Airbus and Neste have signed an agreement to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) within the aviation sector.
Both companies agree that SAF is a crucial factor to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions of air travel. Therefore, the collaboration hopes to propel the aviation sector’s transition to SAF.
The aviation industry has the ambitious goal of “net zero carbon emissions by 2050” goal, and requires different measures to be used, including fuel-efficient aircraft technologies, improved operations and ground infrastructures, as well as deployment of sustainable aviation fuel.
Neste and Airbus acknowledge that one of the primary challenges in accelerating SAF use is the scaling up of SAF production. This collaboration is promoting Airbus and Neste to explore business opportunities together and jointly encourage the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel.
“Neste is at the forefront of accelerating the aviation sector’s journey to a more sustainable future. That journey requires cooperation across the industry’s value chain. This collaboration with Airbus connects a pioneer in the aerospace industry with a leader in renewable fuels. The combined knowledge and expertise of the companies will help advance the use and availability of SAF as a means of transitioning aviation towards more sustainable energy sources and reducing the climate impact of aviation,” said Thorsten Lange, executive vice president, renewable aviation at Neste.
“At Airbus, we believe SAF is one of aerospace’s most promising decarbonisation solutions that can be used in both in-service aircraft fleets and those of tomorrow. We are proud to partner with Neste and drive forward the development and uptake of SAF, stimulating the creation of a commercially viable market for renewable aviation fuels,” added Julie Kitcher, EVP communications, sustainability and corporate affairs, Airbus.
“All Airbus aircraft are already certified for flying with up to 50% SAF, and this partnership will be instrumental to reaching certification for 100% SAF by the end of the decade.”
The agreement between Neste and Airbus builds on the cooperation in the ECLIF3 research project, the world’s first in-flight emissions study using 100% SAF on a wide-body commercial passenger aircraft, with Rolls-Royce and German research centre DLR. Following the collaboration in the ECLIF3 project, Airbus and Neste will be further working on the technical aspects of the challenge to reach the 100% SAF certification.
