The decarbonisation of the industry is its highest priority but achieving net zero will come at a net extra cost of over €820 billion ($900m) for European aviation, a cost no sector can bear on its own, said Javier Marin, President of ACI Europe, in a plea for fiscal support. He told delegates at the airport body’s annual congress in Barcelona the EU’s Fit for 55 package will increase airfares and reduce demand, possibly by up to 20%, and with intra-European routes being the most impacted, regional airports and the communities would be most at risk of losing out on air connectivity. He called for additional policy and financial support to boost production of sustainable aviation fuels in Europe and access to green energy to support the deployment of hydrogen and electric/hybrid powered aircraft. During the meeting, held in conjunction with ACI World’s annual assembly, an Airports of Tomorrow initiative was launched with the World Economic Forum.

Marin, who is also Managing Director of Spanish airports operator Aena, restated the airport industry’s backing for the EU SAF mandates, which he said would provide the certainty needed to trigger investments in European production capabilities, and the importance of support mechanisms such as the EU Innovation Fund and SAF allowances under the EU ETS.

“We absolutely need to boost the production of SAF in Europe and bridge the gap with conventional fuels,” he said. “This requires concrete and actionable support beyond what is currently foreseen to counterbalance the very effective US approach of multiple tax breaks. This implies that SAF are designated as ‘net zero strategic technology’ under the EU Net Zero Industry Act and benefit from the related regulatory support. This also means European states must urgently work on their national SAF supply strategy together with industry – and provide direct financial support.”

He said deploying and servicing hydrogen-powered and electric/hybrid aircraft would involve reconfiguring energy supply, storage and distribution at airports.

“This will require not just massive investments, but also access to considerable green energy,” he told delegates at the ACI Europe/World Annual General Assembly in Barcelona. “This must be factored in and addressed in transport and energy policies in a coordinated way at European and national level. Delivering net zero aviation will be conditional upon no airport being left behind in the energy transition.”

Marin bemoaned the ability of airlines to “freely charge” passengers airfares “that have increased six times over the consumer inflation rate” while airports were “stuck” with charges that needed regulatory approval long in advance.

The meeting heard the total number of airports individually committed to net zero emissions in Europe had risen to 324 in 38 countries, accounting for 76% of the continent’s passenger traffic. Since last year’s pledge, 48 airports have advanced their target, while 132 airports are now committed to reaching net zero by 2030 or earlier.

The publicly available repository of airport net zero carbon roadmaps, provided by ACI Europe to ensure the transparency and efficacy of airports’ progress to their climate objectives, is expanding. The updated repository now covers 153 airports and ACI Europe’s Net Zero Resolution has a new requirement that commits airports to submit a roadmap within one year. An updated edition of the guidance document on developing an airport net zero roadmap was released during the meeting.

“The Resolution, first launched in 2019, has become a reference point for airports’ commitments and tangible progress in reaching net zero carbon as fast as possible,” commented Olivier Jankovec, ACI Europe’s Director General. “The European airport industry is embracing decarbonisation on an unprecedented scale.”

The Airports of Tomorrow initiative aims to bring public and private stakeholders together to address the energy, infrastructure and financing needs of the industry’s transition to net zero by 2050. Built on four pillars – infrastructure, sustainable aviation fuel, finance and innovation – the project will involve expertise exchange and knowledge sharing, the development of tools and guidance, and the advancement of advocacy.

“The initiative will help airports transform from passenger hubs into energy hubs. It is an exciting time for airports – the energy transformation presents them with an opportunity to further lead and change the future of aviation for the better,” said ACI World Director General Luis Felipe.

Added Lauren Uppink, Head of Climate Strategy at World Economic Forum: “We see airports as strategically located epicentres of activity, where leaders from across the aviation ecosystem can convene and work together to transform the industry. If the right planning and investment decisions are made today, airports can play a pivotal role in shaping a sustainable future for aviation as well as other sectors.

“The initiative will help airports harness these opportunities, enabling them to fulfil their potential as clean energy hubs and standard-bearers for the net zero economy.”

Photo (Aena): Barcelona-El Prat Airport

Christopher Surgenor

Editor

• Linkedin

Bank of America has become the first financial institution to join the sustainable aviation fuel purchasing programme jointly established by Shell Aviation and American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT). The book-and-claim programme enables corporations to verifiably purchase SAF to compensate for the emissions created when their employees fly on company business. The bank has pledged to support the production and use of 1 billion gallons of SAF by 2030 and has committed to ensure SAF comprises at least 20% of the total jet fuel used each year in flights by its own staff and management. The new partnership coincides with an announcement by Shell that it will supply SAF to Japan Airlines in Los Angeles from 2025.

“By purchasing SAF, and working with other companies, we are taking more tangible steps to help build a more affordable and accessible sustainable aviation fuel market,” said Beth Sullivan, Bank of America’s Head of Global Corporate and Executive Travel.

The Amex GBT-Shell programme adopted by Bank of America is designed to connect airlines with corporations willing to help pay the premium charged for SAF, which is currently two-to-eight times the price of conventional fossil-based jet fuels. The programme uses the blockchain-powered Avelia book-and-claim platform, which leverages the Amex GBT base of over 19,000 clients in 140 countries, and accounts for SAF provided by Shell.

“The business travel sector has a critical role to play in scaling SAF and accelerating the decarbonisation of travel,” said the Amex GBT’s President, Andrew Crawley. “We will move closer to achieving these objectives with more companies like Bank of America making bold commitments and recognising the powerful role the corporate travel programme can play in achieving a company’s broader sustainability goals.”  

Participation by Bank of America in the programme follows multiple previous commitments by the bank to help catalyse the broader SAF market through financing, investment, capital markets and procurement. Its stated aim is to work with aviation fuel suppliers and other members of aviation’s energy ecosystem to help boost production of SAF, and support the development of distribution infrastructure through sustainable financing.

Among its commitments are a partnership with American Airlines to support the purchase of 3 million gallons of SAF over a three-year period, and a 10-year deal with SAF provider SkyNRG to support the production of 1.2 million gallons of SAF per year from 2025.  

The bank is also a founding member of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), a partner in two sustainability programmes of the World Economic Forum, ‘Clean Skies for Tomorrow’, and the ‘First Movers Coalition’, and a member of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a specialist investment vehicle established by tech billionaire Bill Gates to fund or invest in emergent technologies, including SAF, which help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The WEF was the catalyst for widespread commitments last year to accelerate SAF use to 10% by 2030. “Companies are moving from pledges to actual business practices,” said Lauren Uppink, the WEF’s Head of Climate Strategy. “This programme and Avelia represents the culmination of years of groundwork building the value chain to support the scaling of SAF, now operational. The theoretical is becoming real.”

Shell Aviation’s President, Jan Toschka, added: “It’s brilliant to see Bank of America leading the finance sector’s charge to decarbonise business travel through SAF. Corporations that choose to fly on SAF have the power to catalyse the scaling of this technology and accelerate decarbonisation across the aviation sector. It’s a fantastic opportunity for businesses to make aviation more sustainable.”

As well as supplying SAF for corporate purchasers, Shell is also upping its supplies to airlines, announcing an agreement to fuel Japan Airlines services in Los Angeles from 2025. Shell says it will provide JAL with SAF volumes of SAF “equivalent to its current estimated jet fuel uplifts in Los Angeles over the supply period.”

While the length of the period was not specified, JAL has committed that 1% of its total jet fuel from 2025 will be SAF, increasing to 10% of total use by 2030 as it strives to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Recently, JAL also set itself the 2030 target of reducing CO2 emissions by 10% compared to 2019 levels.

JAL’s Los Angeles commitment parallels moves by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to mandate 10% SAF use on international flights from Japan, effective from 2030. The proposal also will require fuel suppliers to provide product including a 10% SAF blend. Subject to review by a council of private and public sector members, the SAF blending mandate is expected to be formalised by March next year. 

Photo: Shell Aviation

Two new reports have highlighted the considerable costs and logistics of transitioning air transport to novel propulsion aircraft, both emphasising the need for urgent action to enable the switch. A report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as part of its Target True Zero initiative indicates that by 2050, the aviation industry will need to invest between $700 billion and $1.7 trillion to provide sufficient infrastructure for hydrogen, battery-electric and hybrid-electric aircraft. It argues the foundation elements must be in place by 2025 and says new partnerships are essential between the aviation sector and energy suppliers. A parallel report by European advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E) says hydrogen-powered aircraft will cost 8% more to operate than fossil-fuelled planes but could be 2% cheaper from 2035 if their development is supported by government incentives, funded through taxes on conventional jet fuel and a price on carbon. “These pricing measures are key to the deployment of green technologies like hydrogen planes,” says T&E.

The WEF report was produced with the support of McKinsey and Partners, the Aviation Environment Federation and the Aviation Impact Accelerator of the University of Cambridge to help quantify challenges involved in the transition to new propulsion technologies. It estimates that by 2050, battery-electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft could comprise between 21% and 38% of total fleets, and require 15% to 34% of the industry’s total energy needs.

Of this power, says WEF, between 89% and 96% would be needed for hydrogen-powered aircraft, with the remaining 4% to 11% for battery-electric turboprops, regional jets and small narrowbody planes. The introduction of hydrogen and electric propulsion would also require separate infrastructure value chains and necessitate production of power away from airports, which would not have sufficient land for the energy infrastructure. “The investments needed to meet 2050 alternative-propulsion-related infrastructure goals must start now,” stresses the report, with the first elements required to be in place by 2025.

“Getting infrastructure right will be critical in allowing this new industry to take off – whether that means ‘on-airport’ infrastructure, such as chargers and refuellers, or ‘off-airport’ infrastructure, such as producing enough green electricity,” write McKinsey Partner Robin Riedel and WEF Climate Head Pedro Gomez in their foreword to the report. “There is a great deal at stake in getting this transition right. Collaboration across geographies, industries and stakeholders is critical to fast-track aviation’s trajectory towards a more sustainable future.”  

The sheer volume of energy needed to power the emerging generation of novel propulsion aircraft is identified by WEF as a key challenge in the transition to zero-emission commercial flights. Globally by 2050, it estimates alternative propulsion systems could need between 600 and 1,700 terrawatt hours of clean energy, “which is equivalent to the energy generated by around 10 to 25 of the world’s largest wind farms, or a solar farm the size of Belgium.”

As well, to power alternative propulsion aircraft, the WEF report says airports will need to massively increase their on-site energy use, with battery-electric and hydrogen-powered fleets each needing their own energy infrastructure. “For an airport that is a large hub looking to invest in on-site hydrogen liquefaction and charging for battery-electric powered aircraft, total on-site electricity consumption for terminals, ground support and other uses could be between 1,250 and 2,450 gigawatt hours per year, which is about five to 10 times more electricity than London Heathrow currently consumes.”

Producing new power would also present a major challenge, for while most airports would have room to develop hydrogen liquefaction and storage infrastructure, they would have nowhere near enough land for infrastructure to generate the clean energy required to power battery-electric or hydrogen aircraft.

“While airports have been touted as possible energy hubs, the scale of energy demand for alternative propulsion will make it extremely difficult to perform all energy production at airports,” says the report. “If Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport is used as an example of a major international hub, it would require approximately 5,800 hectares of solar panels to generate sufficient electricity to meet its demands under the Mission Possible Partnership’s prudent scenario. This far exceeds the size of the airport itself, which now occupies 3,300 hectares.”

The report says transition to novel propulsion aircraft would require capital investment of between $700 billion and $1.7 trillion by 2050, around 90% of which would be for off-airport infrastructure, mainly to generate power and for hydrogen electrolysis and liquefaction. On-airport infrastructure, which comprises the remaining 10%, will total “a more modest” $66 billion to $114 billion by 2050.

“Capital expenditures in green power generation for aviation alone would double the current projections for global airport capital infrastructures, $1.68 trillion by 2040 at $84 billion per year,” it calculates. “This makes it almost certain that aviation players will need to form partnerships with companies in other industries, such as energy providers and those in hydrogen-consuming industries, to secure the required investment. 

“The investments needed to meet 2050 alternative-propulsion-related infrastructure goals must start now. The first elements of on-airport infrastructure must be in place by 2025 to meet the expected energy demand.”

The report’s authors also say operators of alternative propulsion should expect to pay between 76% and 86% more than the market price for renewable electricity, pricing which reflects additional costs of operating aviation infrastructure.

The report commissioned by Transport & Environment, and produced by research group Steer, concludes hydrogen-powered jets could be operated less expensively than fossil fuel-powered aircraft from 2035 “provided kerosene is taxed adequately”.

It says: “In 2035, running planes on hydrogen could be 8% more expensive than using kerosene. But with a tax on fossil jet fuel and a price on carbon, hydrogen planes could become 2% cheaper to operate than their kerosene counterparts. These pricing measures are key to the deployment of green technologies like hydrogen planes.”

The T&E analysis shows that by 2050, deployment of hydrogen aircraft for intra-Europe flights would cost €299 billion ($320bn), of which only 5% (€15 billion) would be for the development of hydrogen planes. “This relatively small upfront cost must, however, happen before 2035, or risk jeopardising the success of these new planes.”

The balance of the cost would be outside the aviation sector, with green hydrogen production accounting for €161 billion, or 54%, then hydrogen liquefaction at 23%, hydrogen infrastructure at airports (12%) and distribution of the fuel to airports (6%).

T&E highlights the commitment by Airbus to launch hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035, but said the airframer had since warned of delays due to slow development of hydrogen infrastructure.

“Building these planes is feasible,” said T&E’s aviation technical manager Carlos Lopez de la Osa, “but if we want Airbus to walk the talk, we’ll need to create a market for zero emission aircraft by taxing fossil jet fuel and mandating zero emission planes in the future. “For hydrogen planes to take off in the next decade, we need to enter the virtuous circle of regulation, investment and a fall in prices, followed by stronger uptake. But the cost must be shouldered by the aviation industry and its users by ring-fencing part of carbon and kerosene tax revenues for green tech like zero emission planes and clean fuels.”

Image: The Airbus ZEROe concept hydrogen-powered aircraft

A new report on sustainable aviation says an annual average investment of $175 billion will be needed from now until 2050 for the air transport sector to meet its target of net zero carbon emissions. It also says the current project pipeline for sustainable aviation fuel must increase five-to-sixfold by 2030, requiring 300 new production plants, and estimates that SAF production levels “need to increase by a factor of 3,000-7,000 within less than three decades”. The report was produced by the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP), a collective of climate action leaders committed to decarbonising the world’s highest-emitting industries, and the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition (CST), a global SAF advocacy group led by the World Economic Forum, reports Tony Harrington. “An unmitigated aviation sector would be responsible for 22% of emissions by 2050,” warned MPP CEO Matt Rogers. Those endorsing the transition strategies outlined in the report include Airbus, American Airlines, Air France-KLM, easyJet, bp and Shell.   

Aviation, which accounts for approximately 3% of global CO2 emissions, is one of seven hard-to-abate industries for which the MPP is developing customised strategies to decarbonise within 10 years. The others are shipping, trucking, steel, aluminium, cement and chemicals, which, together with air transport, produce 30% of global emissions. Predicated on a global carbon budget of 1.5°C, the most ambitious temperature target of the Paris Agreement, the report, ‘Making Net-Zero Aviation possible: An industry-backed, 1.5-degree-celsius aligned Transition Strategy’, calls for immediate action within this decade, and details stepped strategies for the sector to achieve carbon-neutral growth until 2030, a halving of emissions until 2040 and net zero emissions by 2050. It also highlights the implications of the plan on the broader energy system and the airline industry, as well as the capital investments and policy actions required for success.

“Bringing aviation on a path to net zero emissions by 2050 requires a doubling of historical fuel efficiency gains of aircraft, a rapid roll-out of sustainable aviation fuels and the market entry of novel propulsion aircraft (hydrogen, battery-electric or hybrid aircraft) in the mid-2030s,” says the MPP report.  “Currently, about 0.05-0.10 Mt SAF are produced per year, only a tiny fraction of the global fuel demand of about 320 Mt jet fuel. Also, current project pipelines of about 8 Mt are insufficient and need to be scaled up by a factor of 5-6 to supply 40-50 Mt SAF by 2030. That SAF volume could require about 300 SAF plants.”

Further, it adds: “Until 2050, 300-370 Mt SAF could be required to fulfil the jet fuel demand of a net-zero aviation sector. Hence, current SAF production levels need to increase by a factor of 3,000-7,000 within less than three decades.”  

For aviation to fund its transition to net zero emissions, the report estimates average annual investments between 2022 and 2050 of around $175 billion – roughly equivalent to the GDPs of Berlin or Amsterdam – and said 95% of this capital expenditure would be needed for fuel production and upstream assets generating renewable electricity.

“Although average fuel costs are increasing in the net-zero scenario, the cost of flying could remain stable if the higher costs of SAFs compared with fossil jet fuel are counterbalanced by increased efficiency gains,” predicts the MPP. “Hydrogen and battery-electric aircraft can make aviation more efficient starting in the 2030s and could potentially supply up to a third of the final energy demand by 2050.”

The report estimates that by 2050, the aviation sector could account for 5-10% of global demand for renewable electricity and 10-30% of demand for hydrogen. Air transport would also need a substantial share of the feedstocks required to produce SAF, with the MPP estimating demand for up to 25% of global sustainable biomass, and between 600 and 850 Mt of CO2 captured from the atmosphere and transformed into sustainable liquid fuels for aviation. This is contentious, it argues, as demand for such feedstocks is also high for other competing products, such as renewable diesel fuel, which is deemed by many to be a more effective use of scarce ingredients to cut carbon emissions.

The MPP said all sections of the aviation value chain were represented in the report, with signatories including 27 airlines in 19 countries, 1,950 airports in 185 countries, 10 aircraft manufacturers and suppliers, 21 fuel producers and upstream energy suppliers, and five large customers or investment platforms. 

“MPP is mapping critical strategies how to turn the paper goals of annual climate summits into action,” said Rogers. “An unmitigated aviation sector would be responsible for 22% of emissions by 2050. This transition strategy outlines plans and projects that are high on the agenda of ambitious companies, including the ‘nuts and bolts’ of how to build 300 sustainable aviation fuel plants by 2030.”

Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, one of the report’s signatories, said novel propulsion technologies including hydrogen represented the most sustainable solution for short haul airlines. “The adoption of these technologies will help reduce the climate impact of our operations, while preserving the immense economic and social benefits that aviation brings to the world. We therefore support the Mission Possible Partnership Aviation Transition Strategy.”

In addition to the report, the MPP has launched the Aviation Net Zero Transition Explorer, a sectoral interactive tool to provide visual representation of the report, with functionality to adjust key technology and cost drivers to customise decarbonisation scenarios and illustrate how different levels of innovation and climate ambition impact the speed and cost of transition.

Its Aviation Transition Strategy, said the MPP, “provides a shared vision of the industry’s low-carbon future, detailing real economy milestones not just for 2050, but also for the near term.” 

Photo: MPP

Shell, Accenture and American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) have joined forces to launch Avelia, a blockchain-powered digital sustainable aviation fuel book-and-claim platform for business travel. Offering around 1 million gallons of SAF, enough, they say, to power nearly 15,000 individual business traveller flights from London to New York, the partners claim Avelia is the largest book-and-claim pilot at launch. It has been developed by Shell and Accenture, with technical support from the Energy Web Foundation, and includes Amex GBT’s travel management services to aggregate global business demand for SAF, with the aim of stimulating SAF supply and helping the aviation industry’s pathway towards net zero emissions. Book-and-claim enables airlines and their business customers to simultaneously reduce emissions in their respective scopes. It allows travellers to pay for SAF and claim the benefits even if SAF is not available at their departure airport, and is instead fed into another aircraft at an airport where it is available. The partners say Avelia will ensure transparency and accountability by avoiding issues such as double-counting.

“SAF is a key enabler of decarbonisation in the aviation industry, and it’s available today. However, it’s currently scarce and costs more than conventional jet fuel,” said Jan Toschka, President, Shell Aviation. “Avelia will help trigger demand for SAF at scale, providing confidence to suppliers like us to further increase investment in production, and in turn helping to lower the price point for these fuels.”

The three launch partners are the platform’s first customers and welcomed other corporations to join it and their efforts “to drive industry change”. Shell has committed to purchasing the environmental attributes equivalent to 100,000 gallons of SAF over the pilot phase of the Avelia programme. It says the commitment will be increased “as soon as more SAF is available” in order to achieve its ambition to abate 45% of Shell’s corporate travel emissions through SAF by 2030.

Rachel Barton, Europe Strategy Lead at Accenture, said the vision for the Avelia platform was to bring airlines, corporates, cargo players and SAF suppliers together “in a trusted ecosystem that no individual company could build or access on its own.” She added: “Blockchain technology will be piloted to help ensure trust via data integrity, validate proof of ownership and enable transparent tracking of the environmental benefits of SAF for customers.”

Scalable co-investment models that allow companies to co-fund the cost of SAF are crucial to significantly scale SAF supply and use, say the partners. Once approved by industry bodies as an acceptable form of emissions reduction, say the partners, Avelia could enable airlines and companies who choose SAF to authenticate, record and report the associated emissions reduction benefits of SAF towards their voluntary ESG reporting.

“An industry-accepted carbon accounting mechanism, like book-and-claim, is key for such programmes to credibly grow,” they believe. “Avelia’s data security and credibility are key to reaching scientific and market consensus for ways to allocate SAF’s environmental attributes and help accelerate the decarbonisation of aviation.”

Paul Abbott, CEO of Amex GBT, said: “A truly viable route to decarbonising air travel is now open for business. We’re calling on all companies to join us and share the costs and benefits of SAF across the travel and aviation sectors. Airlines will gain access to the buying capacity of businesses, drawing from Amex GBT’s 19,000 customers around the world.”

The development of the Avelia book-and-claim platform was welcomed by Lauren Uppink Calderwood, Head of Aviation, Travel and Tourism at the World Economic Forum. “We look forward to integrating learnings from these efforts into our broader SAFc Framework programme. Sharing the price premium of SAF offers exciting potential to address the aviation industry’s supply-and-demand impasse over scaling SAF.”

Elena Schmidt, Executive Director of the standards body Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), said book-and-claim had the potential to significantly increase market access to SAF. “It allows airlines and their customers to invest in SAF and purchase its environmental claims without needing to be tied to a production site,” she said. “As long as the value chain is based on a robust system, such as the one developed by RSB in collaboration with our multi-stakeholder community, the net environmental effect of SAF will be ensured. RSB supports innovative and collaborative partnerships that build a more sustainable environment and bio-based circular economy, and so applauds this new programme.

“We are delighted to welcome long-time RSB member Shell, along with Amex GBT and partners in the RSB book-and-claim development.”

Avelia uses a blockchain-powered book-and-claim method that follows the Smart Freight Centre and MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics SAF GHG accounting and insetting guidelines. It runs on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

“Decarbonising hard to abate sectors like aviation will be essential to reaching a net zero future, and technology has a critical role to play in this transformation,” commented Elisabeth Brinton, Corporate VP Sustainability for Microsoft. “We’re proud to support Shell in this effort to expand the market for SAF.”

Photo: Shell

RSB and Air bp announced their partnership in a sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) book and claim pilot earlier this year and, as part of the pilot, were joined by Microsoft, United Airlines and the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) to record the first transaction in the RSB book and claim register. With an approximate 80% reduction in lifecycle emissions in comparison with fossil jet fuel, 7,000 gallons (21 tonnes) of waste-based SAF were supplied by Air bp to United Airlines at UK airports. The sustainability attributes of the fuel were purchased by and credited to Microsoft, a founding company of SABA, which is managed by RMI and the Environmental Defense Fund, reports Susan van Dyk. The transaction was audited and verified by RSB, and the SAF credits were recorded in a book and claim register and retired by Microsoft after the fuel was used. Experience from the pilot scheme, together with broad stakeholder consultations, are contributing to the development of a book and claim manual by RSB, which will establish the rules for a robust, credible and transparent system that verifies the emission reductions achieved while avoiding double counting. Bryan Fisher, Managing Director of RMI’s Climate-Aligned Industries programme, said the book and claim system was “a gamechanger” for the SAF market.

“Virtual ownership of SAF’s environmental attributes can accelerate the technology by unlocking new payers and their resources, and that is why SABA has prioritised participation in this pilot,” he said.

A book and claim system allows the separation of the physical SAF from its sustainability attributes and permits a company to purchase and claim the emission reductions from SAF use regardless of the physical fuel supply location. The company purchasing the sustainability attributes does not use the physical fuel, but claims the SAF credits, which represents a volume of CO2 emissions prevented. In this case, Microsoft purchased 21 SAF credits, representing 21 tonnes of SAF, resulting in a reduction of 53 tonnes of CO2 (calculated on the basis that one tonne of fuel emits 3.16 tonnes of CO2 and an 80% lifecycle reduction). As the customer does not have to use the fuel, purchasing the SAF credits are not limited to fuel users such as airlines but can be done by any company who wants to reduce their Scope 3 emissions.

United and Microsoft have previously purchased SAF, but this was the first time SAF environmental attributes have been transferred using RSB’s book and claim system. RSB is developing the system with input from multiple stakeholders across the aviation value chain, including airlines, fuel producers, corporate customers and others. Feedback from stakeholders and learning experiences during the pilot scheme will help RSB to develop rules in a book and claim manual as a guide for a robust, credible and transparent system that can be used by any stakeholder.

Transactions under a book and claim system will be recorded in a registry, which SABA will be developing in collaboration with RSB and Clean Skies for Tomorrow (CST), said Kim Carnahan, SABA Secretariat Lead and Senior Director Net Zero Fuels at ENGIE Impact. This universal electronic ledger or registry will be compatible with the RSB book and claim system, which will detail the rules for how credits can be booked and claimed. Carnahan further explained that the book and claim manual would allow environmental attributes from any SAF certified by RSB and ISCC to be claimed under the system.

The greatest concern with book and claim transactions is the risk of double counting occurring when SAF emissions may be counted more than once towards a climate mitigation effort. Pedro Piris-Cabezas, Director of Sustainable International Transport and Lead Senior Economist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) discussed the risk at the recent RSB Annual Conference. Avoiding double counting starts with a robust book and claim system from an ICAO-approved Sustainability Certification Scheme such as RSB, he explained, with transactions recorded in a registry.

While there is a risk of double counting between air carriers and corporations, the accounting of emissions reductions by countries in their national inventory reports also poses a risk for double counting. Piris-Cabezas recommends the fuel supplier must secure a commitment from the host country to report the SAF as international bunker fuel in its national inventory reports to ensure that emissions reductions are not claimed twice. Under UNFCCC rules, international bunker fuels (aviation and shipping) are reported separately and are a source of emissions not addressed under countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Piris-Cabezas also highlighted the potential impact of a country’s policy environment and incentive schemes for SAF purchase under a book and claim system as a fuel producer would not be able to claim emission credits for the same SAF. SABA is providing guidance on how to simultaneously address UK policy requirements (as the SAF for the pilot was supplied and used in the UK) and recognise the emissions benefits for voluntary corporate purchases.

According to Elizabeth Willmott, Carbon Program Manager at Microsoft, the pilot offers the opportunity to ensure transparency and credibility for environmental claims for SAF purchases. RSB’s new Executive Director, Elena Schmidt, welcomed the participation of Microsoft and United in the RSB pilot project, which she said “took the pilot into the real world”. Microsoft’s commitment to sourcing RSB-certified fuel is an example of how companies can use their buying power to drive positive impacts, even outside their direct supply chains, she added.

Kelley Kizzier, EDF’s VP Global Climate, said SABA was looking forward to applying the lessons learned from the pilot to the development of an electronic book and claim registry, alongside RSB, so that more air transport customers could benefit.

At the recent COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, SABA announced the addition of an Aviators group to their membership, formed by Amazon Air, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue and United Airlines. SABA said the new group would help “send even stronger demand signal to drive greater SAF production, price reduction and technological innovation”. EDF and RMI also unveiled SABA’s formal membership structure at the COP26 event, opening membership opportunities to airlines, companies and non-profit organisations.

SABA was launched by RMI and EDF in April 2021 with founding members Boeing, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Netflix, Bank of America, McKinsey & Company, and Salesforce, with Meta (formerly Facebook) later joining as a founding member.

Photo: SABA’s Kim Carnahan presents the initiative during COP26. The event included a keynote from US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and a panel session with representatives from United Airlines, Alaska Air, Amazon, McKinsey & Company and Deloitte. A YouTube video recording is available here

Susan van Dyk

GreenAir Correspondent

www.svdconsulting.ca

• Linkedin

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has announced an eight-year partnership with SkyNRG to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for its business travel flights starting in 2022, so becoming the newest member of SkyNRG’s Board Now corporate programme. The move is in support of BCG’s commitment to achieving net zero climate impact by 2030 at the latest, with more than 80% of the organisation’s carbon footprint attributable to business travel. SkyNRG says the long-term agreement will support the development of a new SAF production facility in the Netherlands, which will produce 100,000 tonnes of SAF annually from sustainable sources such as waste oils when it eventually comes onstream, with BCG committing to purchasing existing supplies in the meantime. BCG joins Microsoft, SkyScanner, PwC and others as Board Now programme Leader – the highest membership level. It also recently joined the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) as a founding member.

“Lower-carbon air travel is a vital part of achieving our net zero goal, as well as the global climate targets. This partnership with SkyNRG will help to develop the global market for more affordable sustainable aviation fuel,” said Rich Lesser, CEO of BCG.

Both BCG and SkyNRG have participated in the World Economic Forum-led Clean Skies for Tomorrow (CST) coalition since 2019. SkyNRG is also part of WEF’s SAF Certificate (SAFc) pilot, which is aiming to develop a globally recognised accounting system for SAF (see article).

“It is great to see that BCG is at the forefront of making the aviation industry more sustainable as a member of our Board Now SAF programme,” said SkyNRG Managing Director Theye Veen. “With this long-term partnership, BCG enables the acceleration of the sustainable aviation industry, bringing us one step closer to making SAF the global standard in aviation.”

In June, BCG entered into an agreement with Neste for the purchase of SAF to be delivered to airlines SAS and Finnair, covering the volume of all flights taken by BCG employees in the Nordic region with these carriers. BCG is Neste’s first corporate client for its SAF-based solution in which Neste and its airline partners help organisations reach their emission reduction targets, and includes a third-party audit process to ensure other customers cannot claim emission reductions on the same SAF volume.

“The core value proposition of BCG is to connect our clients with the best global expertise and talent, whatever the business issue at hand might be. Next generation ways of working have opened up tremendous opportunities to accomplish this virtually. Yet some travel will be needed going forward in order to deliver the greatest value to our clients,” said Tuukka Seppä, Managing Partner of BCG Nordics. “This move is part of BCG’s global efforts to advance the path to lower-carbon travel and is an important step on our journey to net zero climate impact by 2030.”

BCG is the Consultancy Partner for the COP26 climate conference in November and has expanded its climate and sustainability capabilities by transforming its former Center for Climate Action into a global BCG Center for Climate & Sustainability, which brings together over 550 experts from across the firm.

In other SkyNRG news, the company is to partner with Dutch festival brand DGTL that will ensure all artists travelling to and from its international events by air will have their flight CO2 emissions reduced through SAF purchase.

“Working with SkyNRG, DGTL’s sustainability model once again provides a groundbreaking blueprint for other promoters and large-scale event organisers,” said DGTL, which claims to have solved other event sustainability issues around energy, water and sanitation. “This innovation is the final piece in DGTL’s overall sustainability puzzle. Furthermore, it is a scalable solution that can reduce air travel emissions for other events too where air travel may be unavoidable. DGTL’s festivals have a huge reach, which is why it is important we lead by example and plant the seed for change.”

An analysis by major sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) supplier SkyNRG of the European Commission’s ReFuelEU Aviation initiative, part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package of legislative proposals unveiled last week, shows around 300 SAF plants with an average production capacity of around 100,000 tonnes per year will be needed by 2050 to meet EU demand under the SAF blending mandate that underpins the initiative. With only 15 plants expected to be operational by 2027, over 10 plants will therefore be needed to be built in the EU each year thereafter to reach the 2050 requirement unless SAF is imported from outside the EU. However, in its assessment of targeted SAF volumes towards 2030, the scope of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, SkyNRG believes supply can match demand provided currently announced production capacity materialises and either additional production capacity is developed or SAF is imported. After 2030, fast deployment of new SAF technologies will be required up to 2050.

The ‘Fit for 55’ package is intended to help achieve an EU-wide GHG reduction target of 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. The ReFuelEU Aviation proposal includes a 2% blending obligation on fuel suppliers for SAF in 2025, increasing to 5% in 2030 and then rising steeply to 32% by 2040 and 63% in 2050 (see article). A specific sub-mandate applies for e-kerosene (aviation e-fuels described by the Commission as synthetic aviation fuels), which starts with 0.7% in 2030, 8% by 2040 and increases to 28% by 2050. (See Figure 1 below.)

A few EU States have already implemented or are proposing a national blending mandate, with some more ambitious than the Commission’s proposal, which wishes to see EU-wide harmonisation. To meet both the EU-wide mandate and the additional volumes from national mandates, SkyNRG estimates this would require 3.5 million tonnes (Mt) of SAF in 2030, rising to 30 Mt in 2050. This compares with just 0.1 Mt of global SAF production in 2020.

“Our in-depth analysis, ‘A Market Outlook on Sustainable Aviation Fuel’, finds that while the proposed mandates are ambitious, they can be mostly fulfilled with EU production capacity,” said Tom Berg, SkyNRG’s Policy & Sustainability Manager. “To meet the targeted volumes until 2030, however, there will be a heavy reliance on waste oils as feedstock via both the HEFA and co-processing technology pathways. After 2030, technological developments are required fulfil the mandated volumes up to 2050.”

To achieve the rapid deployment of new SAF technologies and the required 300 SAF plants, Berg said: “All stakeholders will need to play their part to engage and address the challenges ahead – governments, investors, industry, and individual and corporate travellers.”

The report says that while up until 2027 the mandated amount of SAF in the EU can be fulfilled with European-based SAF production, this is provided currently announced renewable fuel capacity materialises. The increasing mandated SAF demand up to 2030 can be met with yet-to-be-announced SAF capacity, switching capacity from renewable diesel production or by importing SAF from outside the EU. Beyond 2030, new technologies such as gasification, alcohol-to-jet and power-to-liquids will have to be scaled up speedily but it is unlikely the targeted volumes can be met without structural imports of SAF or intermediate products needed for EU SAF production.

The assessment assumes EU countries adopting more ambitious mandates than those proposed stick to their decisions to create a national mandate ‘top-up’ and EU (excluding UK) jet fuel demand recovers to pre-Covid volumes in 2024, after which it remains constant at 47.4 Mt per year. Total anticipated mandated volumes for advanced biofuels and e-kerosene are 1 Mt in 2025, 3.5 Mt in 2030 and 30 Mt in 2050.

The majority of the announced plants until 2027 make use of waste oils and fats as feedstock, for which there is a tight European market and a reliance on the HVO/HEFA route until 2030. The implication of a substantial increase in imports carries both sustainability risks and heavy dependency on non-European countries in reaching short-term mandated volumes, cautions the report. Demand-side stimulation for SAF in other regions, for example the United States, will also increase demand for biomass and SAF volumes. On the other hand, a rapid electrification of road transport may increase available biomass and production capacity for SAF.

While the 2030 targets set out by the proposed EU mandate are still feasible, believes SkyNRG, it is the post-2030 targets that present a challenge, given the quadrupling of mandated volumes between 2030 and 2040 (see Figure 2 below). To assess the viability of meeting them, SkyNRG compared and built upon the analysis carried out by the Energy Transition Coalition under the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow initiative to develop a projection aligned with its own assumptions on a realistic growth scenario, rather than maximised EU production potential.

Due to constraints in the availability of renewable power for power-to-liquid (PtL) aviation fuels and restrictions on SAF obtainable from waste oils and fats, the major share of bio-advanced SAF will have to come from cellulosic waste and residue streams in the long run, using pathways such as gasification combined with Fischer-Tropsch (FT) and alcohol-to-jet (AtJ), says the SkyNRG report. It considers it unlikely that a large share of the EU renewable power supply would be allocated to e-kerosene production, with modelling elsewhere showing PtL SAF production consuming around 10% of the expected EU total by 2050. It acknowledges other studies foresee a more dominant role for PtL aviation fuels.

Although the ReFuelEU targets are ambitious, they are achievable “with the right set of enablers in place,” concludes the report, which include:

• Increased support for new conversion pathways to convert sustainable feedstocks beyond just waste oils and fats, such as AtJ, FT or PtL;
• Large-scale mobilisation of cellulosic feedstocks through new supply chains;
• Rapid renewable electricity deployment to produce PtL aviation fuels in a sustainable way;
• A solid, science-based sustainability framework to drive the transition; and
• Corporate climate commitments as important streams of revenue to bring new SAF capacity online.

SkyNRG says the analysis was conducted to inform its business strategy but the company was sharing the insights to enable other organisations to learn and potentially direct resources into growing the SAF industry, and intends updating the report every six months.

“We would like to invite all stakeholders, inside and outside the SAF supply chain, to provide us with your viewpoint and explore how to join forces to scale the SAF industry and decarbonise aviation,” commented the company.

The European Commission has opened an eight-week public feedback consultation on the ReFuelEU Aviation legislative proposals, which runs until 14 September 2021.

Top photo: SkyNRG