Shell provided blended SAF for Emirates flights to the DXB airport fueling system, which was made up of 40% neat SAF and 60% regular Jet A-1 fuel.
From Dubai International Airport (DXB), the first Emirates aircraft using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplied by Shell Aviation have taken off. On October 24, Emirates’ flight EK 412, which was headed for Sydney, was one of the first to use SAF. 315,000 gallons of mixed SAF have been provided by Shell for usage at the airline’s hub in Dubai. Over the past few weeks, Emirates has been able to power several missions thanks to this first-ever supply of SAF to the airline in Dubai.
Shell provided blended SAF to the DXB airport fueling system, which was made up of 40% neat SAF and 60% regular Jet A-1 fuel. With no modifications needed, the chemical characteristics at this ratio are the same as those of conventional jet fuel, making it easy to incorporate into the current airport fuel infrastructure and the engines of the whole Emirates fleet.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said, “We’re pushing ahead with proactive measures to enable more sustainable flying now and in the future, and powering flights from our Dubai hub is just one of the steps we’ve taken to reduce emissions and concretely help our customers minimise their own carbon footprint. We still have a long road ahead, and we hope that our partnership with Shell Aviation inspires more producers to address the supply gaps and make SAF readily available in major hubs like Dubai, as well as other points on our network.”
When compared to traditional jet fuel, SAF, in its tidy form, can cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%* over the course of its life cycle. Emirates has moreover been monitoring the supply, application, and ecological advantages of SAF via Avelia, Shell Aviation’s blockchain-driven book and claim system.
Jan Toschka, President of Shell Aviation said, “Emirates and Shell have a long-standing history of collaboration, and we are thrilled to continue this journey together to enable SAF usage in the UAE. This first-ever supply of SAF to Emirates in Dubai is an example of what can be achieved when different parts of the aviation value chain come together. Our hope is that this milestone will inspire further advancements in SAF adoption throughout the aviation industry in the UAE and the wider region.”
Emirates and Shell inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) earlier this year to investigate potential areas of cooperation around environmentally friendly travel and technologically advanced travel experiences. Emirates is presently using the Avelia platform to offer transparent tracking of the environmental advantages of SAF for its clients. Emirates and Shell committed to collaboratively study strategies to reduce travel emissions for Shell’s business travel requirements. Additionally, they will be investigating methods to improve the travel experience by providing customised goods appropriate for today’s business travellers via the use of cutting-edge technology like New Distribution Capabilities (NDC). Emirates’ creation of these new NDC possibilities gives Shell the chance to be among the first to use this technology.
Emirates has a long history of focusing its environmental efforts on three main areas: lowering emissions, promoting responsible consumption, and protecting species and habitats. These efforts are still grounded in concrete, significant activities. One of the largest single pledges made by any airline to sustainability was the announcement this year of the creation of a US$ 200 million fund for research and development (R&D) projects aimed at minimising the impact of fossil fuels in commercial aviation. Over the course of the following three years, Emirates plans to establish collaborations with top companies that are developing cutting-edge fuel and energy technologies.
In January, Emirates conducted the first demonstration flight powered exclusively by SAF in the region. The airline has been actively pushing for standardisation and the eventual certification of 100% SAF, which is not yet authorised for regular commercial use, in order to increase industry knowledge of SAF use in higher blends, as well as its performance, safety, and dependability.
The airline started utilising SAF in 2017 on a flight from Chicago, and since then, blended SAF has been used on flights from Stockholm, Paris, Lyon, and Oslo.
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In order to help grow the production and delivery of sustainable aviation fuel, Emirates takes part in a number of working groups led by the UAE government and the industry as well as continuous stakeholder engagements.
