Neste and Airbus have signed an agreement to advance the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) within the aviation sector.

Neste and Airbus recognize that one of the biggest challenges in accelerating SAF use is the ramp-up of production.

This collaboration is laying the foundation for Airbus and Neste to explore business opportunities together and jointly promote the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel.

The focus will be on the technical development of SAF, fuel approval and testing of current and future production technologies, and investigating how “100% SAF” use can be enabled.

Said Thorsten Lange, Executive Vice President, Renewable Aviation at Neste: “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.”

Julie Kitcher, EVP Communications, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Airbus, said: “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.”

Kitcher added: “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.
SAF delivers the performance of conventional jet fuel but with a significantly smaller carbon footprint on a life cycle basis. Using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%* over the fuel’s life cycle compared to using fossil jet fuel.

Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is produced from sustainably sourced 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, including used cooking oil and animal fat waste. Prior to use, SAF is blended with conventional jet fuel and works seamlessly with existing fueling infrastructure and aircraft engines.

*) When used in neat form (i.e. unblended) and calculated with established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, such as CORSIA methodology