Photo: Boeing
Fully-electric commercial aircraft and ones powered by hydrogen fuel cells are still far away, but the clean alternative based on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has literally taken off. After United Airlines recently became the first in the world to conduct a passenger flight on an airplane running on SAF, it’s time for British Airways to premiere green jet fuel in the UK.
It’s a time of historic new beginnings in the aerospace industry, and many of them are related to sustainable fuel, made from various waste resources, which is said to be able to cut CO2 emissions throughout an aircraft’s lifecycle, by up to 80%, compared to conventional fuel. The Phillips 66 Humber Refinery, located in North Lincolnshire, will become the first in the UK to produce SAF on a large scale as part of a new agreement with British Airways.
After being the first refinery in the country to make renewable fuel from waste oils, the Humber Refinery is now going to the next level by launching SAF production at scale for the first time. The thousands of tons of SAF produced here will be used to power several British Airways flights under a recent multi-year supply agreement between the two.
According to the airline, the fuel purchased through this pioneering agreement will result in CO2 emissions cut of more than 100,000 tons, the equivalent of 700 flights between London and New York, on the fuel-efficient Boeing 787. The sustainable fuel will be delivered to the airline through existing pipelines that are directly connected to UK airports.
This is just one of the steps that the airline has taken toward a net-zero carbon future, along with various collaborations for SAF production and purchase. Its parent company, the International Airlines Group (IAG), has announced an investment of $400 million over the next two decades in SAF. The Group wants more than 10% of its flights to be powered by renewable fuel by the end of this decade.
British Airways plans to launch its first SAF-powered flights at the beginning of 2022.
After being the first refinery in the country to make renewable fuel from waste oils, the Humber Refinery is now going to the next level by launching SAF production at scale for the first time. The thousands of tons of SAF produced here will be used to power several British Airways flights under a recent multi-year supply agreement between the two.
According to the airline, the fuel purchased through this pioneering agreement will result in CO2 emissions cut of more than 100,000 tons, the equivalent of 700 flights between London and New York, on the fuel-efficient Boeing 787. The sustainable fuel will be delivered to the airline through existing pipelines that are directly connected to UK airports.
This is just one of the steps that the airline has taken toward a net-zero carbon future, along with various collaborations for SAF production and purchase. Its parent company, the International Airlines Group (IAG), has announced an investment of $400 million over the next two decades in SAF. The Group wants more than 10% of its flights to be powered by renewable fuel by the end of this decade.
British Airways plans to launch its first SAF-powered flights at the beginning of 2022.
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