Aviation
Commercial /
Europe
sustainable partnership
Airbus and Neste will work on SAF production and use
Image: Neste
Rafael Ramos
11/30/2022
Today, November 30, Neste, the fuel provider, and Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to join forces for the production and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Both companies want to accelerate SAF operations. For this, the focus will be on the technical development of the SAF, as well as the approval of the fuel and the testing of current and future production technologies. Thus, the two companies recognize that the greatest difficulty is the production of fuel.
"The companies' combined knowledge and experience will help advance the use and availability of SAF as a means of transitioning aviation to more sustainable energy sources and reducing aviation's climate impact," said Thorsten Lange, Vice President sustainable aviation executive at Neste.
SAF has proven to be a promising solution, offering the same performance as conventional fuel, but with a much smaller carbon footprint. A major problem that companies will face will be related to costs, which are still much higher than fossil fuels, although great strides are already being made to try to make SAF economically competitive.
"The SAF is one of the most promising decarbonization solutions in the aerospace industry that can be used in both in-service and future aircraft fleets. We are honored to partner with Neste to drive the development and acceptance of the SAF, to encourage the creation of a commercially viable market for renewable aviation fuels,” said Julie Kitcher, Vice President of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Airbus.
Several advances regarding SAF have been achieved in the past two years, including the first flight of an Airbus A380 in March with one engine at 100% SAF). Airbus aircraft are certified to fly with a mixture of up to 50% SAF, however efforts are already being made for engines to be certified for 100% SAF.
Neste, in turn, participated in the development of the first regional flight with 100% SAF in the world. The feat was accomplished on an ATR-72 in Sweden, with both engines running on SAF.
Image: Neste
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Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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