Hydrogen propulsion developer ZeroAvia has secured additional investment funding from American Airlines and new backing from Japanese industrialist ITOCHU Corporation, as it progresses plans to certificate its entry-level hydrogen-electric powertrains in 2025. American upped its stake in ZeroAvia just days after the failure of rival company Universal Hydrogen, in which the airline was also a headline investor, and announced a “conditional” agreement to buy 100 ZeroAvia powertrains to convert regional jets to cleaner power. ITOCHU has signed a wide-ranging agreement in which it will support the company’s expansion across Asia. Universal’s demise has cemented ZeroAvia’s position as the biggest emergent supplier of hydrogen-electric powertrains to replace fossil-fuelled engines on turboprop planes and regional jets, and later to power new narrowbody aircraft.

American’s agreement to strengthen its ZeroAvia partnership coincided with the airline’s release of its latest sustainability report, in which CEO Robert Isom warned that decarbonisation “is not happening at the pace we need.”

“Game-changing technologies like hydrogen, which American is also helping to advance, are expected to be important elements of the long-term solution for decarbonising aviation,” said Isom. “But to get from here to there, we need manufacturers to invest in the incremental but meaningful advances in airframe and engine technologies that can come online with the next generation of aircraft.”

ZeroAvia, which is jointly based in the UK and USA, is developing a family of hydrogen-electric engines, and is currently using a pair of Dornier 228 turboprop testbeds to reach certification next year of its ZA600 powertrain for 9-19 seat aircraft, offering a 300-mile flight range. It is also actively progressing its larger ZA2000 powertrain to provide cleaner propulsion and up to 700 miles of range for aircraft of 40-80 seats, targeting a 2027 launch.

American Airlines announced an initial investment in ZeroAvia in August 2022, two months before it also revealed a strategic equity investment in Universal Hydrogen. It did not disclose the value or terms of either deal, or for its newly increased stake in ZeroAvia, which it said was part of that company’s Series C financing round.

Nor has American detailed the caveats attached to its conditional purchase agreement for 100 ZeroAvia powertrains, which could replace the fossil-fuelled engines on regional jets including Bombardier CRJ700s operated by the airline on a range of regional routes. An engine deal was first flagged by American in 2022, when announcing it had “the opportunity” to order up to 100 engines from ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric powertrain development programme. 

American said its increased investment in ZeroAvia and intention to buy hydrogen-electric powertrains formed part of a much broader strategy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Its plan includes extensive fleet renewal and investments in sustainable aviation fuel from suppliers including Infinium, an emerging producer of e-fuels. American was also the first customer for Graphyte, a US carbon removal and storage startup backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures.       

ZeroAvia’s founder and CEO, Val Miftakhov, said his company’s hydrogen-electric powertrains would emit only low temperature water vapour, while low intensity electrical systems would potentially deliver significant cost efficiencies.

“In signing this purchase agreement and furthering its investment, American is supporting our mission of innovation for clean aircraft propulsion,” said Miftakhov, describing the airline’s increased backing as “a good signal that ZeroAvia is delivering on our technology roadmap. The solutions that can serve the largest airlines are within reach, and the clean future of flight is coming.”

ZeroAvia claims almost 2,000 pre-orders for its engines from multiple major airlines, with “future revenue potential” exceeding $10 billion.

The additional partnership announcement with ITOCHU Corporation further strengthens ZeroAvia following American’s increased interest and the failure of Universal, while also ensuring increased focus on ZeroAvia at the forthcoming Farnborough International Airshow.

 While ITOCHU did not detail the scale of its new investment, it announced its appointment as ZeroAvia’s sales representative for Asia and had additionally signed a MoU for wide-ranging collaboration across the region in areas including maintenance, airport infrastructure and hydrogen infrastructure.

“It is expected that there will be approximately 44,000 commercial aircraft in 2042, 1.6 times the number in 2023,” said ITOCHU. “With IATA and ICAO announcing their goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the decarbonisation of the aviation industry is an international challenge. To solve the issue, new technologies in addition to SAF, such as hydrogen aircraft, are necessary.”  

ZeroAvia also revealed it has developed “revolutionary” AI-driven, scalable smart microgrid optimisation software that aims to minimise the cost of green hydrogen production for clean aviation and other applications. Testing in California of its Smart Hydrogen AI Production Software (SHAIPS) has shown in excess of a 20% reduction of the levelized cost of hydrogen compared to an electrolyser generating hydrogen based on the average electricity wholesale price, reports the company. In the US, the Department of Energy is targeting $1 per kg of hydrogen by 2030, while the Inflation Reduction Act established up to $3 per kg as part of a production tax credit.

American’s 2023 Sustainability Report was released by the airline on the same day it announced its increased commitments to ZeroAvia, and pointedly referred to the sector’s limited progress in reducing aviation’s harmful emissions.

“We are taking concrete steps within our operations and pulling all the levers we can to drive progress,” said American’s CEO in his introduction to the report. “But the reality is the action we can take within our own operations – or the scale of investment we can absorb in our low-margin business – will never be sufficient on its own.

“Aviation is widely recognised as one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise. Getting there is going to require action and investment across the public and private sectors, and quite frankly, that’s not happening at the pace or scale we need.

“Sustainable aviation fuel is a perfect example. American has a goal to use 10% SAF in 2030. In 2023 we used 2.7 million gallons of SAF – the most we’ve used in a single year – but it was still less than 1%. That wasn’t for lack of trying. We’ve signed commitments with multiple SAF producers, at a premium, to try to secure supply and, in the case of Infinium, to help attract capital to bring new, lower-carbon SAF technology to market sooner. But the volume of SAF available today and likely to be ready over the next several years is a tiny fraction of what’s needed.

“It’s a risk for me to come out and say that American’s ability to achieve our 2030, 2035 and 2050 climate goals is in jeopardy. But in my mind, the bigger risk is failing to sound the alarm that there’s an urgent need for more and faster action across the public and private sectors.”

Image: ZeroAvia

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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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

Amidst a forecast that contracted volumes of sustainable aviation fuel under offtake agreements could double this year, four significant SAF initiatives have been announced in the first weeks of 2023. Japan’s two biggest airlines, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, have signed identical memorandums of agreement with industrial group ITOCHU Corporation and Raven SR, a US-based renewable fuels company, for 10-year deals to buy SAF produced from solid waste. Meanwhile in Europe, Lufthansa Group subsidiary Brussels Airlines has purchased 2 million litres of blended product from SAF producer Neste, the first supplies of which have been pumped direct to Brussels Airport via NATO’s pipeline system. Another Lufthansa company, the logistics group time:matters, has also announced that from this month it will purchase SAF for all of its Sameday Air and On Board Courier services, which distribute time-sensitive shipments ranging from industrial supplies to medical consignments.

The SAF for the two Japanese airlines initially will be produced by Raven in California from 2025, through the non-combustible conversion of waste to synthetic fuel. The process will use a patented ‘Steam-CO2 reforming technology’ to convert feedstocks including green and organic waste, municipal solid waste and methane from the latter.

In parallel announcements, Raven said each of the airline agreements provided for an initial 50,000 tons of SAF supply in 2025, with annual incremental rises ratchetting to 200,000 tons in 2034. Future production would be expanded to additional international locations served by both airlines outside Japan.

“By utilising local and regional waste, Raven SR’s distributive model produces fuels closer to market demand, leading to greater decarbonisation and addressing environmental issues caused by waste in specific regions,” said the company, which is also a member of the advisory board of the 4Aircraft European Programme, an international partnership exploring the conversion of recycled CO2 to SAF. 

Tokyo-based ITOCHU, which is focused on sustainable technologies and industries, invested in Raven in August 2021 to jointly produce and sell renewable fuels worldwide, and introduced the company to both airlines. “ITOCHU will continue to contribute to the realisation of a recycling-oriented society,” the company said, “as well as the United Nations sustainable development goals through the stable supply of SAF to leading airlines in Japan.”

Japan Airlines said the agreement with ITOCHU and Raven, together with existing offtake agreements with US SAF producers Aemetis and Gevo, would enable it to replace 1% of its fuel by the 2025 financial year, and 10% by 2030. “In the current situation where SAF supply is limited, JAL will contribute to the popularisation and market expansion of SAF and promote carbon neutrality in aviation by demonstrating the need for SAF produced from a variety of feedstocks, including used cooking oil, tallow and biomass, as well as waste products.”

For All Nippon Airways, the new partnership adds to a 2020 agreement with ITOCHU to procure Neste SAF produced from waste fats and oils. “As part of our climate transition strategies, ANA is dedicated to being an industry leader with our environmental commitments,” said Hideo Miyake, the airline’s Executive VP responsible for procurement.”

In Belgium, Brussels Airlines, a member of the Lufthansa Group, announced the purchase of 2 million litres of fuel – 2,000 barrels, each of 1,000 litres – containing a 38% blend of Neste SAF. The first supplies were pumped direct to Brussels Airport on New Year’s Day from the fuel producer’s blending facility in Ghent, the first time SAF has been transferred to the airport using NATO’s Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPS).  The total volume of fuel acquired in this transaction is equivalent to the maximum fuel capacity of 73 Airbus A320ceo jets, of which Brussels Airlines has 17. The first batch of SAF was used to fuel “a symbolic first flight” from Brussels to Malaga.

“To achieve our climate goals, we will have to drastically increase the use of alternatives to fossil fuels in the coming years,” said Brussels Airlines CEO Peter Gerber. “Next to fleet renewal, sustainable aviation fuel is the most effective tool currently available to reduce emissions from air travel. The fact that we can now transport the sustainable aviation fuel from the blending facility all the way to our aircraft at Brussels Airport in a fast and environmentally-friendly way is an important step to increase the use of this type of fuel in the near future.”

Brussels Airport is targeting 5% SAF in its kerosene imports by 2026, four years ahead of the same target by the EU. Within Project Stargate, a sustainable aviation initiative led by the airport, and engaging 22 stakeholders, a large-scale SAF blending plant was being explored, but is no longer necessary now that supplies can be pumped directly via the NATO pipeline. “This is an important milestone in making aviation more sustainable at Brussels Airport,” said its CEO, Arnaud Feist. “Having sustainable aviation fuel available at the airport has been a priority for us and we are pleased that, thanks to NATO’s support, this has now been realised.”

Neste welcomed this first use of the CEPS pipeline, Europe’s largest, to supply SAF to Brussels Airport and now expects increased use of the pipeline to supply other airports.

Also in Europe, Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary time:matters has committed to using SAF for all of its Sameday Air and On Board Courier services. In the past year, the global logistics business has offset 97% of its transport emissions, with the remaining 3% reduced through the use of SAF. By 2025, the company wants to reduce its own emissions by up to 50%, mainly by using SAF. The Sameday Air network covers 200 international destinations, and is supported by 21 participating airlines.

“There’s no alternative to sustainable logistics solutions,” said the company’s CEO, Alexander Kohnen. “As a logistics company, we’re contributing to climate change. At the same time, we consider the provision of time-critical transports a matter of life and death in some circumstances. Our focus is on three core activities. We will avoid potential emissions wherever possible, reduce current emission levels and offset unavoidable emissions. At the same time, we’re inviting our customers to act sustainably.”     

In its recent 2023 Outlook, international aircraft leasing company Avolon predicted the volume of SAF under offtake agreements by airlines will double from 40 billion litres of SAF to 80 billion this year.

Photo: Sho233531/Wikimedia

Japanese industrial group ITOCHU Corporation and Finnish renewable energy company Neste have announced collaborative agreements to help expedite the introduction of sustainable aviation fuel in Japan. Their commitments align with the Japanese government’s 2030 goal to replace 10% of all fossil aviation fuels with SAF. The companies have signed deals to provide SAF to Japan Airlines, initially for two test flights very shortly, and a separate MoU to explore further SAF supplies to the airline in 2023. Additionally, ITOCHU has been selected by the Japanese government to demonstrate blending in Japan of imported SAF with conventional jet fuel, in partnership with Fuji Oil Company. The blending will occur in January, and in February a portion of the mixed product will be tested in aircraft owned by the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau. Meanwhile, Neste has agreed to supply Air France-KLM with more than 1 million tonnes of SAF over a period of eight years starting in 2023 and FBO Signature Aviation has expanded access to Neste’s SAF in California for business aviation users.

ITOCHU is a key partner in Japan’s plan to transition to SAF, and a local distribution partner for Neste. It intends to introduce commercial-scale domestic production of SAF. In October 2020 it facilitated the nation’s first SAF import, for use by All Nippon Airways, and last year was part of an industrial consortium which produced SAF from biomass materials. In February this year, ITOCHU expanded its alliance with Neste to provide SAF to Tokyo’s Narita and Haneda airports, and is planning to supply other airports including Chubu Centrair in FY 2022 and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport in FY 2023.

Japan Airlines has committed to replacing 1% of its conventional aviation fuel with SAF by FY 2025, and 10% by 2030, and as a member of the oneworld airline alliance it has also signed future SAF offtake agreements in the US. Under its agreement with ITOCHU, JAL will use Neste SAF, mainly produced from waste fats, oils and greases, to part-power a “sustainable charter flight” on 18 November, in which it will fly from Haneda to Naha Airport, Okinawa, a 1,555-kilometre journey of just under two hours. Neste SAF will also be used shortly on a scheduled JAL flight from Los Angeles to Japan, though no details have been released of the volume to be used.

“The Airbus A350 aircraft, which emits 15-25% less CO2 than conventional aircraft, will be used to operate the sustainable charter flight,” said JAL. “By using sustainable aviation fuel and exercising JAL’s Carbon Offset, the flight will achieve net zero CO2 emissions.

“By the end of first quarter 2023, Neste plans to start SAF production at its Singapore plant, which is anticipated to have an annual production capacity of 1 million tonnes. JAL seeks to continue its cooperation with Neste and ITOCHU to procure SAF both globally and domestically.”

Beyond the JAL agreements, ITOCHU Corporation has also been chosen by the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau to demonstrate the blending of imported SAF and conventional aviation fuel. “The aim of the project is to demonstrate the blending of imported neat SAF locally in Japan, which helps the country prepare for when significantly larger quantities of SAF will be needed to help the aviation industry achieve its ambitious emissions reductions goals,” said ITOCHU.

In its latest ESG report, the company’s President and COO, Keita Ishii, said ITOCHU would “aggressively promote businesses that contribute to global greenhouse gas reductions. We will contribute to resolving major social issues by promoting a decarbonised and recycling-based society, and by establishing a resilient value chain, including promoting sustainable raw materials procurement.”

Sami Jauhiainen, Neste’s VP Asia Pacific for Renewable Aviation welcomed the opportunity to support Japanese airlines and the Japanese government in targeting the replacement of conventional jet fuel with 10% SAF by 2030. “This demonstration project solicited by the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau is an important step on the pathway towards realising that goal, as it demonstrates the blending of neat SAF with fossil jet fuel from a domestic refinery in Japan,” he said.

Last month, ITOCHU and Neste provided blended SAF to Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, for a series of flights from Narita to Abu Dhabi – the first non-Japanese airline to use the new supply. Etihad committed to take approximately 50,000 gallons of SAF, with the first of the Boeing 787-9 flights operating with a blend of just under 40%, and reducing carbon emissions by approximately 75.2 tonnes. As well as net zero emissions by 2050, Etihad has also committed to halving its 2019 emission levels by 2035.

Meanwhile, Neste has announced further supplies of its SAF product in Europe and the United States. In an expansion of its existing cooperation with Air France-KLM, Neste will supply the airline group with more than 1 million tonnes (1.26 billion litres) of SAF over a period of eight years starting in 2023. The SAF producer says it is one of the largest agreements of its kind in the aviation sector to date.

“This announcement marks a significant next step forward in our cooperation with Air France-KLM Group and underscores how we continue to support companies in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions,” said Neste CEO Matti Lehmus. “Neste aims to help customers cut emissions by at least 20 million tonnes of CO2e annually by 2030 with our renewable and circular solutions.”

Air France-KLM is looking to reduce its CO2 emissions per passenger/km by 30% by 2030 compared to 2019 – a target submitted to SBTi – and is aiming for a 10% incorporation of SAF by the same year. It has been working with Neste since 2019, with KLM being one of the first airlines to use Neste’s SAF.

“This landmark partnership with Neste is an important and concrete step towards the decarbonisation of our operations,” said Fatima da Gloria, VP Sustainability at Air France-KLM. “This contract embodies our long-term commitment to the development of SAF production capabilities around the world, to the benefit of the industry as a whole.”

In the United States, business aviation users now have greater access to SAF in California after the world’s largest network of Fixed-Base Operations (FBOs), Signature Aviation, announced it is to expand the availability of Neste’s SAF to all its 10 locations in the state. The two companies began a partnership in 2020 and under it they will deliver over 29 million gallons of 30/70 blended SAF, reducing over 62,000 tonnes of GHG emissions.

“Two years ago, we announced our first permanent supply of SAF for private aircraft in San Francisco. Since then, we’ve maintained a sharp focus on investing in the supply chain, collaborating with our customers and expanding availability with Neste,” said Beatrice Batty, Director Fuel Operations for Signature Aviation. “The result today is the 10 Californian locations that can decisively provide the solution to reducing private aircraft carbon emissions.”

The expanded availability is enabled by Neste’s growing capacity, said Neste. “SAF is recognised as the most effective way to reduce the GHG emissions from air travel and is an important solution to reach the business aviation industry’s pledge to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” commented Chris Cooper, President of Neste US. “Together, Signature and Neste are meeting the industry’s growing demand by increasing the volumes and locations where customers can have easy access to SAF to achieve their bold climate goals.”

For Signature Aviation, the expanded availability of SAF in California represents a central objective of Signature Renew, its company-wide sustainability initiative. It is the first FBO worldwide to offer a permanent supply of SAF, with the option available for privately-operated aircraft at aviation service facilities in California, Colorado, Washington, Alabama, Texas and the United Kingdom.

Photo: Japan Airlines A350-900

Additional reporting by Christopher Surgenor