Lufthansa Group has firmed its commitment to the Airbus carbon-capture initiative, following a provisional agreement last year.
The company had been among seven operators to sign letters of intent to take part in the programme.
Lufthansa Group’s contract covers pre-purchase of verified carbon-removal credits for 40,000t of carbon dioxide – comprising 10,000t per year for a four-year period.
These credits will be issued by Airbus through a carbon-capture offer service, with certificates available from 2026.
Airbus unveiled its scheme last year, in co-operation with carbon-removal specialist 1PointFive.
It uses technology which filters carbon dioxide emissions from the air and stores them in geological reservoirs.
Emissions from aircraft are offset by extracting the same quantity of carbon from the atmosphere.
Lufthansa Group says it was exploring this process “at an early stage”, and Airbus states that the German operator was “one of the very first” aviation companies to work with the airframer on the potential role of carbon capture.
“Technical [carbon dioxide] removal solutions like advanced and direct carbon capture and storage processes will play a complementary role in achieving our decarbonisation goals,” says Lufthansa Group head of corporate responsibility Caroline Drischel.
EasyJet signed up to the Airbus initiative earlier this year. Other operators among the initial group of seven include Air France-KLM, Air Canada, IAG, LATAM Airlines Group and Virgin Atlantic.
