British Airways is to purchase more than £9 million ($12m) worth of carbon removal credits in the UK and overseas as part of a six-year agreement with partner CUR8. The airline says the procurement of 33,000 tonnes of credits through its CUR8 portfolio makes it the largest carbon removals purchaser in the UK and the largest in the airline sector to date. It describes carbon removal as the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it safely for multiple decades and, ideally, centuries. The investment is part of a drive to accelerate BA’s climate change efforts towards 2030 and its wider plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The airline forecasts that around one third of all its emissions reductions by 2050 will need to come from carbon removals. British Airways has also announced it has become a Global Alliance Member of The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, which is awarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism.

The carbon removal credits will come from projects in the UK, Canada and India. One scheme in Scotland will see CO2 emissions captured from whisky distilleries and repurposed into building materials and another, in multiple locations in the UK, uses an enhanced rock weathering technique to lock away carbon for thousands of years. Credits will also come from two companies specialising in “high-durability” reforestation projects that will increase the amount of forested land in Scotland and Wales.

The portfolio also includes Canadian carbon capture projects, which focus on carbon removal from rivers and oceans using alkaline rock particles, while in India, the airline is backing a biochar project that empowers female farmers while enhancing soil biodiversity and farm yields.

“While small in comparison to our total emissions, these projects are crucial in stimulating the carbon removals market,” said Carrie Harris, Director of Sustainability at British Airways. “By supporting pioneering solutions, we’re not only contributing to immediate progress but also laying the groundwork for the large-scale changes needed to meet our climate goals.”

In addition to the partnerships facilitated by CUR8, BA has also purchased a small number of carbon removal credits from Switzerland’s Climeworks, which operates the world’s two largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) plants in Iceland, with plans to expand internationally, and US-based 1PointFive that is developing a DAC plant in Texas.

Carbon removals are recognised by scientists, governments and regulators as a vital tool in helping to address climate change, insists the airline, “but the sector needs to be scaled up urgently”. Adds Harris: “There is no pathway to net zero for aviation without carbon removals.”

London-based CUR8 creates portfolios of carbon removal projects for clients such as Coca Cola and Standard Chartered Bank, as well as British Airways.

“The airline understands that carbon removals are not a nice-to-have, but an essential part of the aviation sector’s net zero journey,” said Marta Krupinska, CEO of CUR8. “We bring together the world’s leading scientists and climate software to help organisations source and manage carbon removals to help de-risk their net zero future. British Airways is a leading brand that recognises that with this early investment, it can help to make an impact not only for themselves but for the industry at large.”

According to carbon removal market reporting organisation CDR.fyi, airlines that have also embarked on the carbon removal credit purchase journey include All Nippon Airways, American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Past recipients of The Earthshot Prize include carbon recycling company Lanzatech, which works with British Airways’ sustainable aviation fuel partner LanzaJet, and Notpla, a company specialising in biodegradable packaging that the airline has recently partnered with.

“By working with The Earthshot Prize, British Airways will be supporting the discovery, investment and acceleration of innovative and scalable solutions for people and the planet, ranging from alternative fuels to reducing single-use plastics,” commented the airline. “We hope to explore further collaborations with future prize winners.”

Photo: British Airways

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In association with British Airways, a deep-dive session on Carbon Removals will be held during Aviation Carbon 2024

As part of a multi-million-pound investment programme to overhaul and reduce emissions from its ground fleet at London’s Heathrow Airport, more than 90% of British Airways’ vehicles and ground support equipment (GSE) are now either zero emissions electrical equipment when used or driven, hybrids or are operating on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel. The airline has further plans over the next two years for switching other equipment and vehicles to electric, hybrid or HVO. As well as saving CO2 emissions, the changes are aimed at reducing negative air quality impacts around the Heathrow area. Heathrow Airport itself has switched over 95% of its operational diesel fleet to run on HVO. It has also launched an initiative, the Heathrow Fly Up, to create awareness among travellers in response to a survey showing only 14% had heard of sustainable aviation fuels.

The ground energy transition programme at Heathrow by British Airways is part of a £7 billion ($9bn) investment plan unveiled recently by the airline to transform many parts of its business over the next three years.

“We are committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and our focus isn’t just about reducing emissions in the air, but on the ground too,” commented Tom Moran, British Airways’ Director of Heathrow. “This major investment into our vehicles at Heathrow is our largest investment in more sustainable airport ground operations to date and is part of our wider environmental objective to minimise emissions from our airside ground operation.”

Having replaced more than 750 pieces of GSE with HVO-fuelled versions last year, BA is this year introducing 135 new electric baggage tugs that will use new energy-efficient chargers. Over the next two years, it will replace diesel passenger aircraft steps with electric alternatives, saving 370 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, swapping diesel-powered cargo vehicles with hybrid electric versions and replacing all diesel passenger buses with electric or HVO versions that will save 800 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. A large charging park is now in the early stages of development at the airport.

Replacing the use of diesel with HVO in GSE is an interim measure, says BA, while it gradually transitions to zero emissions or hybrid equipment. Provided by the airline’s current SAF supplier Phillips 66, the use of HVO is anticipated to save more than 6,000 tonnes of CO2 per year compared to traditional diesel fuel, the equivalent of more than 8,000 round-trip economy passenger journeys between Heathrow and New York JFK, it says.

“I am incredibly proud of this project, which has been driven by our Heathrow ground operations teams and encapsulates our BA Better World ethos of raising awareness of our strategy to all of our colleagues, and inspiring them to play a part in minimising our environmental impact where possible,” said Carrie Harris, Director of Sustainability at British Airways. ”Their energy, enthusiasm and innovative approach in bringing the project to life shows what can be achieved and this investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to making improvements across our business that will benefit both our customers and colleagues.”

The airline has just published its latest sustainability report, BA Better World Report 2023, which shows it reduced carbon intensity in 2023 to 86.2g CO2/epk (equivalent passenger km) – 10% lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019 and a 3% intensity improvement from 2022. Intensity performance declined to 110g CO2/pkm (passenger km) in 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic, and has recovered steadily since then. Emissions from jet fuel consumption fell from just over 19 million tonnes in 2019 to just under 15 million tonnes in 2023, a fall of 21%.

The airline reports using more than 50,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel in 2023, representing 1% of total fuel supply, a five-fold increase on the 9,980 tonnes of SAF utilised in 2022, and mitigating around 150,000 tonnes of CO2 in lifecycle emissions. BA helped corporate and cargo customers reduce over 142,000 tonnes of their Scope 3 emissions in 2023. It is aiming to reach 10% SAF usage by 2030.

Meanwhile, Heathrow Airport has set a goal for 11% of the jet fuel used at the airport to be SAF by 2030. Its pioneering scheme to incentivise the use of SAF at the airport by approximately halving the price gap between conventional jet fuel and SAF to make it more affordable to airlines has, it says, resulted in around 10% of the world’s SAF being used at Heathrow in 2022. The scheme is targeting 2.5% of all fuel used at Heathrow to be SAF in 2024, representing up to 155,000 tonnes of fuel.

Heathrow says SAF is the single biggest driver to help it reach net zero by 2050 and is trying to raise its importance and understanding to travellers passing through the airport. It has launched a “biofuel breakfast”, dubbed the Fly Up, in association with Heston Blumenthal’s Perfectionists’ Café in Terminal 2, which is cooked with oil that is then collected, cleaned and recycled by waste management service Quatra. The processed used oil is then sent elsewhere to be transformed into biofuels including SAF and HVO.

The Heathrow Fly Up

In addition to just 14% of travellers having heard of SAF, new research by Opinium of 2,000 UK adults reveals only 27% believe SAF will make the aviation industry more sustainable. Heathrow says it is actively encouraging passengers to use climate tech company CHOOOSE that has a platform to provide an option to support SAF or certified reforestation projects, regardless of their airline or end destination.

“We are delighted to partner with Heston Blumenthal’s Perfectionists’ Café to introduce the Fly Up, a breakfast that not only gives passengers a delicious start to the day but will raise awareness about SAF and its potential to transform the industry,” said Matt Gorman, Heathrow’s Director of Carbon. “By demonstrating how cooking oils can be converted into biofuels, we want people to understand how SAF is a real solution to decarbonise aviation and show how we’re continuing our mission to get to net zero by 2050.”

Top photo: British Airways HVO fuel tanker at Heathrow

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LanzaJet has formally opened its pioneering Freedom Pines Fuels ethanol to sustainable aviation fuels facility in Soperton, Georgia. While SAF production currently is based around feedstocks such as waste oils and fats, LanzaJet says its ethanol-based alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) technology is the world’s first viable next-generation SAF technology capable of scaling production to the levels needed to decarbonise aviation. It will use feedstocks that include agricultural waste, municipal solid waste, energy crops and captured carbon from industrial processes. Under construction since 2022, production at Freedom Pines is due to start this quarter and at full capacity the facility will produce nine million gallons of SAF and  one million gallons of renewable diesel a year. Among LanzaJet’s backers and customers for the fuel are All Nippon Airways and British Airways, and is a partner with BA in a SAF production facility project in the UK.

“This is a historic milestone in a long history of firsts for LanzaJet, the United States and the SAF industry globally,” announced LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis at the opening. “Between feedstock versatility, efficiency and economics that enable scale in the US and globally, we stand ready to meet aviation’s decarbonisation goals established at the United Nations and country ambitions, such as the US SAF Grand Challenge.”

The Grand Challenge, which was launched in 2021 by the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and US Department of Agriculture, calls for a supply of at least three billion gallons of SAF annually by 2030.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to harnessing the full potential of SAF as we continue to build a strong economy that is sustainable, resilient, competitive and keeps rural places thriving,” said US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who attended the opening of Freedom Pines Fuels. “As we transition to SAF, this will help American companies such as LanzaJet corner the market of a valuable, emerging industry, while revitalising rural communities like Soperton with agriculture front and centre in the effort. LanzaJet’s facility will help accelerate the SAF industry and provide new economic opportunities for producers for a more sustainable future.”

LanzaJet, whose technology was developed by LanzaTech and the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) and claims to reduce GHG emissions by more than 70%, has secured investment both nationally and internationally. Shareholders include International Airlines Group (IAG), LanzaTech, Mitsui & Co, Shell and Suncor Energy, and has attracted investment from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Breakthrough Energy, British Airways (BA) and All Nippon Airways (ANA).

The Freedom Pines facility is fully funded and has committed offtake agreements for all the fuel produced over the next 10 years. The company says it will have created more than 250 jobs and generate an estimated $70 million in annual economic activity for the local economy.

“As we start up the plant, we will continue to refine our technology, while launching our efforts to advance new sustainable fuels projects globally,” said Samartzis.

LanzaJet will use the same AtJ technology on ‘Project Speedbird’, a second-generation SAF production facility being developed by Nova Pangaea Technologies (NPT) in north-east England. Backed by British Airways and its parent IAG, construction of the new plant is expected to begin in 2025 and, through its patented REFNOVA process, NPT will convert woody and non-food derived agricultural wastes into ethanol, which will then be turned into SAF by the LanzaJet process. The facility, which is planned to be built by 2027 and at full capacity by 2028, will produce 27 million gallons of SAF per year, all of which will be purchased by BA.

Last November, the project was awarded £9 million ($11.2m) in funding under the UK government’s Advanced Fuels Fund competition.

“The Freedom Pines project acts as the blueprint for using LanzaJet’s innovative ethanol to SAF process technology here in the UK, starting with ‘Project Speedbird’, and shows how quickly the US is moving ahead,” said British Airways CEO Sean Doyle.

Added Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, which has committed to flying on 10% SAF by 2030: “The LanzaJet ethanol-to-jet fuel plant in the US is a demonstration of how government support and investment in green technologies can help make aviation more sustainable. At IAG, we look forward to bringing LanzaJet’s technology to the UK, with Nova Pangaea, to help the UK meet its target of five SAF plants in construction by 2025.”

Photo (LanzaJet/British Airways): Opening of the LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuel facility in Soperton, Georgia

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The board of directors of Oxford, UK-based Velocys has given its backing to an offer from a consortium of US, UK and Singapore climate-focused investment houses to acquire the company. Without an immediate injection of funds, Velocys is in danger of running out of cash next month and going into insolvency, warned the company. A spin-out from the University of Oxford, Velocys has been developing technology to enable production of drop-in sustainable aviation fuels from a variety of waste materials and is involved in two projects in the UK and US to build commercial-scale SAF production plants. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Velocys shares have fallen from a high of £5.80 a share during the past year to 0.23 pence, valuing the company at just under £4 million. The consortium, which is offering 0.25 pence per share in cash and, if the bid is successful, a secured bridging loan of £3.5 million and growth capital of up to $40 million (£31.5m), said Velocys was well-positioned to capitalise on “a compelling market opportunity” for the production of SAF.

The consortium, which has set up a company, Madison Bidco, for the purposes of the acquisition, is made up of London-headquartered global private equity firm Lightrock; New-York based global growth investment firm Carbon Direct Capital; GenZero, an investment platform founded last year by Temasek, the global investment company owned by the Singapore government; and Kibo Investments, a Singapore-based private investment office focused on climate technology. Carbon Direct Capital had previously been expected to make a $15 million investment in Velocys but withdrew when the latter failed to secure further investment from other backers by the end of October.

In a market announcement, Philip Holland, the Chair of Velocys, commented: “The Velocys Board and management have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to secure significant long-term funding to grow the business and accelerate the delivery of its technology to clients. However, reflecting Velocys’ material funding requirements, business model and limited revenue together with the continued challenging public market environment, it has not been possible to raise sufficient funds. This has put the business in an extremely challenging position, with a very real prospect of not being able to continue as a going concern when we reach the end of our cash runway in early January.

“Bidco is offering the business a secure platform for future growth, alongside an injection of up to $40 million of growth capital, which is expected to ensure that Velocys has the capital resources needed to deliver against its medium-term strategic plans, including to scale up and grow and work towards its long-stated goal of supporting the decarbonisation of the global aviation sector. Whilst it is very disappointing for the business to need to leave the public markets, Bidco’s offer will enable Velocys to continue operating as a going concern.”

The consortium’s confidence in SAF production is based on what the market announcement describes as a “confluence of regulatory support, demand pull by airlines and increased technology readiness,“ adding “Velocys is well positioned to capitalise on these sector tailwinds, given its patented integrated Fischer-Tropsch reactor and catalysis solution and its pipeline of commercial licensing opportunities.”

Velocys said it has a number of third-party clients to whom it supplies its technology, along with its two biorefinery reference projects, the Bayou Fuels Project in Mississippi that would utilise woody waste to produce sustainable fuels and the Altalto Project in Immingham, north-east England, that would process municipal and commercial solid waste into sustainable fuels.

According to the Velocys website, Bayou Fuels is expected to produce 36 million gallons per year of negative-emission transportation fuels using a combination of biogenic feedstock, biomass power and carbon capture and sequestration. Long-term SAF offtake agreements have been signed with Southwest Airlines (15 years) and IAG/British Airways (10 years). In October 2022, the company announced that when the project entered production, then forecast for 2026, the facility would use renewable energy derived from sustainable biomass power instead of solar power that would double the carbon savings for its aviation customers and the enhanced negative carbon intensity would also increase the credits generated under the US Inflation Reduction Act and the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard, improving the revenue and economic profile of the project.

A year ago, the Altalto project, a collaboration with British Airways to produce 20 million gallons of sustainable fuels annually with net negative carbon emissions, was awarded up to £27 million ($34m) in grant funding, with an initial tranche of £7 million from the UK Department for Transport, along with matched private funding, towards completing the Front-End Engineering Design stage. “Following completion of FEED and a successful final investment decision, construction will commence in 2025 with full commercial operation expected in 2028,” the company announced in May. The UK government has set a target of five SAF production facilities to be under construction in the UK by 2025.

Image (Velocys): Visualisation of the proposed Altalto MSW-to-SAF facility in north-east England

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International Airlines Group (IAG), parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and LEVEL, is making a £4.4 million ($5.6m) investment in UK cleantech company Nova Pangaea Technologies (NPT), which is developing technology to convert agricultural waste and wood residue feedstocks into second-generation bioethanol that can then be processed into sustainable aviation fuel. IAG says the investment is in addition to an existing commitment of $865 million in future SAF purchases and other investments, with agreements in place for 250,000 tonnes of SAF that represent 25% towards its target of one million tonnes by 2030. The new investment will progress the development of NOVAONE, NPT’s first waste-to-fuel commercial-scale production facility. Construction at a site in North-East England is expected to begin later this year, with the facility producing biofuels by 2025. IAG says it is seeking to secure further UK SAF supply ahead of the UK government’s SAF mandate due to be introduced from 2025.

The mandate requires at least 10% jet fuel to be made from sustainable feedstocks by 2030, representing 1.2 million tonnes (1.5 billion litres) of fuel. IATA estimates total global production in 2022 to have been a maximum of 450 million litres so, points out IAG, global supply would have to triple just to meet the UK’s mandate. Therefore, facilities such as that which NPT is planning to construct will be vital in meeting this demand, says IAG, which is planning to harness NPT’s technology to support the decarbonisation of the other airlines in its group.

“Sustainable aviation fuel is the only realistic option for long-haul airlines to decarbonise, which is why investment in this area is so critical,” commented Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, the first European group to commit to the use of 10% SAF by 2030. “And we are not just buying SAF, we are willing to invest in developing the industry, but we need governments in the UK and Europe to act now to encourage further investment.”

NPT’s technology is feedstock agnostic, which de-risks the supply chain and future proofs the production of second-generation ethanol, says the company. Residues from sawmills and forestry operations will come from UK sawmills and include sawdust and other wood trimmings. Agricultural waste, including wheat straw and corn stover, are mostly left on the fields after harvests and used for fodder or landfill materials. NPT’s REFNOVA process also produces the co-product biochar, a natural carbon sink that can be used as soil enhancement.

Commenting on the IAG investment, NPT’s Chief Executive, Sarah Ellerby, said: “This is a transformational milestone and a real endorsement of the work we are doing. We are delighted to be adding IAG to our shareholder register.

“Our facility will be the UK’s first commercial plant of its kind and it will play a crucial role in decarbonising the aviation sector, as well as providing local employment opportunities. We are confident in beginning construction later this year and producing second-generation biofuels by 2025.”

NPT first struck a partnership with IAG subsidiary British Airways and LanzaJet in 2021, announcing the launch of Project Speedbird, in which NPT would be providing bioethanol feedstocks to be processed into SAF for the airline by a dedicated SAF plant using LanzaJet’s patented technology. With British Airways intending to purchase all the SAF, the facility is expected to produce 82,000 tonnes of SAF per year and so reducing net lifecycle CO2 emissions by 230,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of around 26,000 BA domestic flights.

Photo: British Airways

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Following the recent launch of British Airways’ CO₂llaborate online platform that enables customers to address the carbon footprint of their flights through the purchase of carbon offsets and/or sustainable aviation fuel, a new third option has been provided in the form of carbon removals. Whereas traditional carbon offsets are created when a project avoids, reduces or removes additional CO2 emissions from the atmosphere, carbon removal credits are issued by nature, biomass or technology based projects that remove CO2 from the atmosphere or from the carbon cycle. The platform offers customers a choice of a combination of carbon offsetting and SAF or carbon removals and SAF, with a slider for each option to select the preferred amount of SAF. Two independently certified carbon removal projects are being supported, one restoring a mangrove forest in the Indus Delta area of Pakistan and the other a biochar project in Oregon, USA. More projects are expected to be added over time, said the airline.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), also known as negative CO2 emissions, is a process in which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and sequestered for long periods of time. The carbon removal sector is still comparatively young, but is increasingly being seen by scientists, governments and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as essential to address climate impacts. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report said the deployment of CDR to counterbalance hard-to-abate residual emissions from sectors like transportation is unavoidable if net zero CO2 or GHG emissions are to be achieved. By the end of the century, carbon removal will be expected to help achieve net-negative emissions and bring temperatures back down from their peak.

CDR encompasses a wide array of approaches, including direct air capture (DAC) coupled to durable storage, soil carbon sequestration, biomass carbon removal and storage, enhanced mineralisation, ocean-based CDR and afforestation and reforestation.

As part of its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 “or sooner”, with its parent company International Airlines Group (IAG), British Airways says it is supporting research and innovation to help accelerate the development of CDR solutions. “The airline is considering projects that are immediately available and independently verified today, as well as more innovative technology solutions,” it said.

Coastal blue carbon ecosystems are some of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet, with an estimated 340,000 to 980,000 hectares being destroyed each year. The nature-based Delta Blue Carbon mangrove forest restoration project claims to be the biggest of its kind in the world, being implemented over an area of 350,000 hectares in total – an area the size of Luxembourg – with reforestation and revegetation comprising 226,000 hectares. In recent decades the mangroves were devastated by large-scale deforestation and used as fuel and fodder, with further damage caused by open-range livestock grazing.

In just six years, tens of millions of mangrove seedlings have been re-planted, restoring more than 73,000 hectares of degraded mangrove forests and tidal wetlands. Over the next 60 years, the wetlands are expected to sequester an estimated 142 million tonnes of CO2e. Studies have found that mangrove forests can hold up to four times more carbon than other tropical rainforests.

The project is one of the first to use Verra’s Blue Carbon tidal wetland methodology, which accounts for the effects of sea level rise over the project’s lifetime. It is certified by VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) and CCB (Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards).

The Delta Blue Carbon mangrove forest project

In the second project, timber company Freres Lumber’s biomass power production plant produces biochar, a carbon-rich charcoal-like material that is created when agricultural and wood waste is used as fuel. The process locks carbon into the solid material and prevents it from naturally decaying and keeping it out of the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Carbon that is stored in the biochar was originally harvested from the atmosphere through photosynthesis of the tree.

Last year, Freres joined international online marketplace Puro.earth, which helps companies reduce or eliminate their carbon footprints. The vehicle used to measure and report the amount of sequestered carbon is called a CO2 Removal Certificate, or a CORC, and buyers retire CORCs in the Puro registry to support their sustainability or net zero claims. Puro certifies suppliers based on the Puro Standard, with removals independently verified by a third party. The Puro Standard is the first carbon removal standard for engineered carbon removal methods in the voluntary carbon market, with carbon removal methodologies aligned with the IPCC definition for carbon removal. Each CORC represents a volume of one tonne of CO2 removal and the Puro website quotes a price of €110 per Freres Biochar CORC.

The cost of choosing carbon removal on BA’s CO₂llaborate platform – a partnership with climate tech company Chooose – is therefore more expensive than the carbon offsetting option. As an example, a round-trip journey in economy class between London and New York results in CO2e emissions of just under 700kgs per passenger. The adjustable slider defaults to a preferred 10% use of SAF against a 90% use of carbon offsetting, or 90% carbon removals if this option is chosen. The former choice would carry a price of £20.17 ($24), the latter more than double at £44.91. Choosing carbon offsetting entirely would cost £7.66 compared to £33.35 if opting for 100% carbon removal. Customer contributions to the SAF option are supporting the purchase of renewable fuel through BA’s partnership with Phillips 66, which is added to the existing fuel pipeline at Heathrow Airport.

The airline is already offsetting the carbon emissions of all its flights within the UK. For flights within Europe, the emissions calculation is adjusted to reflect British Airways’ participation in regulatory emissions trading systems such as the EU ETS and UK ETS so that emissions are not double counted.

“In 2019, when we committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, we identified that a vital way to meet this goal would be by using carbon removals and we currently expect that these could contribute up to a third of our total action,” commented Carrie Harris, Director of Sustainability at British Airways. “While we continue to drive action to reduce our emissions now, including by improving operational efficiency, investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft and scaling up the availability of sustainable aviation fuel, we’re excited to be supporting research and innovation to accelerate the scale-up of carbon removal solutions.

“By choosing carbon removal projects as part of their action to address the emissions associated with flying, our customers are not only joining us on our journey to a more sustainable future, but also helping accelerate the development of the vital carbon removal industry.”

In July, BA parent IAG joined with Airbus and a number of major airlines to sign Letters of Intent to explore opportunities for a future supply of carbon removal credits from direct air carbon capture technology. As part of the agreements, the airlines have committed to engage in negotiations on the possible pre-purchase of verified and durable carbon removal credits starting in 2028 through to 2028. The carbon removal credits will be issued by Airbus partner 1PointFive – a subsidiary of Occidental’s Low Carbon Ventures business and the global deployment partner of DAC company Carbon Engineering. The Airbus partnership with 1PointFive includes the pre-purchase of 400,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits to be delivered over four years.

On November 30, the European Commission is expected to table a legislative proposal that would establish a regulatory framework for the certification of carbon removals.

BA Better World explainer video on carbon removals

Top photo: British Airways

British Airways has agreed to accelerate the Project Speedbird large-scale sustainable aviation fuel production initiative it created in 2021 with LanzaJet and Nova Pangaea Technologies. As part of the agreement, the airline’s parent company IAG will invest in the next phase of development work, with construction to begin possibly as early as next year and production to start in 2026. Located in the north-east of England, the project would transform agricultural and wood waste into 102 million litres of SAF per year, which BA would offtake to help power its flights. Meanwhile, the airline has also launched enhanced online platforms for its corporate and individual customers to calculate flight carbon emissions and mitigate their climate impact. Customers have previously been able to use the airline’s carbon offsetting tool to purchase offsets and sustainable aviation fuel but in a partnership with climate tech company CHOOOSE, the new CO₂llaborate programme will give them more control over the amount of SAF versus verified carbon offsets they wish to purchase.

Project Speedbird was granted nearly £500,000 ($570,000) by the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) ‘Green Fuels, Green Skies’ competition to fund an initial feasibility study for the early-stage development of the project. With the work now completed, the next stage of development is now ready to proceed, says British Airways, and the partners have applied for an additional grant from the DfT’s Advanced Fuels Fund.

“SAF is in high demand but in short supply across the globe and so it is essential that we scale up its production as quickly as possible,” commented the airline’s Director of Sustainability, Carrie Harris. “With further investment and continued government support, Speedbird will be a key and pioneering project in the production of SAF here in the UK.”

Once in operation, the facility would be the first in the UK to utilise independently verified sustainably-sourced agricultural and wood waste to produce SAF. The SAF will be developed using a combination of technologies based on Nova Pangaea’s REFNOVA proprietary patented process of converting the waste into bioethanol and also biochar, a carbon-rich charcoal-like material left over after processing and considered a natural carbon removal method. Biochar can be used to amend and restore impoverished soils by better retaining nutrients required for plants to grow, and by filtering healthy water for accelerated crop growth, delivering a circular economy for the agriculture industry. Biochar can replace fertilisers that use fossil fuels as their feedstock and removes carbon from the atmosphere, with the potential to generate high-integrity carbon credits.

“This project will deliver the first end-to-end, sustainable value chain from agricultural and wood waste to SAF in the UK,” said Sarah Ellerby, CEO at Nova Pangaea Technologies, which has a pre-commercial plant expected to be in commercial production in 2023. “The support from British Airways is a vote of huge confidence in our technology and will accelerate its commercialisation.”

Added Harris: “The biochar carbon removal opportunities are another important aspect of this impressive, innovative project that can contribute to our net zero action.”

LanzaJet’s proprietary and patented alcohol-to-jet technology will be utilised to convert the bioethanol to produce SAF and renewable diesel.

The SAF produced would reduce net lifecycle emissions by 230,000 tonnes a year, claim the partners, the equivalent emissions of around 26,000 British Airways domestic flights. Overall, the facility would have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 770,000 tonnes a year through the additional production of biochar and 11 million litres of renewable diesel.

“The UK is a critical market in the decarbonisation of the aviation industry and this partnership brings together the full value chain from agricultural and wood waste to finished SAF and use by British Airways. As the UK sits at an inflection point in its quest to decarbonise, Project Speedbird represents historical significance with an eye towards the future,” commented Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet. The airline is already an investor in LanzaJet, which last month announced it had received a $50 million grant from Breakthrough Energy towards funding of its Freedom Pines Fuels SAF facility in Georgia, US.

Under a multi-year agreement with energy company Phillips 66, BA is already using supplies of SAF produced at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery, also in north-east England, to power a number of its flights from London Heathrow, and the airline’s customers can contribute towards purchase of the SAF to reduce their flight emissions.

Under its partnership with CHOOOSE, the CO₂llaborate programme has new platforms for corporate and individual customers. Individuals can take climate action before, during or after their journey, and offers a more precise emissions calculation than before and more control over the amount of SAF versus verified carbon offsets they wish to purchase through a new adjustable slider feature. They can access the platform directly from their seat during flight using the airline’s free wi-fi portal, or at any time before or after their flight by visiting the CO₂llaborate platform accessible on ba.com. Choosing the carbon offset option supports a rainforest protection project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and an energy-efficient cookstove project in Nigeria, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In a first for corporate customers, the CO₂llaborate platform will also offer a dedicated climate programme for companies to measure, reduce and manage the carbon emissions associated with their business flying. They will get access to a dashboard that shows the CO2 emissions generated from their business travel and receive monthly emissions reports. Companies will then be able to select how to address their carbon emissions by selecting specific climate solutions ranging from purchasing SAF to contributing to certified carbon offset projects. BA says the platform will enable users to track and report on their climate impact over time and learn about the climate solutions they are supporting.

“We know that many of our customers want to fly with sustainability in mind and while we work on delivering our own short, medium and long term initiatives to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, we know many of our customers want to take action today too,” said BA’s Harris. “This new CO₂llaborate platform further empowers our customers to make sustainable choices when flying with us. We look forward to working with CHOOOSE to evolve the platform as we continue to drive the decarbonisation of our industry.”

The venture-backed, Norway-based CHOOOSE describes itself as a complete platform that enables its partners to build and manage high-impact climate programmes through flexible integrations, customer-friendly interfaces, automated carbon measurement and a connected marketplace of climate solutions.

“Partnering with British Airways is a true milestone in bringing climate solutions to both leisure and corporate travellers,” commented CHOOOSE CEO and Founder Andreas Slettvoll. “British Airways has always been a north star to us in innovation in the airline industry and we are proud to support them in their relentless work on their most important journey yet, their journey to net zero.”

Image: British Airways

British Airways could be using sustainable aviation fuel produced in the UK within the next few months following an agreement with one of world’s biggest oil refiners, Phillips 66. It will be produced and blended at Phillips 66’s Humber Refinery in north-east England from waste cooking oils, and supplied to London airports via the existing pipeline infrastructure. The SAF is expected to reduce lifecycle emissions by over 80% compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces. Phillips 66 has 13 refineries in the United States and Europe, with a global refining capacity of 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day. It is transitioning to a low-carbon future and last year announced plans to convert its Rodeo refinery in California into the world’s largest renewable fuels plant. The Humber Refinery, which employs over 1,000 workers, started production of renewable diesel in 2018, becoming the first in the UK to convert waste oil into road fuel. In November 2020 it took delivery of a new processing unit to convert used cooking oil (UCO) into low-carbon fuel. The refinery is situated very close to the proposed Velocys facility that will convert municipal solid waste to jet fuel for British Airways.

The airline said the purchase agreement of 36,000 tonnes of SAF with Phillips 66 Limited, a wholly-owned UK subsidiary of Phillips 66, would reduce lifecycle emissions by almost 100,000 tonnes, the equivalent of powering 700 net zero CO2 emissions flights between London and New York on its Boeing 787 aircraft.

The Humber Refinery’s UCO module increased renewable diesel capacity this year to 3,000 barrels per day (BPD) from 1,000 BPD and the company plans to further expand capacity to 5,000 BPD by 2024.

Added a spokesperson for Phillips 66: “While the UCO module will be an important part of our SAF supply, we will also be producing SAF via other production pathways at the refinery.”

The refinery, which Phillips 66 says is one of the most complex in its portfolio and one of the most sophisticated in Europe, has a crude oil processing capacity of 221,000 BPD. It produces some 14 million litres of fuel per day, some of which is sold at its JET branded petrol stations and also jet fuel to airlines, as well as raw materials that can be transformed into a range of other products, including into essential components for electric vehicle batteries.

“The refinery was the first in the UK to co-process waste oils to produce renewable fuels and now we will be the first to produce SAF at scale, and we are delighted British Airways is our first UK customer,” said Humber Refinery General Manager Darren Cunningham. “We are currently refining almost half a million litres of sustainable waste feedstocks a day, and this agreement demonstrates our ability to supply them.”

The Humber Refinery is one of three investment partners in the Humber Zero project for large-scale decarbonisation in the immediate region and incorporates a cluster of local energy-intensive industries that make up more than 20% of the local economy and one in 10 jobs, and lie 1km from the North Sea coastline on the south bank of the River Humber. By 2030, Humber Zero aims to remove up to 8 MT/CO2 annually by integrating carbon capture and storage, alongside green and blue hydrogen production, into these existing, co-dependent industries. As well as decarbonising local industry, it is expected to provide hydrogen power for over one million local homes.

“This agreement with British Airways aligns with our strategy to create a refinery of the future, where we’re producing fuels from waste, being a critical part of the electric vehicle supply chain, reducing the carbon intensity of our processes through carbon capture and using hydrogen to power the refinery,” said Cunningham. “It secures long-term business in an ever-changing world.”

British Airways and Phillips 66 are members of the UK Department for Transport’s Jet Zero Council Delivery Group, with both supporting government plans for a future SAF blending mandate and a business model for investing in advanced waste-to-jet fuel projects.

“The UK has the resources and capabilities to be a global leader in the development of SAF and scaling up the production of SAF requires a truly collaborative approach between industry and government,” said British Airways Chief Executive Sean Doyle.

“We are excited to develop our relationship with Phillips 66 Limited further with a view to growing production capacity and using a wider range of sustainable waste feedstocks to supply our future flights. The development of SAF is a major focus for us and forms part of our commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 through a series of short, medium and long term initiatives.”

BA’s parent company IAG pledged two years ago to invest a total of $400 million on alternative sustainable fuel development over the following 20 years. Its Altalto Immingham project with Velocys aims to convert over 500,000 tonnes each year of non-recyclable household and commercial solid waste into sustainable aviation fuel, which would be supplied via the same pipeline as for the Phillips 66 fuel. According to an investor statement from Velocys last month, depending on progress of UK government policy and the project going ahead, commissioning and startup would commence in 2027, with full-scale commercial operation to follow that same year.

In February, British Airways announced it was to invest in SAF technology provider and SAF producer LanzaJet’s first commercial-scale Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Georgia, USA. The deal includes purchase of SAF to power a number of BA flights from the US from late 2022 and early-stage planning of a potential commercial-scale biorefinery in the UK. This would be produced using LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet process, which can use any source of sustainable ethanol, including, but not limited to, ethanol made from non-edible agricultural residues such as wheat straw and recycled pollution. LanzaJet, which is involved in three UK projects, and British Airways are also partnering with Nova Pangaea Technologies on ‘Project Speedbird’ to develop the first SAF facility in the UK to utilise woody residues from the UK, which aims to produce 100 million litres of SAF per year by 2025.

The purchase agreement with British Airways follows a Phillips 66 memorandum of understanding signing with Southwest Airlines in April this year “to advance the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel, focusing on public awareness and research and development.” The MoU also includes both sides exploring a future SAF supply agreement involving Phillips 66’s renewable fuels Rodeo Renewed project in California. The facility is expected to be capable of producing an initial 800 million gallons per year of renewable fuels and, subject to permits and approvals, could be completed in early 2024.

Photo: The Phillips 66 Humberside Refinery

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British Airways’ first flight to the United States since the lifting today of Covid-19 restrictions for most British travellers to the country has been powered by blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In a synchronised take-off with Virgin Atlantic to New York JFK, BA001, a flight number previously reserved for Concorde, was powered by 35% SAF made from used cooking oil supplied by bp. Although not the first transatlantic flight to be powered by SAF, British Airways believes it is the first to be operated with such a significant level. Current regulations stipulate the maximum blend passenger aircraft can use is 50%, although airframe and engine manufacturers have recently pledged to work towards raising the limit to 100%. BA’s parent company IAG has committed to operating 10% of its flights using SAF by 2030.

The majority of BA’s New York services are operated on Boeing 777 aircraft, following the retirement of its final Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet in 2020. Flight BA001 is operating on its newest aircraft, the Airbus A350, as a demonstrator flight to highlight, says British Airways, the airline’s decarbonisation initiatives and what’s possible by using the latest technology.  

In addition, BA is offsetting all emissions associated with the flight. In September, it announced customers can purchase SAF to reduce their carbon footprint through its not-for-profit partner Pure Leapfrog in addition to the existing offsetting option. In all, BA is operating 26 flights to the US today, as fully vaccinated British travellers are now able to travel between the two countries for the first time since March 2020.

“Today is about celebrating the UK-US reopening of the transatlantic corridor after more than 600 days of separation, and it was fantastic to be able to mark this by synchronising the take-off of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights for the first time ever,” commented Sean Doyle, British Airways’ CEO.

“Whilst flying is vital to connect the world and support the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic, it’s important for us to use this moment to demonstrate how we’re driving our decarbonisation plans forward, and what the future will look like for aviation. That’s why we’ve directly powered our first flight to the US today with sustainable aviation fuel and offset emissions on behalf of our customers. We’re looking forward to the UK government’s continued support to ensure the development and mass production of SAF continues at pace.”

In September, BA announced a collaboration with bp to source SAF in respect of all flights between London, Glasgow and Edinburgh during the COP26 climate conference in Scotland. The SAF for today’s flight to New York has come from this batch, said BA.

Photo: British Airways Airbus A350

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In a presentation held at British Airways’ London Heathrow maintenance base, BA Chief Executive Sean Doyle unveiled a new sustainability programme and campaign called BA Better World. It included the announcement of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) collaboration with fuel provider bp related to the upcoming COP26 climate change conference in the UK and an extension of its offsetting partnership with Pure Leapfrog enabling customers to include SAF as a purchase option for the first time. In a show of support for BA’s wide range of sustainability initiatives, the event was attended by representatives from organisations including the airline’s SAF partners Velocys and LanzaTech, carbon capture firm Carbon Engineering, Airbus and electric-hydrogen aircraft pioneer ZeroAvia. Mark Pilling reports from one of the first in-person sustainable aviation events to be held since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. British Airways has since carried out a ‘Perfect Flight’ using a new ‘BA Better World’ liveried A320neo between Heathrow and Glasgow that was its first-ever commercial flight to be powered by SAF. The airlines said emissions from the flight were 62% lower compared with a similar length Perfect Flight a decade ago.

Presenting the UK flag carrier’s new sustainability programme ahead of COP26 starting at the end of next month in Glasgow, Doyle said: “We all know this is going to be a pivotal moment for change across every industry.

“With BA Better World we’re on our most important journey yet – to a better, more sustainable future and one which will ensure the long-term success of our business. We’re clear that we have a responsibility to reduce our impact on the planet and have a detailed plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, including investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft, improving our operational efficiency and investing in the development of sustainable aviation fuel and zero emissions aircraft.”

Stressing its environmental credentials dated back to 1992, when Doyle said BA was the first airline to report its carbon footprint, the carrier is the latest to publicly lay out its sustainability roadmap and insists the issue is a strategic priority.

Doyle made his presentation with one of BA’s first Airbus A320neos as the backdrop. The aircraft has been symbolically painted in a blue ‘BA Better World’ scheme. “The aircraft serves as a constant and visual testament to our colleagues, customers and to all of our stakeholders of the commitment we are making today, which is to put sustainability at the heart of our business,” said Doyle. “The aircraft is part of a much bigger story for British Airways, about how we emerge from the pandemic, thrive and have a more sustainable future.”

The introduction of more fuel-efficient aircraft, such as the A320neo, along with aircraft technology advances such as zero emissions aircraft, is an important component of BA’s detailed plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, said Doyle. In a video presentation (see below), BA’s roadmap to 2050 sees a third of its emissions reduction coming from this source, with a further third coming from the use of SAF, which it says will meet 50% of all fuel needs by mid-century, and the remaining third from “robust” carbon reductions and removals in other sectors. Doyle emphasised achieving net zero by 2050 will take time and partnerships with government and industry, and that new SAF plants needed seed funding and required price certainty for investors.

Doyle announced a collaboration with long-standing fuel partner Air bp to source enough SAF to cover all its flights between London’s City, Gatwick and Heathrow airports and Glasgow and Edinburgh airports during COP26, which he said would reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 80%. COPs usually attract around 30,000 delegates but with international travel Covid restrictions in place, numbers attending this year remain uncertain and Doyle said BA’s schedule over the COP26 period is still therefore to be determined. However, there is expected to be heavy air traffic on the routes between London and Scotland, and the airline has provisioned for enough SAF to offset the equivalent jet fuel used on all flights over the two-week event. The SAF, blended at around 40% with conventional fuel, will be produced from used cooking oil, imported into the UK and will be co-mingled into the fuel distribution systems at the three London airports. Doyle pointed out that BA now also buys offsets to cover emissions on all domestic flights.

“Our companies have a long-standing relationship and will continue to work together on sustainable aviation fuel supply initiatives on an on-going basis,” said Martin Thomsen, Senior Vice President of bp’s aviation business. “At bp we want to help decarbonise the aviation industry and we will continue to collaborate with industry stakeholders and governments to explore viable options to help scale up sustainable aviation fuel more broadly.”

Thomsen told GreenAir the company is making small batches of SAF at its R&D facilities with a view to scaling up production in the future. It is also a long-term supplier and partner with BA, and has signed wide-ranging SAF collaboration deals with other carriers, for example Qantas. The company does have other such partnerships with global airlines, but these have not been announced at this time, he said.

Doyle said the collaboration with bp forms part of British Airways’ long-term commitment to the development and use of SAF. The airline’s parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), is investing $400 million over the next 20 years into the development of SAF, with BA having formed partnerships with a number of technology and fuel companies to develop SAF plants and purchase the fuel, including Velocys in the UK and LanzaJet in the US. Doyle said he expected the airline would be taking its first SAF supplies from LanzaJet by the end of next year, “which will be an important milestone.”

British Airways, as part of an IAG commitment, recently stated it would power 10% of its fuel needs with SAF by 2030, which Doyle conceded was “very ambitious”.

“But the demand from the industry is there, and now we need to create the supply,” he added. “Although we don’t have a SAF plant up and running in the UK as yet, we’re trying to develop one in Humberside and that’s making good progress with Velocys. If more supply is there, maybe the target can be revisited.”

In the meantime, he said, carbon offsets, although an interim solution, are accessible “right now” and can have a positive impact supporting community projects and biodiversity around the world, as well as offsetting carbon. “In the future, we expect offsets to migrate into supporting funding and research in carbon capture technology.”

BA also announced that customers can now buy SAF to reduce their carbon footprint via its offset partner Pure Leapfrog and SAF partner bp during the online booking process. As well as the existing option for customers to offset their emissions through supporting three projects, another option is a combination of 10% SAF purchase and 90% carbon offsets.

The airline’s Head of Sustainability, Carrie Harris, revealed BA is also in dialogue with its top corporate customers about helping them reduce their carbon footprint from flying through an opportunity to purchase SAF. “They are all really interested in this topic,” she said.

Added Doyle: “The more opportunities we have to talk about ways to offset emissions, the more credible and tangible it becomes and it also drives awareness of the wider challenge we face as an industry. Sustainability is at the heart of every conversation we have with our customers.”

Since the unveiling of the Better World A320neo at the event, British Airways carried out a Perfect Flight from Heathrow to Glasgow on September 14, the first-ever passenger flight by the airline to be powered directly by sustainable aviation fuel. BA teamed up with Heathrow and Glasgow airports, the UK’s air traffic control organisation NATS, Airbus and bp to demonstrate innovations such as continuous climb and descent, SAF and the use of electric ground operations vehicles. Remaining emissions are to be offset, to achieve a carbon neutral flight.

BA operated its first Perfect Flight in 2010 on the Heathrow to Edinburgh route and the airline says the aim of Glasgow flight was to demonstrate how far the aviation industry has progressed in decarbonisation efforts since then. The use of the A320neo, which burns 20% less fuel than its predecessor aircraft, and SAF, which was blended at 35% with traditional jet fuel, along with the other fuel saving measures, resulted in a 62% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the 2010 flight, reported the airline.

Those measures included the aircraft being pushed back using one of the airline’s electric Mototok vehicles, powered by Heathrow’s supply of 100% renewable electricity, and using just one of the aircraft’s engines to taxi out to the runway and taxi in to the stand at Glasgow.  Air traffic controllers at NATS directed the aircraft on its continuous climb from Heathrow and descent into Glasgow without airborne holding, and NATS provided the most direct routing and most optimal flight level. Climb speeds were programmed in advance and aircraft computer systems worked out the optimum altitude and used accurate weight and wind data to ensure the most efficient journey possible.

The data from the flight will be analysed to fully understand the benefits and how the techniques and procedures used can be implemented in the everyday and in the future.

“We learn a lot from projects like this, which can inform future airspace designs and ultimately make UK skies more sustainable,” said Ian Jopson, Head of Sustainable Operations at NATS.

In order to reduce the weight of the new aircraft and lower fuel burn, British Airways has installed newer, lighter seats, lighter catering trollies and replaced heavy flight manuals and inflight magazines with digital downloads.

“This flight offered a practical demonstration of the progress we’re making in our carbon reduction journey,” commented BA CEO Sean Doyle. “By working together with our industry partners, we’ve delivered a 62% improvement in emission reductions compared to a decade ago. This marks real progress in our efforts to decarbonise and shows our determination to continue innovating, working with governments and industry, and accelerating the adoption of new low carbon solutions to get us closer still to the Perfect Flight of the future.”

Photo: bp’s Martin Thomsen (left) and Sean Doyle of British Airways

Mark Pilling

GreenAir Contributing Editor

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Additional reporting by Christopher Surgenor

Editor’s note: This article was updated on September 16 to include coverage of BA’s Perfect Flight demonstration