Emirates Uses SAF for Its Flights from Singapore

Our Bureau - : Jun 13, 2024 - : 10:45 pm

Emirates has started utilising sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for its flights departing from Singapore Changi Airport. This marks the airline's first investment in SAF in Asia, with around 3.3 million litres of blended SAF being incorporated into Changi airport's fuelling...

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As one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the airline is meticulously monitoring the delivery of SAF into the fuelling systems, attributing its environmental benefits using established industry methodologies. It had earlier this year worked closely with Neste to supply 2.6 million litres of neat SAF to the fuelling systems at Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

The SAF supplied by Neste is derived from 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste. This SAF can be safely used in existing Emirates aircraft and airport fuelling infrastructure, and when used in its neat form, it can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions (CO2) by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.

“Emirates’ investment into Neste-produced SAF in Singapore marks a first step forward in our SAF adoption in Asia, a region that is primed to become a leading supplier of SAF, which continues to be in short supply. While the activation of this agreement marks a milestone in our SAF journey in a new region, there’s still a lot of work to do. And as we procure SAF for the short term, we’ve got our sights set on longer-term agreements to help scale up a steady supply of SAF for our operations,” said Adel Al Redha, Emirates Deputy President and Chief Operations Officer.

“We are excited Emirates has started using our Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel at Changi Airport as the next step in our cooperation. It makes Emirates the first international visiting carrier using SAF at the airport produced at our Singapore refinery and supplied into the airport via our integrated supply chain. We are looking forward to continuing working together on scaling up the supply of SAF for Emirates’ operations,’ said Alexander Kueper, Vice President Renewable Aviation Business at Neste.

The airline currently operates flights from Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Paris, Lyon, and Oslo using SAF. The airline also integrated SAF into the fuelling systems at its Dubai hub late last year. In 2023, it became the first airline globally to operate two landmark demonstration flights from Dubai on the Boeing 777 and A380 with 100% SAF in one engine, in collaboration with Neste and other committed partners, supporting future certification where 100% drop in SAF is approved for commercial airline operations. Currently, SAF is approved for use in all aircraft, but only in blends of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel.

Emirates has also pledged USD$200 million towards research and development projects aimed at reducing the impact of fossil fuels in commercial aviation. Recently, the airline joined the Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA), based at the University of Cambridge, as an industrial partner. It plans to actively share its knowledge, data, and insights with AIA to aid the development of innovative tools and solutions to mitigate the long-term impact of commercial aviation.

Emirates is a member of the Solent Cluster in the UK, an initiative centred on low carbon investments with the potential to establish a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plant capable of producing up to 200,000 tonnes per year by 2032.

Furthermore, the airline is also a founding participant of the UAE research consortium Air-CRAFT, which is dedicated to developing, producing, and scaling sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technologies for the industry.

Emirates / Changi-airport / Sustainable-aviation-fuel-saf /

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