Aircraft manufacturer ATR, Swedish domestic carrier Braathens Regional Airlines and sustainable aviation fuel supplier Neste have teamed to carry out the first-ever 100% SAF-powered test flight using a commercial regional aircraft. Described as a “historic day for aviation” by ATR CEO Stefano Bortoli, the 1 hour 20 minutes flight from Malmo to Bromma Airport near Stockholm is part of a 100% SAF certification process involving the partners that started in September 2021 and is expected to be completed by 2025. Airport operator Swedavia enabled the SAF to be uplifted to the aircraft at Malmo Airport, with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada involved in preparations for the flight. Neste said that when used in a neat 100% concentration, its SAF reduces GHG emissions over its life cycle by up to 80% compared to fossil jet fuel use, with additional non-CO2 benefits through significantly reduced particulate emissions. Braathens Chairman Per Braathen said the Swedish government required the airline to transition to 100% SAF by 2030 and passengers would need to contribute to the extra cost. He added there was a problem with the more expensive SAF having to compete with biodiesel production and needed government support and financial muscle.

Commenting on the test flight, ATR’s Bortoli said: “After more than a century of commercial flights powered by kerosene, we are at the dawn of a new era. In recent months, we carried out a series of successful flights with sustainable fuel in one engine. We decided it was time to perform the first test flight with 100% SAF in both engines. This helps us to certify our aircraft to fly solely on sustainable fuels faster and to enable more sustainable connections as a result.

“The flight represents a true milestone for the entire aviation industry as it shows that this technology works and can be promptly adopted by many in our industry to speed up the transition to low-emission aviation.”

Jonathan Wood, VP Europe, Renewable Aviation, commented: “Test flights like this show it is possible to safely fly on 100% SAF and help accelerate the adoption of SAF in aviation.”

ATR said the results of the experimental test flight would be analysed and then released at a later date. After the flight, ATR’s chief pilot, Cyril Cizabuiroz, said the aircraft was flown at its normal altitude and cruise speed, used the same level of fuel that was expected and performed normally with no engine parameter abnormalities. “For the flight crew, this was a very positive test flight,” he reported. “It’s the beginning of a long journey to certification for 100% SAF use in 2025.”

The 2025 date is five years ahead of larger aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, which are targeting 2030. “We are a small company with a product that has a long and successful history and we have now demonstrated we can fly our aircraft on 100% SAF,” explained Bortoli. “We have been working actively on this project for a couple of years and the whole industry is now looking at this more seriously than ever before. The difficulty is not from a technological standpoint, it’s having a common ground for setting the reference for the fuel and that will be the most difficult part of the process. We also have just the one engine – Pratt & Whitney – rather than many to deal with.”

Per Braathen said he was less concerned about the certification process than the supply-side availability of SAF. “That’s where governments and European authorities have to really contribute,” he said. “We are competing with refinery capacity for diesel and producing SAF is much more expensive than diesel. However, refineries are being closed down because of the transition, for example, to electric cars. They can be converted quite easily and can use technology that already exists.”

Bartoli said there was a high barrier of entry for SAF producers and private capital needed certainty about future opportunities, so having incentives for airlines to use SAF would create demand and pull incremental investment into SAF production. “If we can generate that circle, which is advantageous to all players, then definitely we will have the answer.”

Braathen said his airline had gone through tough times. “It’s a very different airline compared to two years ago,” he said. “When you start over again you have to have a goal and this time it was [using] SAF, which I really believe can make a difference.”

Added Bartoli: “There is no business if it’s not a sustainable business and when we make decisions, we try to change the paradigm. It’s not simply a dollar-driven decision-making process, it’s a decision for our long-term future and when we talk about sustainable aviation and the use of sustainable aviation fuels, I think this is a perfect match. Newcomers to ATR aren’t necessarily looking for a higher salary but they want to know the purpose of the company and its commitment to the environment. We must demonstrate that.”

Photo (ATR): Fuelling of the Braathens Regional Airline’s ATR 72-600 with 100% SAF

Boeing will source two million gallons (7.5 million litres) of sustainable aviation fuel from Texas-based Epic Fuels in what the companies have described as “the largest announced SAF procurement by an airframer”. Throughout 2022, Boeing will use the SAF in its commercial operations in both Washington state and South Carolina to help fuel the test, ferry and customer flights of new aircraft, as well as operations by its giant Dreamlifter freighters that are used to transport major aircraft components and other large shipments, reports Tony Harrington. Use of the fuels will progress Boeing’s commitment that by 2030 it will offer commercial aircraft which are both able and certified to fly using 100% SAF, and also support broader initiatives by the aerospace industry to grow SAF use. In other OEM developments, European turboprop manufacturer ATR has test flown an ATR 72-600 aircraft with one of its two engines fuelled by 100% SAF, while regional jet maker Embraer is planning a similar trial in partnership with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.

The latest purchase agreement between long-term partners Boeing and Epic Fuels will include supplies developed from inedible agricultural waste, which will then be used to produce a blend of 30% SAF and 70% conventional jet fuel. Epic will also continue to provide customised blends graduating from 50 to 100% SAF for use in the Boeing ecoDemonstrator programme, in which new technologies are assessed on flights by testbed aircraft. Although the maximum SAF-fossil fuel blend approved by regulators is 50/50 for commercial flights, Boeing, alongside other airframe and engine manufacturers, is working to achieve universal approval for 100% SAF use to power everyday flights.

“SAF is a safe, proven, immediate solution that will help achieve our industry’s long-term commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Sheila Remes, Boeing VP Environmental Sustainability. “Boeing has been a pioneer in making sustainable aviation fuels a reality. Through this agreement we will reduce our carbon footprint and have SAF available for customer deliveries as well as our own operations.” 

The company began test flights with SAF in 2008, and in 2011 helped achieve regulatory approval to use the fuels on commercial flights. In 2018, through its ecoDemonstrator programme, Boeing used a FedEx B777 freighter to perform the first test flight of a commercial aircraft using 100% SAF, and in 2019 started offering airlines the option to use SAF on delivery flights of new aircraft. The latest fuel purchase will support Boeing’s commercial operations in Everett, Renton and Seattle, in Washington state, and in North Charleston, South Carolina.

“Epic and Boeing have been partners for decades. Working together, we are making sustainability more attainable for our customers,” said Kyle O’Leary, Vice President and COO of Epic Fuels, an independent supplier with primary operations in the US and Canada. Epic has partnered with Boeing to test alternative fuels on Boeing 757 and 787 testbed aircraft, and with Alaska Airlines, first in a trial of biofuel produced from non-edible, sustainable corn, and later the first commercial flight using renewable alternative jet fuel produced from residual forest waste.  

In Europe, ATR Regional Aircraft has just achieved seven hours of ground and flight testing of an ATR 72-600 prototype aircraft, on which one of the two engines was powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel produced from renewable waste and residues raw material such as used cooking oil. The tests were conducted with Finnish waste-to-SAF producer Neste and Swedish ATR operator Braathens Regional Airlines, as part of a collaboration to achieve certification of ATR aircraft to use 100% SAF by 2025.  The three companies are planning to operate a SAF demonstration flight with a Braathens aircraft later this year.

“The achievement of this great milestone shows that we are fully committed to making the use of 100% SAF possible and helping our customers meet their objectives to provide even more sustainable air links, not in 2035 or 2050, but in the coming years,” said Stefan Bortoli, ATR’s CEO. The company has estimated that with 100% SAF in both engines, CO2 emissions from an ATR aircraft flying on a typical regional route would be reduced by 82%.

Regional jet manufacturer Embraer and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney have also announced plans to operate a demonstration flight this year using 100% SAF. The flight will be operated with an Embraer E195-E2 aircraft powered by Pratt and Whitney GTF engines. “Collaboration is an essential pre-requisite for our industry to achieve our environmental goals,” said Arjan Meijer, CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation.

GE Aviation and Emirates have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct a 100% SAF test flight by the end of this year, using an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER powered by GE90 engines.  

Photo: Boeing