UK leisure airline Jet2.com has purchased around 650 tonnes of SAF from Shell Aviation, which will be used to add a 1% SAF blend onto a number of departing flights from London Stansted this year, with a further 350 tonnes purchased from Q8 Aviation for use at Bristol Airport. The airline, the UK’s third biggest, has made an equity investment in the Fulcrum NorthPoint SAF production facility due to be constructed in north-west England. However, said the company, without a fully-fledged domestic SAF industry, the UK remained reliant on fuel imported at a high cost or airlines would otherwise in future under the mandate be required to pay a buy-out price, “putting UK airlines and holidaymakers at a competitive disadvantage.”

Ashleigh McDougall, Shell Aviation’s General Manager for Europe and Africa, said scaling the supply and use of SAF required a concerted effort from across the aviation sector. “The announcement with Jet2.com is a great example of the collaborative actions that are required to drive forward the use of SAF and help decarbonise flight,” she said.

Commented Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays: “We see SAF as critical in helping the industry decarbonise and we can use this supply to ensure our operations are ready for SAF uptake both now and in the future, when we anticipate its use will grow materially. We very much see 1% as the starting point and we want to grow this over the coming years.”

He called for greater support to incentivise the uptake of SAF in the UK and reduce its cost. “The UK government must implement a price revenue mechanism earlier than the current timeline of 2026, which means we can secure investor confidence, build the UK SAF plants that we need, and turbocharge the UK SAF industry,” he said.

Under the airline’s investment in Fulcrum NorthPoint, it expects to receive over 200 million litres of SAF over a 15-year period from the proposed NorthPoint waste-to-fuels facility when it becomes operational, which will achieve net emissions reductions totalling around 400,000 tonnes of CO2.

In line with government policy, Jet2 has a target of net zero emissions by 2050 but aspires to bring this date forward. As part of its sustainability strategy, it has 110 Airbus A320/A321 neo aircraft on firm order, which could extend up to 146 aircraft. Its holiday arm has recently launched a hotel sustainability labelling scheme so that customers and travel agents can easily find and choose from a collection of certified sustainable hotels that meet Global Sustainable Tourism Council recognised standards.

Photo: Jet2 plc

Christopher Surgenor

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UK leisure travel group Jet2, which comprises Jet2holidays and airline Jet2.com, has announced an equity investment in the sustainable aviation fuel plant to be built in north-west England by US-based waste-to-fuel producer Fulcrum BioEnergy. The NorthPoint facility will be constructed in the Essar Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and is expected to start production in 2027. Once the plant achieves full capacity, Fulcrum plans to produce about 100 million litres of SAF per year by converting 600,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste, which otherwise would have to be incinerated or used as landfill. While details of the investment have not been disclosed, the Leeds-based airline is expected to source more than 200 million litres of SAF from the new facility over a 15-year period, an average of 13.3 million litres per year, or two full years of production.

The new plant is a partnership between Fulcrum BioEnergy, Essar Oil UK and Stanlow Terminals, an Essar subsidiary. Late last year, after more than a decade of development, Fulcrum succeeded in converting landfill waste into low-carbon synthetic crude oil at its Sierra BioFuels facility near Reno, Nevada, the world’s first commercial-scale waste-to-fuels production facility. “Landfill waste, or household garbage, is the most abundant, lowest-cost feedstock in the renewable fuels industry, with an existing and mature infrastructure for its collection and transport, providing an excellent, long-term source of feedstock,” the company said. “Landfill waste doesn’t need to be grown and it doesn’t need to be pulled from a well. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that nearly 300 million tons of garbage is generated each year in the US. And it doesn’t have any competing uses.”

SAF will be manufactured by Fulcrum using a mix of gasification and Fischer-Tropsch conversion technologies, through which organic waste is turned into a light, confetti-like feedstock, which is then transformed into syngas, filtered to remove residual impurities and finally delivered as liquid fuel. Fulcrum will use the same patented production process at the UK plant, which it will build, own and operate within Essar’s complex, with the fuel company assisting with blending the SAF and supplying it to airlines. The project was boosted in February by a grant of £16.8 million ($21m) from the UK Department of Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund.  

The commitment by Jet2 to Fulcrum’s UK facility follows investments in Fulcrum’s US parent by Cathay Pacific, United Airlines, BP, South Korean industrial group SK Innovation and a Japanese consortium led by industrial group Marubeni Corporation, and including Japan Airlines and the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation. The Jet2-Fulcrum deal also continues a broader trend of investments by airlines in a range of SAF production projects to help build their own future fuel security, reduce emissions from their flights and increase production to help drive down the cost of SAF.

Jet2 said the SAF produced at Fulcrum’s new facility initially is expected to achieve lifecycle emissions reductions of 70% compared to fossil-based aircraft fuel. By using the UK-made SAF, Jet2.com expects to reduce its net emissions by about 400,000 tonnes of CO2 over the 15-year term of the supply deal, on top of other decarbonising measures including orders and options for up to 146 Airbus A320 and A321 neo jets. These aircraft are significantly more fuel-efficient than the airline’s current fleet, comprised mainly of Boeing 737-800s. Further efficiencies are expected to flow from the new plant’s close proximity to Manchester Airport, a major gateway for the airline, the UK’s third largest, enabling the SAF to be delivered via existing pipeline infrastructure instead of by road transport.

“Travel and tourism is a force for good and, like all industries, we know how critical it is to mitigate our climate impacts,” said Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2 Holidays. “This significant investment in Fulcrum NorthPoint’s sustainable aviation fuel production in the UK shows not only how seriously we take that responsibility but also how committed we are to taking tangible actions to address it. This type of investment is critical if we are to get this technology up to the scale required to decarbonise the industry. Our investment is a very clear demonstration that we are backing SAF and the UK production of SAF early.”

Although the UK government had provided a grant to help develop the Northpoint plant, Heapy argued even more backing was needed. “We are calling on the government to scale up its level of ambition and support for SAF production,” he said. “Doing this will help achieve decarbonisation of the aviation sector, stimulate uptake and seize the enormous economic opportunity here in the UK.”

Jeff Ovens, Managing Director of Fulcrum BioEnergy UK, welcomed the Jet2 project-level investment as “a clear commitment to the development of a UK SAF industry.”

Graphic: Illustration of the future Fulcrum NorthPoint SAF plant

UK-based low-cost carrier Jet2.com has announced the introduction of “one of the largest airline carbon offset schemes globally” to compensate for those of its emissions not already covered by regulatory emission trading systems operated by the EU and UK, and ICAO’s CORSIA offsetting scheme. The holiday airline, the UK’s third biggest, has also committed to ensuring that those free allowances it receives under the EU and UK ETS will be covered through the purchase of carbon offsets. It will also offset emissions on routes that are exempted from ETS coverage, like the Canary Islands and the Azores, and all emissions – not just those above the 2019 baseline – on flights that fall within CORSIA, such as to Turkey. Jet2, which includes Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, launched a sustainability strategy last September to set the company on a path to net zero emissions by 2050, in line with UK government policy, but now says it is planning to achieve the goal earlier and is aiming to start using UK-produced sustainable aviation fuel by no later than 2026, reports Tony Harrington.

According to the airline’s website, total CO2e emissions for the financial year ended 31 March 2021 from the business were 315,378 tonnes, with 314,097 tonnes coming from aircraft operations. With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, this was an 86% reduction on the previous year when emissions from aircraft operations totalled 2,275,000 tonnes.

“What we have committed to do is ensure that we will pay for every tonne of CO2,” Daniel Walker, General Manager Sustainability for Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, told GreenAir. “Based on figures for the financial year 2019/2020, this would amount to offsetting over 50% of our emissions, with the remaining emissions covered in the EU and UK ETS. It is therefore a big commitment and we believe one of the largest offsetting schemes of any airline in the world.”

As of 1 January 2022, Jet2’s ground operations are carbon neutral, which it claims makes it one of the first European airlines to achieve this, with all Jet2 and Jet2holiday offices now carbon neutral and powered by renewable energy. It intends increasing deployment of zero-emission ground service equipment, which is expected to comprise 50% of vehicles by 2023.

Walker added the company would be publishing details of its offsetting programme, along with other sustainability initiatives, in its annual reports.

The company is against passenger voluntary offsetting. “We know that carbon offsetting programmes based on customer choice are not the future of sustainable travel,” it says in its sustainability strategy report. “Despite many airlines offering customers the ability to offset their flights, data suggests that customer offsets achieve less than 1% uptake across the airline industry. That is why we have made carbon offsetting an intrinsic part of our business strategy. It means our customers don’t need to think about carbon offsetting because we’ve got their carbon covered.”

The airline uses a fleet of 90 aircraft to fly more than 450 routes between 10 destinations in the UK and over 70 in Europe. Prior to the pandemic, Jet2’s emissions per passenger kilometre of 67.0g “put us amongst the most efficient airlines in the world,” said the airline, and in the period from 2011 to 2020 it improved efficiency by more than 19%, averaging 2.4% a year – substantially ahead of ICAO’s global annual average efficiency goal of 2%. It was consequently ranked 11th in the list of the world’s most fuel-efficient airlines in atmosfair’s most recently published Airline 2018 Index. In common with most airlines, the unprecedented operational and financial challenges of the pandemic has had an adverse impact on efficiency, with gCO2 per passenger-km increasing to 89.8g.

However, by 2030, Jet2 wants to reduce its CO2 emissions by 10% per passenger through initiatives including the introduction of new, more efficient aircraft. Prior to announcing its broad-based sustainability strategy last year, the finer details of which are to be released during this year, Jet2 had already invested heavily in a low-emission future, with a decision to purchase up to 75 Airbus A321neo aircraft at a list price of $10.1 billion.

As well, through a range of operational initiatives, the airline said it cut carbon emissions last financial year by 2,600 tonnes. These avoidance measures included single engine taxiing, reduced thrust take-offs, performance-based navigation approaches, continuous descents, the use of pre-conditioned air, weight reduction through the use of lighter seats, catering carts and carbon brakes, and, where available, fixed electrical ground power and electric ramp vehicles.

Beyond carbon reductions, the airline is targeting an 80% reduction in single use plastics on its aircraft through the use of other items including wooden cutlery and cardboard meal boxes, and recycling of products including water bottles, knives, forks, spoons and wooden stirrers. It said this would equate to the removal of 11 million items based on 2019 usage.

The airline believes sustainable aviation fuel “is the medium-term solution for the sector” to reduce carbon and is aiming to start using SAF by no later than 2026. Walker revealed Jet2 has already agreed a letter of intent with an unnamed SAF provider and was currently working on time scales for SAF delivery in the UK.

“This action, alongside our offsetting scheme and the purchase of new A321neos, signifies our commitment to lowering emissions wherever possible,” he said.

Added Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays: “This year, we will continue to make strides to develop our commitment to SAF, as well as our hotel sustainability charter, so that we are becoming more sustainable in the air, on the ground and in the resort.

“We will also be calling on governments at home and in Europe to match the increased regulation on aviation by taking their own actions to decarbonise the sector. This includes investing the proceeds of the UK and EU ETS schemes, as well as any other green levies imposed on the aviation industry, directly into decarbonisation and reporting on where these proceeds are being invested. We will continue pushing for airspace reforms across Europe, which will dramatically and immediately reduce carbon emissions in EU airspace by at least 10%.”

Additional reporting by Christopher Surgenor

Photo: Jet2.com