International flying uses 80 per cent of the fuel Air NZ uses every year. Photo / Bloomberg
Air New Zealand has launched a global search for sustainable aviation fuel (Saf) as none is now made here and there’s unlikely to be enough for the airline in the future.
Some overseas production of the alternative fuel critical to cutting emissions from highly polluting aircraft has been under way for years.
Saf makes up less than 1 per cent of world jet fuel supply.
Air NZ needs it to help replace about 20 per cent of some of the 1.3 billion litres of jet fuel it burns a year, mostly on overseas flights.
While Saf is not produced in New Zealand, Air New Zealand and the Government have invested in two feasibility studies looking at how and when domestic production would be possible.
Energy Minister Simeon Brown - who is also Transport Minister - said he was currently considering options, including the role of Saf to lower the carbon emissions of the energy and transport sectors as part of the development of the second Emissions Reduction Plan.
‘‘I expect make final decisions on the Emissions Reduction Plan 2 matters, including Saf, following a public consultation later this year,’' he told the Herald.
Air New Zealand’s chief sustainability officer Kiri Hannifin said that even if Saf can be produced in New Zealand, the airline will also need overseas suppliers to fuel its international network.
Through the launch of an opportunity statement, the airline shared its aims for Saf with the market.
Drop-in Saf is the quickest and easiest way of replacing standard jet fuel on large planes, although hydrogen could be an alternative in the long term.
Almost 200 airlines have signed up to Saf targets which means global competition for the new commodity will be fierce, she said.
The green fuel is in very short supply globally, and New Zealand - more than most other countries – relies heavily on aviation both domestically and to connect with the rest of the world.
“Air New Zealand is very aware that accessing Saf is essential and as such we are going to take all steps possible to do so, including this rather novel one to make a global call-out for supply.”
It was hoping the Government would introduce mandates, requiring all airlines operating here to use gradually increasing amounts of Saf, as a way of encouraging production of the fuel here.
Air New Zealand has a science-based target to cut carbon intensity by 28.9 per cent by 2030 and will need around 80 million gallons (302 million litres) of Saf a year to achieve this. The airline has taken two shipments of Saf to date totalling more than 2.2 million litres, which is the equivalent of fuelling more than 200 flights between Auckland and Sydney.
Each delivery represented approximately 0.1 per cent of annual fuel use in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Hannifin said currently, around 80 per cent of Air New Zealand’s Scope 1 carbon emissions are produced by long-haul travel.
“We must find a more sustainable way to connect New Zealand to the world. While we are exploring and investing in new low-carbon technologies for regional flying, such as battery-electric and hydrogen-battery aircraft, for long-haul air travel, only Saf has the potential to dramatically reduce carbon emissions.”
“We know we can’t leave any stone unturned in our search for Saf.”
Saf is made with waste or renewable energy sources and has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 70 per cent or more compared to traditional jet fuel. She said Air NZ’s search for global suppliers was also a way of finding out about new feedstock and ways of making the fuel.
The chemical and physical characteristics of SAF are almost identical to traditional jet fuel, so it doesn’t require different infrastructure, engine technology, or significant operational modifications.
Air New Zealand co-chairs the Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa (SAA) Saf Working Group as part of a public-private partnership to advise the Government here on accelerating Saf production and use in this country.
The International Air Transport Association’s latest Net Zero update says Korean Air Lines has announced a partnership agreement with Japanese global logistics company Yusen Logistics for a sustainable aviation fuel co-operation programme for cargo. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) launched the Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint in consultation with industry and other stakeholders, which sets out Singapore’s action plan for the decarbonisation of its aviation sector.
Cathay Pacific announced the addition of three new partners to its Saf programme. Cathay is also the co-initiator of the Hong Kong Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition (HKSAFC), seeking to grow Hong Kong as a regional Saf hub.
Japan Airlines has signed a partnership agreement with Yokohama City to establish and implement a system for collecting used cooking oil from households for its utilisation as Saf feedstock. This is part of the “Fry to Fly” project and will start mid-March.
In Europe, the world’s biggest Saf maker, Neste, and Amelia, a French regional airline, have closed an agreement for the supply of Saf. Amelia has been using Saf for all its flights departing from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol since January 1. Meanwhile, Norwegian Airlines has become a co-owner of Norsk e-Fuel, building up on the strategic partnership agreement signed in 2023, with plans to build the world’s first large-scale production facility for electrofuel.
Saf technology company Velocys announced that it raised $US40m in growth capital, shortly after de-listing from the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market and indicating a need to raise capital to continue operating.
Spain’s Cepsa and Apical Group’s Bio-Oils began building the largest second-generation biofuels plant in southern Europe. able to produce 500,000 tonnes of renewable diesel and Saf per year.
IAG announced its largest Saf purchase agreement to date, with e-Saf producer Twelve, which will supply advanced e-Saf made from made from CO2, water and renewable energy. Under the terms of the 14-year contract, Twelve will supply IAG with 785,000 tonnes of e-SAF to support its five European airlines. Emirates joined The Solent Cluster, a British low carbon investment initiative focused on low carbon investments established to reduce CO2 emissions from industry, transport and households in the South Coast of England. The Solent Cluster has the potential to create a Saf plant with an estimated fuel production capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year.
In Canada airlines, airport authorities, aerospace manufacturers, and industry groups, have written to the country’s Government seeking bold action in the 2024 budget to incentivize the Canadian production of Saf. Also in Canada, Azure Sustainable Fuels Corp, reached milestones in its development of a renewable fuel production facility that could produce approximately 20,000 barrels per day of predominantly Saf with first production targeted for 2027.
In the US, United announced that Aircastle, Air New Zealand, Embraer, Google, HIS, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Technip Energies are now among the 22 corporate partners that make up the airline’s the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, a first-of-its kind effort to reduce emissions and drive production of Saf through investments in startups, which now exceeds $US200m. New Zealand-founded LanzaJet opened LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels, the world’s first ethanol to Saf production facility. Located in Soperton, Georgia, LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels will produce 10 million gallons of Saf and renewable diesel a year.
Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
The airline sold its last slots at Heathrow in 2020.