Cathay Pacific is purchasing 38 million US gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to support its 10% SAF usage target by 2030.
The Hong Kong-based airline announced the signing of an offtake agreement with Aemetis for the supply of 38 million US gallons of blended SAF. The SAF purchased can reduce more than 80,000 tonnes of lifecycle carbon emissions, equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 1.3 million three seedlings grown for 10 years. Cathay Pacific will take delivery of the SAF supply over seven years starting in 2025 from San Francisco International Airport.
The agreement is also part of the joint procurement initiative for SAF by the oneworld alliance which Cathay Pacific is a founding member.
“Cathay Pacific continues to reaffirm its commitment to addressing climate change despite these challenging times. In the past few years, we have announced our carbon net-zero by 2050 target and our goal of achieving 10% use of SAF by 2030. In doing this, we have built a robust SAF procurement strategy to help meet our goals. We are pleased that this agreement with Aemetis will contribute to that effort, and we hope it will also send the right signal to the SAF industry to encourage the much-needed investment and scaling up of its supply chain,” said Augustus Tang, Chief Executive Officer, Cathay Pacific.
The blended SAF to be supplied is 40% SAF and 60% Petroleum Jet A-1 fuel to meet international blending standards. With production set to take place at Aemetis Carbon Zero plant currently in development in Riverbank, California, the SAF will provide significant environmental benefits compared to petroleum jet fuel, including up to 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis.
“The use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel by Cathay Pacific is another step by the oneworld Alliance towards lowering the environmental impact of aviation. Sustainable Aviation Fuel is an immediate solution to the decarbonisation of air travel and cargo flights, without requiring extensive new fuelling infrastructure or the expensive replacement of planes,” Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO, Aemetis said.
Based in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is a renewable natural gas, renewable fuel and biochemicals company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative technologies that replace petroleum-based products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
source: http://www.flightsinasia.com/article/5662?fbclid=IwAR31hyOMb7A5x4cedmmonXb0SLrmBnMLBq5Z_sbDbf5SxxgJxtaR9s8hlc4
