The supply of more than 300,000 gallons of mixed SAF will be provided by Emirates and Shell Aviation for use at the airline’s international hub in Dubai (DXB), according to a statement released recently.
Before the end of the year, the first SAF supply under the contract is anticipated to start, marking the first time SAF will be delivered via the fueling system at the DXB airport.
The deal is the most recent advancement made by Emirates in line with its environmental policy, which prioritises three things: lowering emissions, practising responsible consumerism, and protecting species and ecosystems.
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.
Emirates will acquire the physical SAF and associated environmental qualities through Avelia to assist reduce its Scope 1 related emissions, while Shell Corporate Travel will purchase the Scope 3 environmental attributes linked to the same physical SAF.
The agreement uses Avelia as an example of how book and claim solutions may allow corporates and airlines to both benefit from SAF’s environmental advantages.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline 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.
“We hope that this collaboration develops further to provide an ongoing future supply of SAF in our hub, as there are currently no production facilities for SAF in the UAE.
“Aviation plays a vital role in Dubai and the wider UAE economy, and we look forward to continue collaborating with like-minded organisations and government entities to look at viable solutions that introduce more SAF.”
Chu Yong-Yi, Vice President of Shell Corporate Travel said, “Emirates and Shell have a long-standing commercial relationship, and it is fantastic to build on this to now work together on decarbonisation. This agreement marks a step forward for the aviation industry in the UAE.
“Enabling SAF to be supplied at DXB for the first time is an important milestone, and a perfect example of how the different parts of the aviation value chain have a role to play in unlocking progress on SAF.
“We hope that this can act as a springboard for more action on SAF across the aviation industry in the UAE and region, delivering another step forward for our net zero emissions journey.”
SAF is a safe, fully-certified drop-in fuel that may be used in place of conventional jet fuel at a ratio of up to 50 percent to provide aviation fuel with much lower lifecycle carbon emissions. It is also compatible with the current fleet of aircraft and airport infrastructure.
Emirates successfully performed the first demonstration flight in the area powered entirely by SAF earlier this year. On a Boeing 777 departing from Chicago, the airline’s first flight using SAF mixed with jet fuel took occurred in 2017.
The airline now flies flights from Paris, Lyon, and Oslo with blended SAF and has also elevated SAF for flights from Stockholm.
