(AEV) SHELL & LUFTHANSA TO SIGN SAF PARTNERSHIP DEAL

SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) continues to be seen as the most practical solution for green flights that the aviation industry can implement right now, instead of the long-term alternatives. SAF plays a major role for both Shell and Lufthansa when it comes to their strategies for the future, so it makes sense for these two major players to join forces.

Lufthansa and Shell announced the launch of a collaboration that will result in significant amounts of SAF being supplied at multiple airports across the globe. The final contract hasn’t been signed yet, but the figures are impressive – a total of 1.8 million metric tons of green jet fuel will be supplied over a period of seven years, starting in 2024. This means that Lufthansa would roughly have its SAF supplies ensured for this decade.

Lufthansa Group claims to be the biggest SAF customer in Europe and has been involved in research related to alternative fuels for many years. It also supports the development of next-generation aviation fuels, which are supposed to be more sustainable, using renewable energy such as solar power. On the way to the big goal of becoming completely carbon neutral by 2050, the German group wants to cut its CO2 emissions in half by the end of this decade, compared to the 2019 levels.

Shell has similar plans, with the main focus on SAF, which is expected to cover 10% of the company’s global aviation fuel sales by 2030. Last year, Shell kicked off operations for two Energy and Chemicals Parks, one in Rheinland, Germany, and the other one in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with the goal of gradually switching from conventional to green fuel production. The new Energy Park in Rotterdam has a capacity of almost 904,000 tons (820,000 tonnes) per year, and SAF represents more than half of that.

This Memorandum of Understanding marks an important step for the use of SAF in Europe, but it doesn’t beat the purchase made by United Airlines last year. That contract with Alder Fuels is for 1.5 billion gallons of SAF, delivered over 20 years. So far, that’s the biggest SAF purchase agreement in history. autoevolution - link - Otilia Dragan - link - more like this (SAF) - link - more like this (Lufthansa) - link - more like this (Shell) - link