British Airways has become the first airline in the world to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced on a commercial scale in the UK after signing a multi-year agreement with Phillips 66 Limited.
The Phillips 66 Humber Refinery in England is producing thousands of tonnes of SAF that will now help power several British Airways flights. The SAF is produced from sustainable waste feedstock at the refinery and British Airways will add it into the existing pipeline infrastructure that directly feeds several UK airports including London Heathrow.
The sustainable aviation fuel bought by the airline will be enough to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by almost 100,000 tonnes, enough to power 700 net zero CO2 emissions flights between London and New York on its fuel-efficient Boeing 787 aircraft.
International Airlines Group (IAG), the airline’s parent company, is investing $400mn over the next 20 years into the development of SAF and British Airways has existing partnerships with several companies to develop plants and purchase the sustainable fuel.
Sean Doyle, British Airways’ chairman and chief executive, said: “Being the first airline to source sustainable aviation fuel produced at commercial scale in the UK is another breakthrough moment for us and the airline industry.
“Progressing the development and commercial scale up of sustainable aviation fuel will be a game changer and crucial to reducing the aviation sector’s reliance on fossil fuels and improving the UK’s energy supply resilience. I’m confident that Britain can take a leading role on the global stage in this space, creating green jobs and export opportunities, if industry, developers and Government continue to collaborate and make it a key focus area.”
Darren Cunningham, Lead Executive UK and General Manager Humber Refinery, said: “Phillips 66 Humber Refinery is proud to supply British Airways with sustainable aviation fuel. We were the first in the UK to co-process waste oils to produce renewable fuels and now we will be the first to produce SAF at scale. We’re currently refining almost half a million litres of sustainable waste feedstocks a day, and this is just a start.
“The strategic collaboration and supply agreement confirm each companies’ commitment to a lower carbon future. The production of SAF is just one of a number of decarbonisation projects we are currently progressing, and we are excited by the role that we play in supplying the UK with the fuels it needs, both now and in the future.”
Over 370,000 flights have taken to the skies using SAF since 2016. Aircraft today are powered by liquid aviation fuel, made mostly from fossil fuel sources. Yet new fuels have been developed that have the potential to dramatically reduce aviation’s net CO2 emissions. Although supply is currently limited (0.01% of global jet fuel use), sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are already in use today and take-up is increasing.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel is a clean substitute for fossil jet fuels. Rather than being refined from petroleum, SAF is produced from sustainable resources such as waste oils from a biological origin, or non-fossil CO2. It is a so-called drop-in fuel, which means that it can be blended with fossil jet fuel and that the blended fuel requires no special infrastructure or equipment changes. It has the same characteristics and meets the same specifications as fossil jet fuel.
Since the first commercial flight operated by KLM in 2011, more than 150,000 flights were powered by SAF. We know that aviation currently accounts for approximately 2-3% of manmade global carbon emissions, but without action, aviation could consume up to 22% of the global carbon budget by 2050. To maintain growth and at the same time address its environmental impact, the aviation industry has committed to carbon-neutral growth per 2020 and reducing net aviation carbon emissions to 50% below 2005 levels by 2050.
More than 99% of airline emissions and approximately 50% of airport emissions are related to the combustion of jet fuel. Although increased energy efficiency and reduction in energy demand are effective ways to reduce fuel consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions, these improvements do not offer a sole solution to aviation-related emissions.
The aviation industry has a clear vision for its use of SAFs, and will adopt only fuels made from feedstocks that can be grown or produced without the risk of unintended environmental and social consequences, such as competition with food production or deforestation.
Several airlines are driving forward the use of SAFs by signing multi-million dollar forward purchasing agreements. Others have invested in start-up support for SAF deployment, and some have promoted SAFs through test flights, research, and investigation of local opportunities. Five airports also have a regular SAF supply: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oslo, Bergen and Stockholm.
However, scaling up the use of SAFs to a global market is challenging and requires substantial investment. The industry has called on governments to assist potential SAF suppliers to develop the necessary feedstock and refining systems – at least until the fledgling industry has achieved the necessary critical mass and prices drop thanks to economies of scale.
The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
