800,000 tons of fuels of non-fossil origin. This is what Air France-KLM has committed to buying for ten years from TotalEnergies. The air transport company thus intends to achieve its environmental objectives. The two companies “today signed a memorandum of understanding” covering “a 10-year period, beginning in 2023,” according to a joint press release published Monday.
These fuels, made in particular from used cooking oils, emit much less CO2 than conventional aviation fuel.
10% less polluting fuels in 2030
For the airline group, the order is added to the contracts already closed with several suppliers (among them the Finnish Neste and the American DG Fuels) for 1.6 million tons of SAF, which represents a third of its needs to reach its objective of incorporating 10% of these less polluting fuels in its aircraft by 2030.
Air France-KLM aims for a 30% drop in its CO2 emissions per passenger-kilometre, the benchmark unit for the sector, in 2030 compared to 2019. Air France specified last April that this represented a 12% drop in their emissions in absolute value. , the difference being due to expected traffic growth.
Net zero CO2 emissions in 2050
Iata members, as well as States at the UN level, have committed to “net zero emissions” of CO2 for air transport by 2050, mainly thanks to SAF, whose production is currently embryonic. Iata wants to reach 30,000 million liters available in 2030 compared to 125 million in 2021.
Aircraft engines are now certified to run on blends containing up to 50% SAF, but this is currently three to four times more expensive than fossil-based kerosene. The key to lower prices is above all to create large production chains.
Source: BFM TV
