Air Canada Orders 9.5 Million Litres of SAF from Neste

(25/04/23)  Air Canada has strengthened its partnership with Neste, a leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), by ordering 9.5 millions litres which will be used to power flights from San Francisco International Airport.

The 9.5 million litres of SAF will generate GHG reductions of approximately 23,500 tonnes of CO2e calculated based on a full lifecycle assessment, equivalent to the annual GHG emissions absorbed by 28,000 acres of forest as per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency equivalencies calculator.

"Decarbonising aviation is more important than ever and Neste is committed to helping the aviation industry move towards a more sustainable future," said Michael Sargeant, Vice President Americas from the Renewable Aviation business unit at Neste. "We are proud to support Air Canada in working towards their ambitious goal of net-zero emissions from all its global operations by 2050 by supplying Neste's SAF which helps enable airlines to reduce their emissions. We look forward to continuing to work together as we increase our annual SAF production capability to 1.5 million tons per annum by the end of 2023."

Air Canada Boeing 787-9 reg: C-FVLX. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

Powering aircraft with SAF directly reduces GHG at the source and could reduce emissions by up to 80% over the fuel's life cycle, compared to conventional jet fuel.

Since 2012, Air Canada has purchased 2,399,435 litres of SAF and continues to work towards its goal of net-zero emissions from all its global operations by 2050, with absolute midterm GHG net reduction targets by 2030 for both its air and ground operations compared to its 2019 baseline.

"At Air Canada, we have adopted a multifaceted approach to addressing climate change and sustainability. Environmental and social factors are incorporated into our strategic decisions, as are our fleet purchases and daily operations through our support of low-carbon alternatives," said Michael Rousseau, President and CEO at Air Canada. "SAF comprises one of our core pillars in pursuing our net-zero emission targets. We have been purchasing Neste's SAF since February 2022. This latest purchase represents a five-fold increase in our SAF procurement year-over-year and is an important step towards our target of one per cent fuel to be SAF by 2025, supporting our journey towards our 2050 net zero decarbonization goals."

Through Air Canada's Leave Less Travel Program, corporate customers and cargo freight forwarders can purchase SAF, carbon offsets or a combination of both to offset or reduce GHG emissions related to business travel or cargo shipments, mitigating their carbon footprint.

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