oneworld to Purchase 200 Million Gallons of SAF from Gevo

(22 Mar 2022, 10:47 +07)  Members of the oneworld airline alliance plan to purchase up to 200 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year from Colorado-based renewable fuels producer, Gevo.

Delivery of the fuel is scheduled to commence from 2027, for a five year-term.

oneworld members Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways expect to utilise the SAF for operations in California including San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles International Airports.

This is the second SAF commitment by oneworld member airlines in just five months. In November 2021, oneworld signed an agreement to purchase more than 350 million gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel from Aemetis for operations at San Francisco.

Finnair A350-900 reg: OH-LWB. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

“Five months ago, we committed as an alliance to a target of 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030,” said oneworld CEO Rob Gurney. “Today’s announcement of a second major sustainable aviation fuel offtake among member airlines builds further upon that commitment, while demonstrating the value that can be delivered when our member airlines work together.”

Gevo’s sustainable aviation fuel is expected to be produced using inedible corn products that will be processed to create ethanol that will then be converted into sustainable aviation fuel. The fuel is expected to be produced at three facilities under development in the Midwest of the United States. The entire supply chain will be certified by the Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) standard which is widely recognised as the most robust certification scheme for bioenergy.

“When oneworld member airlines show they understand the importance of reducing fossil-carbon greenhouse gas emissions, they start making real change in the industry,” said Dr. Patrick R. Gruber, Gevo’s Chief Executive Officer. “Eliminating fossil-based emissions from the life-cycle of jet fuel is our mission. Net-Zero SAF is what we all want. I’m pleased that oneworld is on board.”

oneworld airlines can still source their own sustainable aviation fuel. Finnair, for example, has already partnered with Neste in Finland to increase its use of SAF.

“The high price and limited availability of sustainable aviation fuels still present challenges for increasing its usage in commercial aviation, and thus stimulating demand and supply is important to drive down the price of SAF and to increase its availability – underlining the importance of joint commitments like that of oneworld member airlines,” said Eveliina Huurre, SVP Sustainability at Finnair.