Scaffolding and green pipes encircle a refinery in Rotterdam’s port, where Finnish conglomerate Neste is preparing to greatly increase production of sustainable aviation fuel.
Switching to non-fossil aviation fuel with lower net greenhouse gas emissions is critical to efforts to decarbonize air travel. Which contributes significantly to global warming. Neste, the world’s biggest SAF producer, uses cooking oil and animal fat at this Dutch refinery.
Sustainable aviation fuels are being developed from a variety of sources, including municipal refuse, agricultural and forestry waste, crops and plants, and even hydrogen. These technologies are still in the early stages of development, and the final result is more expensive.
However, according to the International Air Transport Association, these fuels will help airlines decrease CO2 emissions by up to 80%.
Last year, global SAF output was 250,000 tonnes, accounting for less than 0.1 percent of the more than 300 million tonnes of aviation fuel consumed during that time frame.
“It’s a drop in the ocean, but it’s a significant drop,” said Neste CEO Matti Lehmus. “We’ll be increasing our production dramatically from 100,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes next year,” he continued.
There is obviously a market. The European Union intends to impose a minimum quantity of sustainable aviation fuel on airlines, increasing from 2% in 2025 to 6% in 2030 and at least 63 percent in 2050.
Neste has another SAF manufacturing facility in Singapore, which will begin production in April.
“We can meet the EU mandate in 2025 with Neste’s production facilities in Rotterdam and Singapore,” said Jonathan Wood, the company’s vice president for renewable aviation. According to Vincent Etchebehere, Air France’s director of sustainable development, “between now and 2030. There will be more demand than supply of SAF.
Air France-KLM has agreed to furnish Neste with one million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel between 2023 and 2030. It has also signed 10-year contracts with DG Fuels in the United States for 600,000 tonnes. And Total Energies in the Netherlands for 800,000 tonnes. Two massive storage tanks of 15,000 cubic metres remain unpainted at the Rotterdam location. They are located close a quay where fuel will be transported by boat to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and Paris airports.