International Airlines Group has made its largest sustainable alternative fuel purchase agreement to date, with producer Twelve supplying 785,000 tons of e-SAF.
The deal brings the scale-up of e-SAF, or electro-sustainable aviation fuel, which is produced using powder-to-liquid technology and does not face feedstock limitations. Traditional sustainable aviation fuels and e-SAF are being used to reduce emissions in the aviation industry. SAF is made from non-petroleum feedstocks and can currently be mixed with jet fuel to lower emissions. The e-SAF, which is made from will reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% versus conventional jet fuel, according to IAG.
E-SAF is a synthetic drop-in fuel substitute for conventional fossil-based fuel, with the potential of more than 90% carbon footprint reduction over a lifecycle compared to conventional jet fuel, and is produced using water, clean energy, and recycled CO2 captured from large industrial emitters, according to the SAF+ International Group.
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The deal will support five European airlines part of the IAG, including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, and LEVEL. IAG said it is the first European airline group to announce an e-SAF deal, and the deal will buoy e-SAF use. IAG said e-SAF use was approximately 12% of the world’s supply in 2023.
“We have a roadmap to achieve net zero by 2050 including a target to fly with 10% Sustainable Aviation Fuel by 2030,” said IAG CEO Luis Gallego. “The shortage of sustainable fuel globally continues to be a problem for our industry although innovative companies like Twelve are an important part of the solution. “This new deal will contribute towards our 2030 SAF target. We would like to see similar projects scale in Europe, and we look forward to working with governments across our key markets to build a SAF industry to deliver jobs, economic growth, and a stable supply of SAF."
The deal comes as the SAF market is expected to reach new heights -- growing from $1.1 billion in 2023 to $16.8 billion in 2030, spurred by government incentives and airline sustainability targets, with a compound annual growth rate of 47.7%.
California-based Twelve is an e-SAF producer and has developed and patented a proprietary process that can produce high-quality synthetic fuels from renewable electricity and CO2. It is currently constructing a demonstration plant in Moses Lake, Washington, that will supply the first SAF deliveries IAG starting as early as 2025. The company joined IAG’s Hangar 51 start-up accelerator program in 2020 to commercialize its technology, starting the partnership with IAG.
With the deal in place, IAG has secured one-third of the SAF it needs to reach its 10% target.
