approvals process

Fuel supplier announced as Air bp and Virent, who will supply the 60 tonnes of SAF required for project

In addition to the test, fuel suppliers Air bp and Virent have been announced to supply the 60 tonnes of SAF to be used in the world first, supporting consortium research, testing and the flight itself. The SAF will be produced through the Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) pathway as well as synthetic aromatic kerosene (SAK) SAF at an 88% and 12% blend ratio.

Virgin Atlantic is committed to finding more sustainable ways to fly on our mission to Net Zero 2050. Already operating one of the most fuel and carbon efficient fleets across the Atlantic, this flight builds on the airline's 15-year track record for leading on SAF. Demonstrating that through radical collaboration, industry can deliver 100% SAF in today's engine, airframes and fuel infrastructure for long haul flight.

SAF typically delivers CO2 life cycle emissions savings of more than 70% whilst performing like traditional jet fuel. SAF has a fundamental role to play in aviation's decarbonization and pathway to Net Zero 2050. Today, SAF represents less than 0.1% of jet fuel volumes and fuel standards allow for just a 50% SAF blend in commercial jet engines. The one-off Virgin Atlantic flight in November will demonstrate the potential of SAF as a 100% drop-in replacement for fossil fuel today.

The realization of the 100% SAF transatlantic flight taking to the skies is a challenging task requiring cross industry collaboration and dedicated project teams working on the research, testing and operations to make it happen. The Virgin Atlantic led consortium, joint funded by the UK Department for Transport, includes Rolls Royce, Boeing, University of Sheffield, Imperial College London and Rocky Mountain Institute. The successful bench engine test is a key milestone, however further permissions and safety approvals are required for the flight to take off in November. 

Seven of the world's major aviation manufacturers' chief technology officers join together to call for global measures for the increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel....

Seven of the world's major aviation manufacturers' chief technology officers have issued a joint statement calling for harmonized global measures regarding an increase supply of sustainable aviation fuel.

Over a decade ago the aviation industry was the first global sector to set ambitious emission reduction goals. Today, we come together again to support the industry's commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions for civil aviation by 2050 and to highlight the importance of the production, distribution, and availability of qualified Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) needed to achieve this goal. The development of fuel-efficient aircraft technologies has been a priority for the aviation industry for over 50 years and remains a priority. Greater uptake of SAF would mitigate the projected growth in aviation CO2 emissions as the customer demand for global air travel increases.

Our companies are steadfast in delivering the technical solutions required to reduce the carbon emissions of the air transportation sector through our work in three key areas:

Developing advanced aircraft and propulsion technologies that enable net-zero carbon emissions while maintaining the safety and quality standards of our industry  

Implementing improvements in aircraft operations and infrastructure  

Supporting policies and measures that accelerate the availability and adoption of qualified SAF.    

Increasing the production and utilization of SAF is a critical step for achieving the air transportation sector's net zero CO2 emissions goal by 2050. However, the production of SAF is currently estimated at less than 0.1% of the global demand for jet fuel today. Moreover, SAF prices are typically two to five times higher than the price of conventional jet fuel. The supply is further constrained by competition for renewable fuels from other sectors that have alternative decarbonization options, such as with surface transportation and heating.

Masdar and Airbus sign agreement to support development and growth of global sustainable aviation fuel market

Masdar and Airbus signed an agreement to support the development and growth of the global sustainable aviation fuel market.....

Use of sustainable aviation fuel is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95 percent compared to existing jet fuel....

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, one of the world's leading clean energy companies, has signed an agreement with Airbus, the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe and a worldwide leader to support the development and growth of the global sustainable aviation fuel market.

The signing ceremony was held in the presence of His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate, Guillaume Faury, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus, and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar. The agreement was signed by Mohammad Abdelqader El Ramahi, Chief Green Hydrogen Officer, Masdar and Mikail Houari, President, Airbus Africa and Middle East.

The agreement highlights areas of collaboration between the two companies, including Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), Green Hydrogen, Direct Air Capture technologies, as well as supporting the development and implementation of 'book and claim' solutions.    

Direct Air Capture technologies enable the capturing of atmospheric CO2 which could, in combination with Hydrogen be used to produce synthetic SAF. The use of SAF based on Green Hydrogen and Direct Air Capture is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95 percent when compared to conventional jet fuel with the global sustainable aviation fuel market expected to grow to over US$14bn by 2032, according to Precedence Research.

JetBlue offers passengers tools to help scale the sustainability of air travel

New Platform Enables JetBlue Customers to Directly Contribute to the Purchase of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Help Grow This Critical Emerging Market

JetBlue has formed a partnership with climate tech company CHOOOSE to enable passengers to estimate the CO2 emissions of their flights and then address these emissions by contributing to a fund dedicated to covering the cost premium of SAF as compared to conventional jet fuel.

JetBlue views SAF as the most promising avenue for addressing aviation emissions in a meaningful and rapid way – once cost-effective SAF is made available commercially at scale. Produced from a wide array of renewable sources such as agricultural wastes and used cooking oils—not fossil fuels— SAF is a type of renewable fuel that exists today and drops directly into existing aircraft and infrastructure with no impact to safety or performance. SAF can lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 80% compared to traditional petroleum-based fuels while reducing particle and sulfur pollution.

In 2022, roughly 0.3% of JetBlue’s fuel consumed was SAF. Supporting and growing SAF availability is critical to increasing this volume and reaching the aviation industry’s emissions reduction goals. By contributing toward the purchase of additional SAF through CHOOOSE, JetBlue customers and can now send a critical signal of consumer demand for more sustainable air travel options and help grow the emerging SAF market.

Aberdeen Airport gets delivery of sustainable aviation fuel for Bristow helicopter flights.

Last week Aberdeen Airport took delivery of sustainable aviation fuel from Air bp and will be blended with traditional jet fuel for Bristow flights to bp’s North Sea offshore operations in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

Mark Beveridge, Operations Director at Aberdeen International Airport, said: “This is an important announcement for Aberdeen International Airport and the North East of Scotland.

“It is recognised globally that SAF will play a major role in making jet zero aviation a reality and SAF has the potential to significantly reduce UK aviation emissions. bp’s decision to make SAF commercially available at Aberdeen is a significant moment.

“There is a real opportunity for Aberdeen to help drive a domestic SAF industry here in the UK and in doing so, we can support the decarbonisation of the oil and gas sector transport."

SAF has the potential to play an important role in meeting the aviation industry’s carbon reduction targets and is recognised as part of the government’s jet zero strategy and ambition to drive net-zero aviation by 2050.

Fly Net Zero by 2050......................Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)

To reach Net Zero by 2050, the aviation sector will require around 450 billion litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Across the industry, we see evidence that work is ongoing to develop the existing knowledge, availability and technology to deliver on SAF. There are a lot of developments in this area:  In collaboration with Braathens Regional Airlines and Neste, ATR performed a series of flight tests with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in one engine, an interesting development as the current legal limit is 50% blend. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines flew for the first time on SAF using its Airbus A321 between Istanbul and Paris CDG.    In the US, Boeing announced the largest procurement of SAF by an aerospace manufacturer, buying 2 million gallons of 30% SAF blend from EPIC Fuels. In Asia, Neste will start a Singapore sustainable aviation fuel plant by Q1 2023 and Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Safran and Singapore Airlines have signed the Global Sustainable Aviation Fuel Declaration at the Singapore Air Show. In Japan, the government aims to have airlines replace 10% of their jet fuel with eco-friendlier alternatives by 2030. “Sustainable fuel is not a research project that we are doing on the side. It is happening” said Gurhan Andac, GE Aviation engineer working on sustainable fuels in an interview available here.

New technology Airbus and CFM signed an agreement to collaborate on a hydrogen demonstrator to fly by the middle of the decade. Airbus have stated their aim to have a commercial hydrogen plane available by 2035, so this collaboration marks a crucial step towards zero-emissions flight.

Operations and Infrastructure Dublin Airport Authority lodges plans for solar farm to help power Dublin Airport and identified a 27-acre site close to airfield to help it target Net Zero emissions. And ACI Europe published its Airport Carbon Accreditation annual report, covering the period 2019-2021.

Finance HSBC have announced investing $100 million in Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a program within the larger Breakthrough Energy network founded by Bill Gates, to support the growth of climate critical technologies – direct air capture, clean hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and sustainable aviation fuels.

Follow this site here.