Against the backdrop of the intensifying climate crisis, a surge in global passenger demand, and commercial aviation fleet expansion, the imperative to decarbonise aviation has never been greater.
SAF is pegged as a significant piece of the decarbonisation puzzle, with the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 85% over the fuel’s life cycle when compared to conventional jet fuel.
Today, on its A380 demonstration flight, Emirates tested one of its engines with 100 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to demonstrate its potential as a drop-in replacement that matches jet fuel’s technical and chemical requirements. This follows a number of recent SAF tests in aviation, as the industry ramps up action toward net-zero.
Test flight a key SAF milestone
For the test flight, one of four engines utilised 100 per cent drop-in SAF, composed of HEFA-SPK provided by Neste, HDO-SAK from Virent, and blended by ENOC at its facility in Dubai International Airport ahead of the demonstration.
In addition to the Engine Alliance GP7200 engine being powered with SAF, Emirates shared that 100 per cent SAF was also used in the PW980 auxiliary power unit (APU) from Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Commanded by Captain Khalid Binsultan and Captain Philippe Lombet, the demonstration flight took off from Dubai International Airport, and flew for 45 minutes before landing.
Speaking to ESG Mena about what the demonstration flight signifies, Edgar Steenwinkel, Senior Vice President of Technology, Virent, said: “I think the first step we’re witnessing here is that it actually works. There’s going to be a need to further expand the capacity. I think that’s what we need to do. But it’s about demonstrating that it actually works in an aircraft that is unmodified. We are demonstrating the drop-in nature of the fuel right here and I think that’s the first step of a very exciting future.”
The test also highlighted the importance of cross-industry collaboration in driving forward action, with Airbus, Engine Alliance, ENOC, Pratt & Whitney, Neste and Virent all partners in the project. But, as Steenwinkel noted, it’s “not an easy lift.” Currently, SAF makes up just 0.1 per cent of jet fuel, and while fuel is already an expensive commodity, SAF’s current supply and demand levels mean that it’s currently up to four times more expensive than its fossil fuel counterpart.
Availability, logistics and infrastructure
Indeed, on the tarmac at the demonstration, Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer, outlined that airlines will not be able to sustain such high prices and that scaling production volume will be a factor in reducing production and distribution costs.
Further, when asked whether the airline has set any target for SAF use across operations, Al Redha said it’s about “what’s available in the industry.”
Nevertheless, Al Redha forecasts change on the horizon: “We’re just at the beginning of it, and that’s why we’re not seeing the quantity we need, but I expect in the next five to seven years we will see a major step-change in this direction.”
This optimism was echoed by Zeina Chakhtoura, Customer Support Director, GE Aerospace, who was representing the Engine Alliance: “The will is definitely there. It’s going to be up to us collectively, as an industry, alongside governments, to make this happen.”
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” she added.
Availability, logistics, and infrastructure are also all present challenges to capitalising on the potential of SAF, Chakhtoura said, emphasising the importance of partnership within the ecosystem.
“Hopefully, we will have a standard in place in a couple of years,” said Chakhtoura regarding defining the standard for 100 per cent SAF. Indeed, while SAF has been used in aviation since 2008, and is approved for use in all aircraft, it is only currently permitted in blends of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel.
Further, as Chakhtoura outlined, this is not the first such event in the region; Emirates successfully completed the first SAF-powered demonstration flight on a GE90-powered Boeing 777-300ER back in January.
Likewise, the first Emirates flights operating with SAF provided by Shell Aviation took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) last month.
Momentum is no doubt building up within the industry, and SAF was featured as a key topic for discussion at Dubai Airshow last week, which brought together the world’s aviation industry leaders.
However, to reach the industry’s 2050 net-zero goal, a production capacity of 450 billion litres of SAF will be required, meaning efforts must massively ramp up to realise its potential.
There are also different SAF pathways to explore, and next-generation SAF holds a lot of potential, but again, overcoming cost barriers will be essential to scale these fuels and their impacts.