Momentum is building in the Asia-Pacific region around improving the sustainability of the aviation sector and the use of sustainable aviation fuels. Major rivals Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines have signed a MoU to work together on a range of sustainability measures, while Vietnam Airlines has signed up to IATA’s CO2 Connect platform and recently conducted its first SAF flight, using a blend produced and supplied from Neste’s Singapore refinery. Dubai-based Emirates has also taken its first shipment in Singapore of SAF from Neste. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has received 500,000 litres of SAF produced in China by Hong Kong energy company EcoCeres and blended by ExxonMobil. Meanwhile, Korean Air is expanding its cargo SAF programme through a new partnership with global logistics company CEVA.

The Cathay-Singapore collaboration was agreed by their respective chief executives at IATA’s recent annual general meeting in Dubai, reiterating the commitment of both carriers to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and help drive the industry’s shift to more sustainable operations.

The two will jointly press for increased use of SAF across the APAC region and look for opportunities to jointly procure the fuel at specific locations. They will also publicly promote the fuel’s key role in cleaner aviation, advocate for Asia-Pacific governments to enact SAF-supportive policies and urge the creation of a single global accounting and reporting framework to ensure that emission reductions claimed from the use of SAF are both transparent and verified.   

Additionally, Cathay and Singapore will share best practices to reduce single-use plastics, minimise waste and improve energy efficiency in ground operations.

“As part of our collaborative ethos of ‘Greener Together’ we actively seek like-minded industry leaders for strategic partnerships in transitioning to sustainable aviation,” said Cathay’s CEO, Ronald Lam. “Our collaboration with Singapore Airlines aims to accelerate and support the development of the SAF supply chain in the region, fostering a reliable SAF ecosystem to enable the industry to achieve its long-term decarbonisation goals.”

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said his company was committed to embedding sustainable practices across all areas of the business but added the airline could not achieve all targets by acting alone. “Our partnership with Cathay signifies our mutual ambition to enhance collaboration in sustainability initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said. “Together we are helping to set the foundation for a more sustainable aviation industry and ensure that future generations continue to reap the benefits of air travel.” 

Also at the Dubai AGM, Vietnam Airlines joined IATA’s CO2 Connect project, through which airlines contribute operational data to the programme’s emissions calculator to help accurately quantify carbon emissions for each passenger by route flown and aircraft type.  Other participants in the programme include American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways, all of which are members of the oneworld global airline alliance.

“Reducing CO2 emissions and promoting sustainable development are top priorities for the global aviation industry,” explained IATA. “However, the measurement and reporting of CO2 emissions have been inconsistent due to the various methodologies used by different airlines.”

The CO2 Connect project creates a common platform for airlines to supply consistent calculation of aircraft CO2 emissions to enable both carriers and passengers to make environmentally informed decisions. The programme uses Recommended Practice Per Passenger CO2 Calculation Methodology (RP-1726), which assesses metrics including airline fuel measurement protocols, the CO2 allocation between passengers and cargo, and cabin class to help ensure the most accurate carbon footprint calculations.

“By participating in CO2 Connect,” said IATA, “Vietnam Airlines underscores its commitment to sustainable development, contributing to the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, as pledged by Vietnam at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, COP26.”

In May, Vietnam Airlines conducted its first flight to use sustainable aviation fuel, with an Airbus A321 taking on blended fuel at Singapore Changi for a return flight to Hanoi. Additionally, the airline became the first visiting carrier from the Asia-Pacific region to benefit from SAF produced at the Neste refinery in Singapore.

“We believe that the use of SAF will help create a more sustainable future for the aviation industry, providing passengers with both excellent service quality and environmental friendliness,” said Nguyen Chien Thang, EVP of Vietnam Airlines. “We are collaborating with our partners in the supply chain to expand the use of SAF in the future, thereby contributing to the successful achievement of goals related to net-zero emissions and climate change prevention.”

Emirates too has now started using Neste’s blended SAF in Singapore, produced from sustainably sourced renewable waste and residue raw materials including used cooking oil and animal fat. It is the first SAF procurement by Emirates in Asia and part of a broader global agreement with Neste.

“Emirates’ investment into Neste-produced SAF in Singapore marks a first step forward in our SAF adoption in Asia, a region that is primed to become a leading supplier of SAF, which continues to be in short supply,” said Adel Al Redha, the airline’s deputy president and COO. “While the activation of this agreement marks a milestone in our SAF journey in a new region, there’s still a lot of work to do. And as we procure SAF for the short term, we’ve got our sights set on longer-term agreements to help scale up a steady supply of SAF for our operations.”

The airline also uses SAF on flights from Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Paris, Lyon and Oslo, and late last year integrated SAF into fuelling systems at its home hub, Dubai.

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has acquired 500,000 litres of SAF produced from used cooking oil in China by Hong Kong headquartered renewable energy company EcoCeres and blended by Exxon Mobil.

The SAF was delivered to Wellington Airport for use in Air New Zealand’s fleet of ATR 72 regional airliners. The carrier says this volume of SAF is sufficient to fuel 165 Airbus A320 flights between the country’s capital, Wellington, and New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. 

“Airlines are signing supply arrangements for SAF 10 years into the future and beyond,” said Air NZ’s Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, Kiri Hannifin, “so we need to be part of the picture from the start, otherwise New Zealand may fall behind. While the volumes of SAF we are buying are very small compared to the amount of fossil jet fuel we use, they give an important signal to alternative fuel producers that we are open for business.

“We’ve seen increased international momentum around SAF in the past few months, with airlines, governments, airports and fuel companies all getting on board with alternative fuels at pace.

“From 2026, our aircraft will be required to uplift SAF when we fly home from Singapore and Vancouver. Japan has announced a SAF requirement from 2030 and other countries are also making signals that SAF will be mandated for all airlines for outbound flights including in Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.”

EcoCeres, a business unit of energy supplier Hong Kong and China Gas, operates a waste oil plant in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province in China, producing 100,000 tonnes of SAF per year and 200,000 tonnes per year of renewable diesel. The company says it is the world’s first ISCC-CORSIA Plus approved SAF processing facility. It is now planning a second plant in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, that would produce around 350,000 tonnes a year of low carbon transportation fuel.

Following a $400 million strategic investment made in EcoCeres by Bain Capital in 2023, the fast-expanding company earlier this year appointed former Neste CEO Matti Lievonen as its Executive Chairman. He has been joined by another former Neste executive, Phil Moore, who has taken up the position of Global Head of Sustainable Aviation Fuels.

Meanwhile, Korean Air is expanding its cargo SAF programme through a new partnership with global logistics company CEVA.

The logistics group will support Korean Air’s use of SAF for cargo operations, and the airline will reciprocate by sharing carbon emissions reductions with CEVA.

“One of CEVA’s key short-term levers to promote decarbonisation hinges on collaboration,” said Olivier Boccara, CEVA’s Air and Ocean Leader, APAC. “Through developing new solutions for our customers with airline partners like Korean Air we are able to contribute to meaningful change in our industry.

“Extending our SAF offering into the Asian market is a tangible step we can take now as we look ahead to more advances in fuels and other technologies to decarbonise air freight and the global supply chain.”

Photo: Emirates aircraft refuelled with Neste SAF at Singapore Changi Airport

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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Hong Kong has stepped up its commitment to introduce sustainable aviation fuel with the formation of the Hong Kong Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition (HKSAFC), a multi-stakeholder group designed to progress the development, supply and use of SAF. The group unites the air transport industry, SAF producers and fuel suppliers, infrastructure providers, corporate users of SAF and policymakers. It is convened and chaired by Hong Kong’s Business Environment Council (BEC), an independent organisation established by the Hong Kong business community to promote environmentally sustainable practices, and has 13 founding partners including Cathay Pacific Airways, co-initiator of the group. The coalition’s launch coincides with Cathay and Korean Air Cargo separately adding new partners to their respective corporate sustainability programmes, through which cargo customers can offset the emissions of their shipments by contributing to the purchase of SAF.

Initially, the new coalition plans to advocate the case for SAF in Hong Kong by performing whitepaper research on developing the fuel, engaging with various stakeholders and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, and building public awareness of the benefits of SAF, along with the challenges of introducing it. Ultimately, it aims to develop Hong Kong as a regional hub for SAF, an ambition detailed by the government late last year in an economic policy address.

“The government fully endorses the direction of using SAF to decarbonise the aviation sector, which helps maintain the leading position of Hong Kong International Airport’s green and sustainable development,” said Hong Kong’s Liu Chun San, Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics. “Apart from the environmental benefits, ensuring the sufficient supply of SAF at Hong Kong International Airport would help consolidate Hong Kong’s international aviation hub status.”

As part of its commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, Cathay Group is actively supporting SAF usage through actions including offtake agreements, establishment of a SAF purchasing programme for corporate clients to productively compensate for the emissions of their flights and investment a decade ago in emerging US SAF producer Fulcrum Bioenergy. It has also committed that by 2030, 10% of the aviation fuel it uses will be SAF and is a participant in collective SAF purchasing programme by members of the global oneworld airline alliance, of which it is a prominent member.

“Sustainability is a key focus for Cathay, and we are committed to achieving our carbon net-zero goal by 2050,” said Cathay Group CEO Ronald Lam. “We believe firmly that SAF is a key enabler for the aviation industry to achieve its long-term environmental targets and to support the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

“Hong Kong has to be able to cultivate the development and use of SAF in order to retain and enhance its leading international aviation hub status. However, we cannot do this alone – it requires collaboration among all parties, and the HKSAFC is an important step in this direction.”

The chair of the new coalition, BEC’s CEO Simon Ng, added: “Aviation is widely recognised as one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise. In the foreseeable future, SAF is considered the most viable way for decarbonising the sector. Through the launch of HKSAFC, BEC will engage with multiple stakeholders to accelerate the deployment of SAF at Hong Kong International Airport, ensuring its availability and affordability.“

Other members of the new coalition include AFSC Operations, Airport Authority Hong Kong, Board of Airline Representatives Hong Kong, China Aviation Oil (Hong Kong), ECO Aviation Fuel Services, EcoCeres, PetroChina International (Hong Kong) Corporation, PwC, Shell Aviation, Sinopec (Hong Kong) Aviation, Standard Chartered Bank and Swire Pacific. 

Formation of the new SAF advocacy group coincides with the expansion by Cathay and Korean Air Cargo of their respective corporate sustainability programmes, with each securing new partners.

Cathay Pacific and Korean Air Cargo have both signed up Japan’s Yusen Logistics, a global freight forwarding company with operations in 47 countries. Cathay has also added Taipei-based global logistics company Dimerco Express Group and the Business Environment Council (BEC), while Korean has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Seoul-based logistics group LX Pantos.

In addition to cargo carried in the bellies of their passenger fleets, Korean operates 23 Boeing 777 and 747 freighters, while Cathay flies 20 B747 cargo jets, has orders for six new Airbus A350F freighters for deployment from 2027 and holds options to acquire 20 more.

Cathay launched its Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel Programme in 2022 with the joint goal of assisting cargo clients to offset the emissions created by their air freight movements, while helping to fund its own use of SAF.

The airline uses SAF on flights departing its Hong Kong hub and last year, in partnership with ExxonMobil and Shell, it used jet fuel produced from used cooking oil and animal fat to part-power commercial services from Singapore and Los Angeles. Cathay has also signed a MoU with China’s State Power Investment Corporation to help progress SAF development, a process  in which China seriously lags other markets.

The three new partner signings take to nine the number of corporate members of Cathay’s SAF programme, joining launch members AIA, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), Kintetsu World Express, PwC China, Standard Chartered and Swire Pacific.  New partner BEC is the first non-governmental organisation to sign up.

“Cathay is undertaking a multi-pronged approach to contribute to the aviation industry’s transition towards a greener future,” said Group CEO Ronald Lam. “SAF is an important facet of this approach, and we have received strong support from our corporate and cargo customers since the launch of our Corporate SAF Programme. We have also established new SAF supply partnerships in the broader Asia region to convey a clear message to the SAF supply chain that there is firm demand from this part of the world.”

Korean Air launched its corporate SAF programme for cargo customers late last year. Initially, it partnered with logistics company LX Pantos, and now, alongside Cathay, has added Yusen Logistics.

It is also working with governments, clients and oil companies to help accelerate the use of SAF and create infrastructure in South Korea for the new fuels.

Korean Air’s SVP and Head of Cargo business Division, Jaedong Eum, stated the airline was focused not only on decarbonising the airline sector but also expediting the sustainable development of the air cargo sector, and would collaborate with its customers to promote the use of SAF.

“Together, we hope to cooperate closely to expedite the commercialisation of SAF, a common goal in the aviation industry, and enhance awareness of SAF utilisation in the Korean market,” he said.

Keun Taek Oh, LX Pantos’ VP and Head of Air Freight Business Unit said: “Decarbonising the air logistics industry is a key survival factor for the future. LX Pantos will strengthen its ESG activities and take a leading role in creating a sustainable logistics environment through cooperation with Korean Air on SAF.”

Eisuke Fukagawa, Global Head of Yusen Logistics’ Airfreight Forwarding Group, added: “With this partnership with Korean Air, we are able to support our customers to decarbonise their supply chains and help stimulate larger supply for SAF.”

In addition to its cargo sustainability partnerships, Korean Air is also supporting development of SAF infrastructure for use in domestic aviation, and in 2022 signed an agreement with Shell to purchase SAF at key airports across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions from 2026 to 2031.

The company previously signed a SAF purchasing agreement with the cargo divisions of Air France KLM, the first Korean company to enter such an arrangement.

Photo below: Representatives from the partners of the Hong Kong Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition at the launch ceremony

Tony Harrington

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Production of sustainable aviation fuel in the Asia-Pacific region has been boosted by three new projects in which major airlines Qantas, Cathay Pacific and All Nippon Airways (ANA) are key partners. In Australia, Qantas, Airbus and the Queensland state government will invest in a new alcohol-to-jet production facility planned by bioenergy company Jet Zero Australia and US-based fuel technology group LanzaJet, using locally sourced agricultural feedstock including sugar cane. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner with mainland China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) in the development of four new SAF plants using a pathway similar to power-to-liquids. And in Japan, ANA, the country’s largest airline, has agreed to introduce SAF blended locally by ITOCHU Corporation to help power domestic and international flights from Tokyo’s two major airports, Haneda and Narita. The initiatives support commitments by all three airlines that SAF will comprise 10% of their total jet fuel consumption by 2030.

The Australian collaboration centres on the construction by Jet Zero Australia of a new SAF plant in North Queensland using LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology to produce up to 100 million litres of sustainable fuel per year. The Qantas Group, Australia’s largest airline operator, together with Airbus, will jointly invest A$2 million ($1.34m) of an initial A$6 million ($4m) capital raising, to which the Queensland government will contribute a further A$760,000 ($500,700), with the balance to be provided by Australian and international institutional funds. Collectively, this capital will be used to undertake a detailed feasibility study, and early-stage development of the project, with construction expected to start in 2024.

Andrew Parker, Qantas Group’s Chief Sustainability Officer, said the project was part of a A$200 million joint commitment with Airbus to progress the development of a SAF production industry in Australia, and one of several projects the airline is looking to fund this year.

“Sustainable aviation fuel is critical to the decarbonisation of the aviation industry,” he said. “This investment will help kickstart an innovative project to turn agricultural by-products into sustainable aviation fuel and create a significant domestic biofuels refinery.”

Qantas is currently using SAF sourced overseas to power commercial flights from London and expects to add San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2025.

Airbus’ Executive VP Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Julie Kitcher, said there was “a growing positive momentum around SAF, and now is the time to move from commitments to concrete actions. The selection of the first investment under our joint partnership with Qantas is an example of such action, with the potential to deliver SAF locally in Australia and to be a model for other locations around the world.”  

Queensland’s Deputy Premier, Steven Miles, said a rich supply of feedstock meant the state was well-positioned to become a key player in SAF development. “It’s exciting to think that Queensland could be producing the millions of litres of SAF needed to power flights across Australia and around the globe, creating more regional jobs in the process,” he said. 

In addition to deploying its alcohol-to-jet technology in the project, said LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis, “it is equally gratifying to know its impact in developing the domestic agricultural industry, providing a path for energy security, and enhancing the country’s national security posture and greater fuel independence.” LanzaJet said Australia was the second-biggest emitter of carbon per capita on domestic flights.

Ed Mason, CEO of JetZero Australia, which was established in 2021, welcomed the strong investment support for the new SAF plant, which will use surplus ethanol from agricultural and sugar cane by-products to create the new fuel, and acknowledged LanzaJet’s industry leadership in developing alcohol-to-jet fuel technology, with the mechanical completion of its Freedom Pines facility in the US state of Georgia expected later this year. “We are excited to work with them,” said Mason, “to help Australian businesses and government drive real reductions in aviation emissions.”   

In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific signed an MoU to partner with State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), which plans to commission four SAF plants in mainland China between 2024 and 2026, each facility capable of producing 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes of SAF per year. SPIC is one of China’s biggest state-owned energy companies and claims the world’s largest solar power installed capacity. The new SAF plants will use a process similar to power-to-liquids’ (PtL) in which renewable electricity is converted into liquid fuels.

“The signing of our cooperation pact is an important milestone in SPIC’s sustainable development pursuits and a significant contribution by a Chinese enterprise towards supporting sustainable development in the global aviation sector,” said the corporation’s chairman Qian Zhimin. “We hope both parties can build on our collaboration in the certification and purchase of SAF to further cooperate in areas pertaining to the industry supply chain, project development and securing the necessary policy support.”

Cathay Pacific Group CEO Ronald Lam said the partnership combined the corporation’s clean energy strengths and the airline’s expertise as an end user of SAF. “Under the MoU, Cathay Pacific will share international experience, and also feedback on the SAF certification process, value chain and overall market know-how to facilitate SPIC in the successful establishment of four plants in the Chinese mainland,” he reported.

In Japan, ANA will procure its first supplies of locally blended SAF for use on domestic and international flights from Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports. The SAF solution to be blended will be provided by renewable fuel producer Neste, and blended in Japan by ITOCHU Corporation, as part of a public-private partnership led by the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 

Photo: Cathay Pacific

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways will acquire 38 million US gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at San Francisco International Airport from California-based producer Aemetis over a seven-year period commencing in 2025. The deal is part of a 350-million-gallon commitment by the oneworld airline alliance, of which Cathay is a founding member. The product will be a blend of 60% Jet A1 fuel and 40% SAF, to be comprised of cellulosic hydrogen produced from waste wood, then combined with other wastes, non-edible sustainable oils and zero carbon intensity hydroelectric power. It will be produced at the Aemetis Carbon Zero plant, which is being developed in Riverbank, east of San Francisco. The fuel deal coincides with Cathay’s expansion of its Fly Greener carbon offset programme to include air cargo services and follows the launch earlier this year of its Corporate SAF Programme, through which customers can help compensate for business travel and air freight emissions by contributing to the cost of the airline’s sustainable fuels.

“Cathay Pacific continues to reaffirm its commitment to addressing climate change despite these challenging times,” said the company’s CEO Augustus Tang. “In the past few years, we have announced our carbon net-zero by 2050 target and our goal of achieving 10% use of SAF by 2030. In doing this, we have built a robust SAF procurement strategy to help meet our goals.

“We are pleased that this agreement with Aemetis will contribute to that effort, and we hope it will also send the right signal to the SAF industry to encourage the much-needed investment and scaling up of its supply chain,” added Tang, reinforcing broad industry hopes of global government support and policies to help deliver net zero flight emissions by 2050.

Aemetis CEO Eric McAfee said: “The Aemetis Carbon Zero plant under development in the Central Valley of California is designed to utilise zero carbon intensity electricity, negative carbon intensity hydrogen from waste wood and renewable oils along with CO2 sequestration to produce low carbon intensity sustainable aviation fuel.”

But, he added: “While the technology exists today, sustainable aviation fuel is not yet available at scale. Offtake agreements like oneworld’s commitment, as well as targeted investments, regulations and government support mechanisms, will help enable the industry’s transition towards SAF.”

So, too, will airline customer programmes such as Cathay’s Fly Greener carbon offset initiative, which has just been extended to enable cargo clients to measure the carbon emissions of specific shipments and the costs of accredited offsets. Although customers can already estimate their potential emissions by searching for flight connections via the Cathay Cargo website, the new programme uses a sophisticated carbon emissions calculator which enables registered customers to offset their shipments by airwaybill (AWB) number, up to five of which can be simultaneously lodged.

The assessment tool, which uses the latest IATA methodology, was designed by Cathay subsidiary Global Logistic System and shows the volume of emissions and the offset charge in local currency, calculated by freight weight, aircraft type, actual route flown and journey distance. After each submission, a spreadsheet is sent to the customer detailing total freight carried and claimed, and a calculation of the carbon offset valuation. Payment generates a certificate highlighting the offset total and the sustainability project, with funds transferred to validated initiatives though carbon credits purchased by Cathay Pacific.

“We know that carbon offset calculations can be complex and need to be accurate for sustainability auditing purposes,” said Chris Bowden, Cathay’s Head of Cargo Global Partnerships. “We believe that the ease and simplicity of Fly Greener and the carbon emissions calculator makes the rigour and complexity that goes into carbon emissions calculations straightforward and user-friendly, which is something our customers have been actively seeking.”

Initially, the emissions calculator will accept retrospectively-lodged AWB numbers. But future versions of the programme will embed the carbon measurement tool into Cathay Pacific Cargo’s digital booking and confirmation system, Click & Ship, enabling freight customers to add offsets directly into their bookings.

Photo: Cathay Pacific

European low-cost carrier Ryanair and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific have announced new commitments to sustainable aviation fuel produced by the Finnish waste-to-fuel provider Neste. Ryanair has announced it will operate about one third of its flights from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport with a 40% blend of SAF, as part of its commitment to 12.5% SAF use across its operations by 2030, while Cathay Pacific has launched a pilot programme through which its corporate customers can contribute to the purchase of SAF to help offset the emissions of their business travel or air freight shipments. Both deals coincide with a 15-fold increase in SAF production by Neste, from 100,000 tonnes per year at the end of 2021 to 1.5 million tonnes per year by early 2023, through expansion of its Singapore and Rotterdam refineries, reports Tony Harrington.

“SAF is a cornerstone of our ‘Pathway to Net Zero by 2050’ decarbonisation strategy,” said Thomas Fowler, Director of Sustainability at Ryanair. “This new blend will power a third of Ryanair flights at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 60%.” Based on the latest flight listing by Schiphol Airport, which shows 66 Ryanair departures per week to Dublin and Malaga, the airline’s SAF partnership with Neste Holland initially will support 22 Boeing 737 flights per week from Amsterdam, though the timeframe for implementation and details of SAF flights have not been announced.

Aviation data group OAG has just ranked Ryanair the world’s fifth largest airline by flight frequency, trailing only American, Delta, United and Southwest. To help achieve its 2050 emission reduction targets, Ryanair expects SAF to account for 34% of its decarbonisation. Technological and operational improvements will deliver another 32%, offsetting and “other economic measures” 24%, and, subject to a successful implementation of the European Union’s Single European Sky proposal, reform of air traffic management will deliver a further 10% cut in the airline’s emissions.

A key element of Ryanair’s decarbonisation programme is fleet renewal, through the introduction of up to 210 Boeing 737-8200 MAX twinjets, 65 of which are expected to be in service by the start of the northern hemisphere summer. These aircraft offer 4% more seats than the airline’s current fleet of 737-800 jets, but burn 16% less fuel, and are central to another Ryanair target, a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger kilometre, from the current 66 grams to 60 grams by 2030. As well, the airline recently partnered with Dublin’s Trinity College to establish the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre to study initiatives including SAF and zero-carbon aircraft propulsion systems.

Cathay Pacific, an early adopter of sustainable aviation fuels, has also intensified its commitment to SAF, launching a pilot Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel Programme through which commercial customers can offset the emissions of business travel by their employees or the movement of freight by air by contributing to the use of SAF on Cathay passenger and cargo flights from Hong Kong International Airport. In what the airline calls “the first major programme of its kind in Asia”, Cathay has announced participation of an initial eight customers – AIA, Airport Authority Hong Kong, DHL Global Forwarding, HSBC, Kintetsu World Express, PwC China, Standard Chartered and Swire Pacific. The SAF for the Cathay programme will be provided by PetroChina and Shell, and produced by Neste from used cooking oil and animal fat waste.

In 2014, Cathay was the first airline to invest in US-based Fulcrum BioEnergy, a pioneer in the development and commercialisation of SAF produced from municipal solid waste, from which it has committed to acquire 1.1 million tonnes (3.1 billion litres) of SAF over 10 years, commencing in 2024, equivalent to 2% of its total fuel requirements in 2019. The airline also pledged last year to a target of 10% SAF use across its operations by 2030 and was one of nine members of the oneworld airline alliance to commit last November to the collective purchase of 350 million gallons (1.3 billion litres) of SAF at San Francisco International Airport over a seven-year term, beginning in 2024. That fuel will be developed by US-based producer Aemetis Carbon Zero from waste wood converted to cellulosic hydrogen, then combined with waste materials, non-edible sustainable oils and zero carbon intensity electricity.

“We continue to pioneer our industry’s move towards more substantial use of SAF, especially in Asia,” said Augustus Tang, Cathay Pacific’s Chief Executive Officer. “Last year we were among the first carriers in the world to announce a target of 10% SAF for our total fuel use by 2030. We have made significant progress since then and are pleased that uplifting SAF from Hong Kong International Airport is now a reality with the strong support of the local authorities and fuel suppliers. We see the launch of this Corporate SAF Programme as an important step for us to engage other like-minded organisations, and a first step in sending an important demand signal to the SAF supply chain that there is firm interest in the region, not only from airlines, but also the aviation value chain, all the way to end users for both passenger and cargo transportation.”

Photo: Ryanair’s Head of Sustainability, Steven Fitzgerald, and Neste’s VP Europe, Renewable Aviation, Jonathan Wood at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), which represents 14 operators in south-east and north Asia, has declared its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, although emphasised success will rely upon collaboration between industry stakeholders and support from governments, reports Tony Harrington. The Director General of AAPA, Subhas Menon, highlighted the introduction of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) as a key driver of decarbonisation, but acknowledged the Asia-Pacific region currently lacked sufficient production and supply facilities. The association said the provision of “adequate and cost-effective supplies” of SAF for airlines would need support through measures including research and development subsidies, incentives and the allocation of resources to facilitate SAF development and distribution. It also identified technology, operational improvements and ICAO’s CORSIA global carbon offsetting scheme as core elements of the industry’s decarbonisation effort across the markets served by its member airlines. Meanwhile, AAPA member Cathay Pacific has announced a commitment to using SAF for 10% of its total fuel consumption by 2030.

“The Asia-Pacific region will constitute some 40% of global SAF demand, but production and supply facilities in the region are lacking,” said Menon, announcing the net zero pledge. “Allocation of sufficient resources to convert feedstock, like municipal or agricultural waste, waste oils from food production and other biomass for the production of SAF will make a critical difference.”

As the agreed global mechanism for offsetting growth in international emissions, he said the CORSIA scheme had an integral part to play in the industry’s long-term decarbonisation plans, and AAPA wholly supported ICAO efforts.  

“In addition,” continued Menon, “investment in emerging sources of energy such as direct carbon capture and carbon sequestration, when these become viable, could complement the industry’s efforts towards achieving net zero emissions. Sustainability is a global challenge that calls for a global solution. Together, we need to ensure distribution of the burden of reducing carbon emissions is fair and equitable, while allowing the industry to recover and restart.”

AAPA’s 14 member airlines, which include some of the industry’s best-known carriers, currently operate in excess of 1,570 aircraft on domestic, regional international, and long-haul international routes. Five of its members – All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines  – have already committed to net zero emissions by 2050, and the Japanese government, which is aiming to establish domestic SAF production by 2030, is backing two major industrial consortiums to progress the plan (see article).

The remaining members of AAPA are Air Astana, Asiana, Bangkok Airways, China Airlines, Eva Air, Garuda Indonesia, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei and Thai Airways International. Asiana is progressing towards takeover by Korean Air, a former AAPA member, which, while actively working to decarbonise, has yet to publicly commit to a net zero 2050 goal.

AAPA has no member airlines from either China or India, two of the region’s, and the world’s, largest air transport markets, nor major airlines in the south-west Pacific including Qantas and Air New Zealand, both of which have committed to net zero emissions by 2050 and are actively working towards the establishment of SAF production industries in their home markets. 

Through their membership of the oneworld alliance, AAPA members Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Malaysia Airlines last year pledged to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Cathay Pacific has just announced a commitment to using SAF for 10% of its total fuel consumption as part of its net zero ambition and says it expects to begin taking first deliveries of SAF for use on flights from the US starting in 2024. The airline became the first investor in Fulcrum BioEnergy in 2014 and has committed to purchasing 1.1 million tonnes from the US SAF producer over 10 years, which will cover around 2% of its pre-Covid fuel requirements on an annual basis. Cathay also uses blended SAF on delivery flights of its new aircraft – over 40 to date – from Airbus in Toulouse.

“Our new commitment is a clear signal of our determination to achieve our net zero emissions target and to be a leader in the fight against climate change,” said the airline’s CEO, Augustus Tang. “The ability to achieve this target does not rest with airlines alone. We are calling on support from various stakeholder groups to help make it a reality, from policymakers, the energy sector, aircraft and engine manufacturers, and even our customers, who are keen to reduce their carbon footprint. Only by joining hands can we meet this ambitious goal together.”

Photo: Cathay Pacific A350-900

Cathay Pacific Airways and Singapore Airlines have formally announced they will be joining other members of their airline alliances – oneworld and Star Alliance respectively – by committing to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Both carriers see a mix of investment in new, fuel-efficient aircraft fleet, operational efficiency, the use of high-quality carbon offsets and the adoption of low-carbon technology such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), to achieve the emission reduction goals. These carriers follow in the footsteps of Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Qantas in the Asia-Pacific region to confirm the goal, reports Mark Pilling. Meanwhile, Qantas, which was one of the first carriers to commit to the 2050 target back in 2019, is examining interim emissions reduction targets and what measures it would need to achieve them.

“The unprecedented pandemic has shaken the world and showed us that ‘business as usual’ is not an option when dealing with an imminent global risk,” said Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Augustus Tang, announcing the 2050 commitment. “Climate change, potentially a much more disruptive crisis, calls for ramped-up efforts.”

The Hong Kong-based carrier said it was increasing use of SAF, with the aim of making it viable for mainstream adoption. “To date, more than 200 tonnes of SAF have been used for delivery flights of our new aircraft from Airbus’ Toulouse facility since 2016,” it reported. “In 2014, we became the first airline investor in Fulcrum BioEnergy, a US-based company which is a pioneer in converting everyday household waste into sustainable aviation fuel. We’ve committed to purchasing 1.1 million tonnes of SAF over 10 years, which will cover around 2% of our total fuel requirements from 2023 onwards.”

At Singapore Airlines, Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong said: “We have remained focused on our sustainability goals even as we navigated the Covid-19 pandemic. We know this is also an increasingly important issue for both our customers and staff. With today’s pledge to achieve net zero emissions, we buttress the SIA Group’s leadership position on this topic and reinforce our commitment to finding ways to tackle our impact on the environment.”

Added the carrier: “Singapore Airlines has been an active member of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG) since 2011. In 2017, SIA launched a series of green package flights from San Francisco to Singapore that incorporated SAF, fuel-efficient aircraft and optimised air traffic management measures. In 2020, SIA worked with Swedavia at Stockholm Arlanda’s Airport to uplift SAF on flights departing from the city. These activities have helped to improve the Group’s understanding of the logistics and procurement of renewable fuels. SIA is actively working with partners and stakeholders to explore opportunities to scale up the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels across our network.”

Beyond reducing direct emissions, carbon offsetting can play an important and complementary role, believes the airline. “The SIA Group is a participant in ICAO’s CORSIA scheme, which seeks to cap the industry’s growth in carbon emissions from 2020. While offsetting is particularly important in the mid-term, it is also expected to remain relevant in the long run to mitigate residual emissions. In order to secure high quality carbon offsets, the Group will continue exploring pathways through partnerships that will allow us to source high quality carbon offsets.”

Qantas is looking beyond a top-line 2050 target and thinking about how to manipulate the different emissions reduction levers at its disposal to set interim goals. “We were early [in committing to 2050] and a lot of airlines have caught up so we’re now looking at how we get back towards the front of that pack,” said David Young, Executive Manager Sustainability and Future Planet, Qantas Group, speaking at a recent IATA webinar on carbon markets.

“I think one of the challenges, which we’re all seeing, is that 2050 has almost become very old news and we’re all starting to seriously think about what 2030 looks like in terms of interim targets,” said Young. “Increasingly, that will focus everyone’s minds, particularly airlines, as we start to work through what’s going to be available to us between now and 2030 to meet those interim targets.”

For the Australian carrier, the main point of debate on the route to 2050 is whether SAF or carbon offsets dominate, said Young. “Probably in the shorter term, offsets will play a much greater role, certainly in getting us to our interim targets, so it’s quite an important piece of work for us.”

Young told the webinar the strategic use of offsets has been the foundation of sustainability commitments at Qantas for over a decade. He said the airline group is building internal capacity to deliver against voluntary and compliance commitments, and that it is well positioned to manage forward compliance risk associated with CORSIA and stricter compliance obligations.

“We have a constant challenge of deciding at what point the volume of offsets you need to buy become so significant, and potentially such a risk, that you need to have a trading desk set up within the treasury function of the airline,” said Young. “And that’s something I think as airlines start to get bigger, they may well choose to do that directly rather than through partners.”

One theme all agree on is the need for players to team up, as SIA’s Goh explains: “As the SIA Group embarks on this journey towards net zero emissions by 2050, it will continue to collaborate with like-minded partners to develop a robust sustainable aviation fuel supply chain and carbon market. This includes working together with stakeholders in Singapore to develop a holistic decarbonisation plan, which complements Singapore’s goal of strengthening the country’s air hub and maintaining its competitive advantage into the future.”

Image: Cathay Pacific

Mark Pilling

GreenAir Contributing Editor

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