Spain-headed multi-energy major Repsol S.A. and Irish low-cost air carrier Ryanair Group have signed a strategic agreement to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in Spain and Portugal. With this alliance, both companies reinforce their role as relevant players in the decarbonization of the aviation industry and establish a collaboration framework for the coming years to move towards sustainable air transport.
Although sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are a key factor in the decarbonization of aviation, they represent only a small fraction of current aviation fuel use worldwide.
With this agreement, the multi-energy company will provide Ryanair with access to a maximum of 155 000 tonnes of SAF between 2025 and 2030.
SAF plays a key role in Ryanair’s Pathway to Net Zero strategy and our goal of using 12.5 percent SAF by 2030. Achieving this requires multiple different feedstocks and production methods, and we’re encouraged that Repsol is looking at different solutions. This agreement helps Ryanair secure access to approximately 15 percent of this ambitious goal. Repsol is a key sustainability partner for Ryanair, and we look forward to building on this collaboration as our Group grows to carry 225 million passengers annually by 2026, said Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair.
Repsol is a pioneer in Spain and Portugal in the manufacture of renewable fuels for all transport sectors, including aviation.
By the end of this year, the company will start operations at the first advanced biofuels plant in Spain, in Cartagena, Region of Murcia.
This plant will produce 250 000 tonnes of renewable fuels per annum from waste, as part of the company’s ambition to reach an annual production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes of renewable fuels by 2025 and more than 2 million tonnes by 2030.
This collaboration agreement with Ryanair, Europe’s leading passenger airline, reinforces our commitment to the aviation sector, and it is another step in Repsol’s commitment to renewable fuels. A sector such as aviation needs solutions like SAF for the decarbonization process we are currently undergoing. It also consolidates our position as a multi-energy company with the objective of achieving zero net emissions by 2050, commented Valero Marín, Customer General Manager at Repsol.
