Finland-headed oil refiner and renewable products producer Neste Oyj has announced that it has supplied the world’s first batch of Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) certified sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to a commercial airline. This was part of a pilot to certify SAF as a CORSIA eligible fuel that can be used by an airline to meet its emissions obligation under CORSIA.
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Neste delivered a batch of its “Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel” to American Airlines Group (American Airline) at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in California (CA).
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is a carbon offset and carbon reduction scheme to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for international flights, to curb the aviation impact on climate change.
It was developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). But until now, no airline in the world has taken delivery of CORSIA-certified SAF, making this delivery a first.
Sustainable aviation fuel is widely acknowledged as a key element in achieving the aviation industry’s goals of carbon neutral growth from 2020 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, said Thorsten Lange, EVP Renewable Aviation at Neste.
Neste has been working together closely with aviation stakeholders to accelerate the use of SAF and has a long-standing partnership with American Airlines, the world’s largest airline when measured by fleet size.
The pilot with American Airlines was a perfect opportunity for proving the feasibility of delivering CORSIA-certified SAF and gaining useful insights into setting up the process and the challenges we need to overcome to enable the implementation of CORSIA, Thorsten Lange said.
Both companies support CORSIA’s emissions reduction goals, but as the SAF certification process under CORSIA is new, they decided to set up a pilot project to certify a batch of SAF and use that process to understand its challenges.
American is proud to partner with Neste to demonstrate how SAF can meet the robust sustainability standards that ICAO has established for CORSIA. Our work together will also help demonstrate to American’s customers that SAF can meet these high standards, said Jill Blickstein, Head of ESG at American.
Compliance with the CORSIA sustainability criteria requires independent attestation by an ICAO-approved Sustainability Certification Scheme (SCS).
Neste decided to pursue this certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system.
Cooperation with American, ISCC, and all others involved was absolutely critical in achieving this important milestone. We will be sharing our experiences in ICAO’s upcoming Environmental Report. Because in the end, we need cooperation with all stakeholders within the aviation industry to achieve emission reductions, remarked Thorsten Lange.
According to Neste, its Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is a “today solution” for reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of flying by up to 80 percent – as calculated with established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, such as CORSIA methodology – over the fuel’s life cycle compared to fossil jet fuel.
Neste-produced SAF is made from sustainably sourced, 100 percent renewable waste and residue raw materials.
As a drop-in fuel, it can be used with existing aircraft engines and airport fuel infrastructure, requiring no extra investment to them.
