Emirates has taken delivery of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Shell Aviation at London Heathrow Airport. Over 3,000 metric tonnes of neat SAF, blended with conventional jet fuel, will be supplied into the fuelling infrastructure network of the airport* until the end of summer 2024.
This is the first time the airline will be using SAF to power some of its flights at London Heathrow and represents the largest volume of SAF it has purchased to date. Emirates is participating in London Heathrow’s SAF Incentive Programme, which ensures its affordability and accessibility for airlines operating at the airport.
The airline will be accounting for, tracking and tracing the delivery of SAF at London Heathrow as well as its sustainability attributes through robust reporting methodologies. The SAF that Emirates has purchased from Shell Aviation will be safely dropped into existing airport fuelling infrastructure and aircraft jet engines. In its neat form, SAF can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80%** compared to using conventional jet fuel.
*Mass balance is a chain-of-custody model that requires the documentation of the amount of SAF at each stage of the aviation fuel distribution network. While physical co-mingling of SAF with conventional jet fuel is permissible under a mass balance system, from an accounting perspective, the virtual share of SAF in the distribution network must be quantified at all points from the SAF’s introduction to the network until the point of loading into an aircraft.
**When used in neat form (i.e. unblended) and calculated with established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, such as CORSIA methodology.
Source: Emirates