As the world pushes towards the Paris Climate Accord’s goal of “net zero emissions” by 2050, the aviation industry has also made strides to try to decarbonise the sector by introducing more efficient engines and lighter materials in planes (so less fuel will be burnt while flying), and more recently, using so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
One might wonder, what is SAF? Simply explained, it is a term used by the aviation industry to describe an aviation fuel that is not derived from fossil fuels.
The International Aviation Transport Authority says these fuels can be derived from biofuels or fuels from alternative sources. Feedstocks for SAF can range from cooking oil, plant oils, municipal waste to agricultural residues.
Relative to fossil fuels, sustainably produced, unconventional jet fuel results in a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions across its life-cycle.
The advantage of SAF is that its chemical and physical characteristics are almost identical to those of conventional jet fuel, and it can be safely mixed with the latter to varying degrees, uses the same supply infrastructure and does not require the adaptation of aircraft or engines.
“Decarbonisation is the world’s single biggest challenge we face as a generation, and the decarbonisation of aviation is the single biggest opportunity we in the aviation industry have,” Domhnal Slattery, CEO of aircraft leasing firm Avolon, tells Bloomberg.
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At the Singapore Airshow, which is taking place from Feb 15 to 18, various airlines and aircraft manufacturers inked agreements to commit to using SAF to meet their sustainability goals.
On Feb 15, Singapore Airlines (SIA) became the first airline to sign the Global SAF Declaration, along with aircraft manufacturer Airbus, engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and French aircraft equipment manufacturer Safran.
The declaration calls on industry partners from the aerospace, aviation and fuel value chains to jointly work towards the uptake of SAF as an important part of decarbonisation, with the ambition to ensure a steady ramp-up over the next 10 years.
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The declaration is open to all airlines, as well as aviation and aerospace organisations, as a complement to their sustainability commitments.
In a statement, Airbus chief technical officer Sabine Klauke says the use of SAF allows for up to 80% reduction of CO2 emissions across the SAF life-cycle.
Klauke claims that all Airbus aircraft are currently certified to fly with 50% SAF and this proportion will be increased to 100% by 2030. However, she acknowledges that the challenge is to further increase and encourage the uptake of SAF globally, as well as to offer incentives and implement long-term policies that encourage SAF use.
On Feb 16, SIA finalised a deal with Airbus to buy seven A350F freighters, powered by Rolls-Royce engines, to replace its existing fleet of 747-400F cargo planes.
To further walk the talk, SIA, along with state-owned investor Temasek Holdings and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), selected ExxonMobil as its vendor to supply and deliver SAF as part of a pilot on the use of SAF in Singapore.
Under this pilot, SIA, with the support of CAAS and Temasek, will purchase blended SAF from ExxonMobil.
This product will comprise 1.25 million litres of unmixed or undiluted SAF, produced from used cooking oil and waste animal fats, and blended with refined jet fuel at ExxonMobil’s facilities in Singapore. This blended fuel will be delivered to Changi Airport by end-July, and all SIA and Scoot flights will use this blended fuel from the third quarter of 2022.
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SIA estimates the use of the SAF over the one-year pilot is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by about 2,500 tonnes.
Other agreements signed at the Airshow included a cooperation agreement on Feb 15 between Airbus, Changi Airport Group, global chemical and engineering company Linde and CAAS to study the potential for a hydrogen hub in Singapore. Under the collaboration, the partners will look at how hydrogen can be transported, stored and delivered to aircraft at existing and new airports.
This expands on an earlier agreement with CAAS to evaluate hydrogen infrastructure, widening the scope to include the airport and energy provider.
Airbus will provide characteristics on aircraft configuration and fleet energy usage, insight into hydrogen-powered aircraft for ground operations, and data on the estimated hydrogen aircraft ramp-up at airports.
The use of hydrogen to power future aircraft is not only expected to reduce significantly aircraft emissions in the air, but could also help decarbonise air transport activities on the ground, Airbus says.
In 2020, Airbus launched its “Hydrogen Hub at Airports” programme to jumpstart research into infrastructure requirements and low-carbon airport operations, across the entire value chain.
To date, it has signed agreements with partners and airports in Paris and Seoul, in addition to Singapore.
