The first in-flight study of commercial aircraft using 100% sustainable aviation fuel has shown ‘significant’ reduction in non-CO2 emissions.

In-flight measurements from an A350 aircraft using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) show a significant reduction in soot particle emissions and contrail ice crystals compared to conventional aviation fuel, says Airbus.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and SAF-producer Neste collaborated to measure the impact of 100% SAF on emissions using both engines of an Airbus A350, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, and followed by a DLR chase plane.

Their model simulations estimate a 26% reduction in contrails’ climate impact when using pure SAF.

Compared to Jet A-1 fuel, the number of contrail ice crystals per mass of unblended SAF consumed was reduced by 56%.

DLR’s simulations estimate the change in the energy balance in the Earth’s atmosphere, known as radiative forcing, from contrails.

On the final day of the SAF Congress in Amsterdam, a panel of industry experts discussed the global sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) landscape in light of recent climate conferences, particularly COP28 in Dubai.

The panel, moderated by Shashank Nigam, founder and CEO of SimpliFlying, delved into the challenges and opportunities the aviation sector now faces.

In addition to Nigam, the panel featured Aaron Robinson, Vice President of Sustainable Aviation Fuel – U.S. at International Airlines Group (IAG), Dick Benschop, interim CEO of Mission Possible Partnership, and Haldane Dodd, Executive Director of Air Transport Group.

According to Benschop, while the industry is making strides, it still has a considerable journey ahead, with an almost 10-fold increase in SAF plants required in the next six years:

“Currently, there are 33 active facilities, with around 130 more announced against a requirement of 300 plants by 2030.”

While scaling up production is an enormous challenge, the panel noted a positive development: a general growth in SAF use, with airline groups like IAG witnessing a 400% increase year over year.

Pittsburgh International Airport is working on a deal with a company that wants to build a sustainable aviation fuel production facility on land near the McClaren Road interchange in Findlay, part of a bid to make the region a leader in such technology.

Allegheny County Airport Authority board members authorized CEO Christina Cassotis on Friday to enter into a ground lease with Sky Clean Energy USA for about 25 acres of land at the authority’s Southfield site.

Should it all work out, the authority believes Pittsburgh International will be the first major airport in the United States to produce sustainable aviation fuel on site.

Less than a week after the federal budget allocated $1.7 billion to the domestic production of green metals and low-carbon liquid fuels, a new China-Australia collaboration on sustainable aviation biofuel has won grant funding.

The University of South Australia said on Monday it will work with Chinese counterparts over the next two years to explore the commercial opportunities of using bio feedstock to replace conventional kerosene jet fuels with ‘green’ fuel.

The collaboration was announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Saturday, backed by grant funding of $230,000 from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

Shell Aviation has supplied Emirates with SAF – the most ever for the airline – to boost sustainable fuel use in line with Heathrow’s SAF Incentive Scheme.

[…] At Heathrow, Emirates has taken delivery of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from Shell Aviation in a bid to reduce emissions. More than 3,000 metric tonnes of SAF will be supplied into the fuelling infrastructure network of the UK’s largest airport until the end of summer 2024.

This is the first time the airline will be using SAF to power some of its flights at London Heathrow and represents the largest volume of SAF it has purchased to date. In its neat form, SAF can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to using conventional jet fuel.

Policy Report: Federal policy on biofuels can make or break U.S. grain markets, so farmers need to keep a watchful eye on Washington, D.C.

While the outlook for U.S. agriculture and many commodity markets has softened over the past two years, there is hope on the horizon among some market watchers for biofuels to drive a new demand surge for agriculture.

Increased usage and prospects for renewable fuels, particularly renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, could help propel the ag economy forward.

Recent agricultural baseline projections from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) document the growth in biofuels over the past 20 years to a point where corn usage for ethanol rivals feed use, and soybean oil use for biodiesel or renewable diesel rivals food usage.

As the world tries to decrease atmospheric carbonization, industries of every sort are joining the charge. Aviation is no exception. Though making a contribution to carbon drawdown involves a long chain of concerns, in aviation there is no shortage of resolute professionals working to make a difference. One such conglomeration of interests in southern California recently announced a partnership around decarbonization at Long Beach Airport (LGB).

“In December 2023, Long Beach Airport proudly announced the availability of sustainable aviation fuel for use by general aviation jets,” says Kate Kuykendall, public affairs officer for LGB.

Located only 20 miles (32km) from the much larger Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), LGB serves greater Los Angeles primarily as a domestic commercial, cargo, military, and general aviation airport.

Listed as the tenth busiest airport in California based on 1.4 million annual passenger boardings, the airport’s proximity to many residential areas has led to one of the strictest noise ordinances in the USA. “LGB is in a dense urban area where noise and other environmental impacts are a pressing concern for the local community. Sustainable aviation fuel is an eco-friendly alternative to standard jet fuel now offered at LGB through Atlantic Aviation, one of two FBOs at the airport.”

Atlantic Aviation is an aviation infrastructure operator providing services at more than 100 US airports including Long Beach. Established in 1927, Atlantic sees itself as an environmentally …

The Biden administration is expected to release a climate model for its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) subsidy program on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The rule will dictate how ethanol producers can use climate-smart agriculture to qualify for tax credits in the production of SAF. The ethanol industry views SAF as a way to build demand for its products going forward, as gasoline consumption is expected to decline.

In early April, Reuters reported the model was expected to be more restrictive than what the corn-based ethanol industry had expected, according to anonymous sources…

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technology and production company LanzaJet today announced an investment from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. According to the company, the new investment would enable LanzaJet to continue building its capability and capacity to deploy its sustainable fuels process technology globally. Launched in 2020 by carbon recycling technology company LanzaTech, Illinois-based LanzaJet has developed “Alcohol-to-Jet” technology enabling the creation of SAF and renewable diesel from waste-based and sustainable ethanol sources including feedstocks such as low-carbon sugarcane, energy crops, forest residuals, agricultural wastes, and organic waste.

Jimmy Samartzis, Chief Executive Officer of LanzaJet said:

“Through its support of LanzaJet’s first-of-a-kind ethanol to SAF biorefinery, LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels, Microsoft has played a significant role in making SAF production a reality in the United States, and this investment reemphasizes its urgent commitment to decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors.”

According to the companies, the new investment will also enable Microsoft to gain access to sustainable fuels – SAF and Renewable Diesel – as well as SAF Certificates (SAFc) from future LanzaJet projects which will help Microsoft on the path to becoming carbon negative by 2030. In 2022, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund invested $50 million to support the construction of LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels in Soperton, Georgia, which opened in January 2024. That plant will begin annual production of 10 million gallons of SAF and renewable diesel in the second quarter of 2024.

LanzaJet and Microsoft also intend to explore how Microsoft can supply its data and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to improve LanzaJet’s corporate functions and ethanol to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) process technology.

Boeing has agreed to purchase 7.5 million gallons (over 22,700 tonnes) of blended Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel in 2024 to support its U.S. Commercial Airplanes business operations in reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The volume of Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is part of Boeing’s total purchase of 9.4 million gallons of blended SAF, representing Boeing’s largest annual SAF purchase to date, 60% more than in 2023.

The fuel blend consisting of 30% SAF, made from renewable waste and residue raw materials such as used cooking oil, and 70% conventional jet fuel, will be supplied to Boeing by EPIC Fuels and Avfuel to support the Boeing ecoDemonstrator programme and Boeing’s U.S. commercial operational flights through 2024.

“As our focus remains on safety and quality, sustainability continues to be a priority. Sustainable aviation fuel is essential to decarbonise aviation. About 20% of our fuel usage is a SAF blend, and we continue to increase our use of this fuel to encourage growth in the SAF industry. We are also working to make SAF more available and affordable to our commercial airline customers through collaboration, investment, research and policy development,” said Ryan Faucett, Vice President of Environmental …