believe that interest in sustainability will be stronger than
ever. In aviation we will have come to recognise how
much travel and human interaction means to us and be
even more committed to ensure it continues as we better
understand the frailty of our planet and the fragility of
humankind”.
The global aviation industry has committed to carbon
neutral growth starting from 2020, reducing net carbon
emissions by 50% by 2050 from 2005 levels. The
Sustainable Aviation group called in June this year for net
zero by 2050 for the UK, however – the organisation
includes plane makers, engine makers, airlines, airports,
travel companies and other organisation
( www.sustainableaviation.co.uk ).
Companies such as Boeing have stated their
commitment to the 50% by 2050 gure, stating in July
that it is developing new products that are 15 to 25%
more ef cient. For example, it will launch the 777
ecoDemonstrator ying test bed to assess sustainable
technologies, including new wing n technology that
improves ef ciency during take-off and landing, and could
save airlines millions of gallons of fuel each year. Airbus
unveiled its ‘blended wing’ demonstrator (MAVERIC –
Model Aircraft for Validation and Experimentation of
Robust Innovative Controls) in February at the Singapore
Air Show, stating that it had the potential to reduce fuel
consumption by 20% (MAVERIC is a programme started in
2017, in fact).
Boeing said it will also be offering its airline customers
the option to y their new planes home on sustainable
fuel. Airbus began sustainable delivery ights in 2016,
beginning with the Airbus headquarters production facility
in Toulouse, France, followed by the nal assembly line in
Mobile. But in August it announced a further extension,
including aircraft deliveries from Hamburg, Germany.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is more expensive, so
demand has been stunted, as we noted in our October
2019 report. But since last year, use and activity are
growing, with Air BP, the international aviation fuel
products and services supplier, and Neste, the world’s
largest producer of renewable diesel and sustainable
aviation fuels (SAF), having signed an agreement to offer
an increased volume of sustainable aviation fuel to
airport customers in 2020 and 2021. The volume is
ve times larger than that supplied by the businesses
in 2019. Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel annual
capacity is currently 100,000 tons. (Neste made its
rst commercial sales of sustainable aviation fuels
in collaboration with Air BP in the Swedish market in
early 2019.)
Air BP will make the Neste-produced SAF available at
selected airports in Europe, with deliveries to airports
including Stockholm (ARN) and Oslo (OSL) expected to
begin in the coming weeks.
The increased supply of SAF comes in response to
rising demand from existing and new airline customers,
as well as from Norway, where there is a mandate
requiring 0.5% of all jet fuel sold to be SAF (the
Norwegian government has set a goal of achieving
emission-free domestic aviation by 2040). Neste is also
supplying Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue
Airways with sustainable aviation fuel for ights from San
Francisco International Airport.
Adding further impetus to such moves, in August this
year, the Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable
Aviation Fuel (a coalition of aviation organisations)
released a new informational guide detailing how industry
leaders can incorporate sustainable aviation fuel into
their operations and accelerate the adoption of lowcarbon
fuels.
On August 5, the EU launched a public consultation on
measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the
aviation sector, with the Commission currently assessing
different policy options to boost the development and
uptake of sustainable aviation fuels in the EU. And here
in the UK, the Sustainable Aviation coalition has written
to the UK government’s Transport Secretary calling for UK
aviation to be at the heart of the country’s economic
recovery strategy. It says that exploiting the UK’s world-
Neste, the
world’s largest
producer of
renewable diesel
and sustainable
aviation fuels
(SAF), is working
with American
Airlines for
fl ights out of
San Fransisco
International
www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets | October 2020 29
/www.sustainableaviation.co.uk
/www.machinery.co.uk