Morven McCrindle, our Executive Vice President Fuels, writes about how we are fuelling the journey to net zero and supporting sustainable aviation.

As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, we must look ahead at how we tackle one of the most urgent challenges of our time, climate change. The aviation industry has committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which will require several measures to come together. Next generation aircraft technology, more efficient airport infrastructure, and lower emissions energy sources such as electric and hydrogen are all being developed and gradually deployed. For the very near term however the most meaningful contribution to reducing carbon emissions will be the increased use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) over conventional fossil fuel (Jet A/A1).

SAF is a blend of Synthetic Blend Components (SBC) and conventional fossil fuel and is currently the only alternative fuels options available for commercial aircraft. With feedstocks ranging from plants, cooking oils, to waste, SAF must be made from a sustainable and renewable source, and its characteristics must meet the standards of Jet A/A1. Aircraft do not need to be modified to accept SAF, and today a maximum of a 50/50 SAF blend is permitted for commercial passenger flights. Although SAF does not require a separate distribution channel there does need to be a blend point somewhere in the logistics chain which is raising challenges ranging from quality control and certification measures to introduction of synthetics into various infrastructures.

The SAF landscape is evolving rapidly. Our fuel teams have already performed SAF refuels both in the UK and the US, and we have developed management of change procedures for the receipt and handling of SAF at some of our fuel farms. I am also pleased to share that we are the only fuel services provider that is a signatory of Clean Skies for Tomorrow (CST), which is a coalition of airlines, airports, and oil companies that are aligning efforts to accelerate SAF to reach a target of 10% global fuel supply by 2030 (currently 1%). As part of the coalition, we are participating in the workstream to help drive forward SAF technologies.

Beyond our work to support the SAF transition, we have also been busy trialling alternative fuels for our fuelling equipment, continuing to expand our research and deployment of electric refuelling vehicles, and optimise our fuel farms to reduce water/electricity consumption. This supports our All In plan for a fair and sustainable future and goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2033, our 200^th anniversary. All of these efforts are meaningful and gaining recognition with our customers and across the industry as we forge ahead with our pioneering pathway to support sustainable aviation.

More information on Clean Skies for Tomorrow can be found here.