Airbus collaborates with DG Fuels to advance sustainable jet fuel manufacture in the U.S.
In a strategic move to advance the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the United States, Airbus has partnered with DG Fuels, a company focused on creating SAF from cellulosic waste products. This collaboration aims to scale up SAF production by leveraging DG Fuels' technology and facilities.
DG Fuels' approach to SAF production is unique. Instead of relying on food crops or prime agricultural land, they utilise cellulosic waste products such as forest residuals and other biomass waste, combined with renewable energy sources. This strategy aligns with the principles of sustainable biofuel production, ensuring that food security is not compromised.
The partnership between Airbus and DG Fuels involves investment and technology sharing to enhance SAF production capacity. DG Fuels' process, which converts cellulosic waste into SAF, will be utilised. This collaboration enables the sustainable replacement of fossil kerosene in aviation fuel, contributing to emissions reduction targets in the aviation sector.
This partnership offers several significant benefits:
- It implements feedstocks like forest residues and other biomass waste, which are renewable and do not utilise food or arable land.
- It supports the decarbonization goals of the aviation sector amid growing environmental regulations and industry commitments to net-zero emissions.
- It fosters innovation and scale-up of low-carbon jet fuels produced through advanced bio-refining technologies powered by renewable energy.
The collaboration between Airbus and DG Fuels is a significant step towards the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from long-haul flights and aviation fuel. The partnership supports DG Fuels' goal of launching the equity process and reaching a final investment decision on building DG Fuels' first SAF plant in the United States. The decision on building the first plant is expected by early 2024.
Airbus' use of SAF plays an important role in the sector's decarbonisation journey. Currently, Airbus commercial aircraft, helicopters, and military aircraft are capable of flying with up to a 50% blend of SAF. Airbus aims to make its aircraft capable of operating with 100% SAF by 2030.
The partnership is in line with the U.S. government-sponsored SAF Grand Challenge, which aims to reduce costs, improve sustainability, and expand domestic SAF production. The partnership supports the production of SAFs from cellulosic waste products and renewable energy sources.
Airbus offers SAF at delivery flights from various locations including Toulouse, Marignane, Hamburg, Donauworth, Mobile, and Tianjin. This initiative underscores Airbus' commitment to sustainability and its role in driving the aviation industry towards a greener future.
References:
- Airbus and DG Fuels announce strategic collaboration to produce sustainable aviation fuel in the United States
- Airbus and DG Fuels to produce sustainable aviation fuel in the United States
- Airbus and DG Fuels partnership for SAF production
- Airbus and DG Fuels to produce sustainable aviation fuel in the United States
- Airbus and DG Fuels join forces to produce sustainable aviation fuel in the US
- The collaboration between Airbus and DG Fuels is a step towards using cellulosic waste and renewable energy for SAF production, a strategy that aligns with both environmental-science principles and the aviation industry's decarbonization goals.
- The Airbus-DG Fuels partnership is a significant move in the finance sector, with investments and technology-sharing of environmental-science data-and-cloud-computing systems to enhance SAF production, contributing to emissions reduction targets.
- The technology utilized by DG Fuels converts cellulosic waste into SAF, which can be a sustainable replacement for fossil kerosene in aviation fuel, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- The partnership's intent is to foster innovation in the renewable-energy sector and scale-up low-carbon jet fuel production through advanced bio-refining technologies, ultimately supporting the industry's commitment to net-zero emissions.
