British Airways and Iberia parent IAG has unveiled its largest sustainable aviation fuel purchase so far, with an agreement to take 260 million USgal (984 million litres) of synthetic e-fuel from California-based manufacturer Twelve.
The ‘power-to-liquid’ e-fuel – or e-SAF – is generated by combining green hydrogen with carbon dioxide using renewable electricity.
IAG says the contract will span 14 years and the e-fuel will be used by its five European carriers, which also include Aer Lingus, Vueling and Level.
“This deal brings the scale-up of [e-fuel], produced using ‘power-to-liquid’ technology, one step closer to reaching its full potential in the aviation industry,” it states.
“[The e-fuel] does not face feedstock limitations, has a high degree of emissions reduction versus conventional jet fuel, and has a relatively low land and water-use footprint.”
IAG claims to be the first European airline group to disclose an e-SAF agreement.
Twelve is building a demonstration facility in Washington state, at Moses Lake, which will start supplying sustainable aviation fuel to IAG as soon as next year.
IAG says it has committed to be consuming 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, and states that the partnership with Twelve is a “major step” towards this target, with one-third of the fuel needed having been secured.
“Shortage of sustainable fuel globally continues to be a problem for our industry,” says IAG chief Luis Gallego.
“We would like to see similar projects [to Twelve’s] scale in Europe.”
Twelve chief executive Nicholas Flanders says the company’s e-fuel will have up to 90% lower emissions than conventional jet fuel.
