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Dubai-based Emirates airline has announced an agreement with Shell Aviation for the supply of over 300,000 gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for use at the airline’s international hub in Dubai (DXB).
The first SAF delivery under the agreement is expected to commence before the end of the year, making it the first time that SAF is supplied through the DXB airport fuelling system, the airline said in a statement.
The agreement is the latest step taken by Emirates as part of its environmental strategy that focuses on three areas: emissions reduction, responsible consumption, and the conservation of wildlife and habitats.
SAF can be blended with conventional jet fuel at a ratio of up to 50%, creating an aviation fuel that is significantly lower in lifecycle carbon emissions. In its neat form, SAF can reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.
Emirates President Tim Clark said: “We are proud to work in partnership with Shell to make a SAF supply available for Emirates in Dubai for the first time, and to utilise the Avelia platform that provides business travellers the flexibility to align their sustainability targets and reduce their environmental footprint when travelling."
In May this year, Emirates airline announced a $200 million sustainability R&D fund aimed to reduce the impact of fossil fuels in aviation, with Clark saying "with the current pathways available to airlines in terms of emissions reduction, our industry won’t be able to hit net zero targets in the prescribed timeline".
As part of the agreement, Emirates will track SAF delivery and its use data through Avelia, one of the world’s first blockchain powered SAF solutions. Avelia is powered by Shell Aviation and Accenture, with support from Energy Web together with American Express Global business travel. Through Avelia, Emirates will purchase the physical SAF and associated environmental attributes to help decarbonise its Scope 1 related emissions, while Scope 3 environmental attributes associated to the same physical SAF will be purchased by Shell Corporate Travel to help decarbonise its related business travel.
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)
