Emirates has initiated the implementation of its fuel agreement with Neste this month at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Over the course of this year, more than 2 million gallons of blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will be supplied into the airport's fuelling system.
The airline aims to monitor the delivery of SAF and its environmental impact using standard industry accounting methods. This partnership with Neste, announced late last year, represents one of the largest volumes of SAF purchased by Emirates.
Upon full integration into Amsterdam Schiphol’s fuelling system, the blended SAF will consist of over 700,000 gallons of neat SAF. Emirates is also collaborating with Neste to introduce SAF into the fuelling systems at Singapore Changi Airport in the coming months.
SAF can be seamlessly incorporated into existing jet engines and airport infrastructure. Its neat form is reported to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional jet fuel.
New SAF routes
The airline's first SAF-powered flight took place in 2017 from Chicago. Currently, it operates SAF-powered flights from Paris, Lyon, and Oslo. In October of the previous year, Emirates integrated SAF into Dubai Airport's fuelling systems, allocating it to several flights, including one to Sydney.
Earlier this year, Emirates became the first international carrier to join the Solent Cluster in the UK, an initiative aimed at low carbon investments. The airline is actively involved in discussions and initiatives concerning the production and scaling of SAF. Emirates, alongside the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), has contributed to the development of the UAE’s power-to-liquid (PtL) fuels roadmap, in addition to the National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap, which targets the production of 700 million litres of SAF by 2030.
As part of its dedication to sustainable aviation, Emirates is a founding member of the UAE research consortium Air-CRAFT, which focuses on developing and scaling SAF technologies for the industry.
Adel Al Redha, deputy president and chief operations officer, Emirates, said, “Collaborating with committed partners like Neste is one of the practical steps we are taking to reduce our emissions, and it’s an all-important milestone in our own sustainability journey as an airline. Strong partnerships like this, especially at major air transport hubs such as Amsterdam, lay the foundation for how we can work with partners and airports to increase access to and availability of SAF across our network.”
Alexander Kueper, vice president renewable aviation, Neste, said, “We are proud to support Emirates in their sustainability journey. SAF is an available solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from air travel and it is exciting that Emirates have started using our Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It is also a great example of how we are working together with partners to accelerate SAF usage and are looking forward to the next steps of our cooperation.”
