Singapore Airlines is the first carrier to sign the Global Sustainable Aviation Fuel Declaration at the Singapore Air Show this week, helping them along the way of their goal of net-zero carbon emission by 2050. The declaration was also signed by Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Safran.
What is SAF?
Sustainable Aviation Fuel is produced from sustainable sources like ethanol and used waste oils and animal fats. There is also up to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions and harmful particles compared to standard jet fuel. To date, more than 150,000 flights have been powered by SAF, with KLM being the first commercial airline to fly using SAF more than ten years ago.
The oxygen is extracted from the waste oils (deoxygenation) before going through a hydroprocessing phase to produce pure hydrocarbon fuel. The final product (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) is a 50/50% blend of sustainable bio-jet fuel and fossil jet fuel.
What is The Global SAF Declaration?
This new Declaration is open to all airlines, aviation, and aerospace organisations to sign up to. The objective is to promote the production, development and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel. This week, Singapore Airlines signed the Declaration along with aircraft engine builder Rolls-Royce and European aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Safran.
The Senior Vice President of Corporate Planning at Singapore Airlines, Lee Wen Fen, stated:
“The Global SAF Declaration reaffirms SIA’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. SIA remains firmly committed to our sustainability goals and has been actively advancing the use of SAF in Singapore together with our partners. Beyond SAF, we also use multiple levers to achieve our goals, including achieving higher operational efficiency and investing in new-generation aircraft. We will continue to collaborate with like-minded partners globally to work towards decarbonisation and environmental sustainability in our operations.”
From the third quarter of 2022, all Singapore Airlines flights will use Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as part of a new one-year pilot. 1.25 million litres of undiluted SAF, will be supplied by Neste and then mixed with refined jet fuel by ExxonMobil, who will be providing Singapore Airlines with the final product.
The Chief Technical Officer of Airbus, Sabine Klauke, stated:
“Airbus is committed to reaching the industry’s joint goals of carbon neutral aviation by 2050. Several levers are identified to achieve these objectives and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels is one of the major pillars on the path to decarbonisation, allowing for up to 80% gain in terms of CO2 reduction across the SAF lifecycle. All Airbus aircraft are currently certified to fly with 50 % SAF and this will be increased to 100% by 2030. The challenge is to further increase and encourage the uptake of SAF globally as well as incentives and long-term policies that encourage SAF use. The Declaration will support exactly that and Airbus is inviting further players in the industry to join the initiative.”
Chief Technology and Strategy Officer of Rolls-Royce, Grazia Vittadini, stated:
“Signing the Declaration is an important milestone for the aerospace industry. We welcome the opportunity to push for more SAF use by coming together across the value chain. It is important that we combine our efforts and focus into building the momentum required to drive this forwards. We are all big advocates for the development of alternative propulsion solutions including hydrogen, hybridelectric and electric and we also recognise that SAFs are a key building block to set us on our path towards achieving our long-term decarbonisation goals.”
Over Singapore Airlines’ one-year pilot, 2,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions are expected to reduce. What are your views on SAF and will you be supporting airlines who opt to use it?
