Neste, the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, has teamed up with Air BP, the international aviation fuel products and services supplier, in an agreement that will see the two firms explore opportunities to increase the supply and availability of sustainable aviation fuel for airline customers.

 

The innovative collaboration will see Neste’s knowledge and manufacturing solutions for producing and blending renewable jet fuel combine with Air BP’s customer relationships, expertise in developing efficient and effective supply chains, as well as their certification and product quality assurance capabilities.

 

One goal of the co-operation will be complementary efforts to bring a co-branded sustainable aviation fuel to market at airports across Air BP’s global network.

 

What is sustainable aviation fuel?

 

Sustainable aviation fuel is made by blending conventional, fossil-based kerosene with renewable hydrocarbons produced from, for example, recycled cooking oil. It is then certified as ‘Jet-A1’ fuel and can be used in aircraft without requiring any technical modifications.

 

Flying on sustainable aviation fuel reduces crude oil consumption and produces lower lifecycle carbon emissions compared to conventional jet fuel.

 

The only viable alternative

 

The aviation industry has set ambitious targets to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from air transportation, including carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and beyond, and a 50-per-cent reduction of net aviation carbon emissions by 2050. 

 

Currently, sustainable aviation fuel offers the only viable alternative to fossil liquid fuels for powering commercial aircraft. 

 

Collaborations between forward-thinking companies like Neste and Air BP will be needed to enable the aviation industry to continue to connect the world, but do so with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Proven technical ability

 

Both companies in the new collaboration have already demonstrated their leadership in this area. Neste’s MY Renewable Jet Fuel™ has proven its technical capability in thousands of commercial flights. It can be easily adopted by airlines without the need for additional investments in new jet engines or segregated fuel distribution systems. It is produced from renewable and sustainable raw materials, thus significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the life-cycle.

 

Meanwhile, Air BP has supplied BP biojet in the Nordics since 2014 at around 10 airports. Amongst these airports was Oslo, where Air BP were the first to supply sustainable aviation fuel through the existing airport fuelling infrastructure, in an earlier collaboration with Neste and other key Norwegian and industry stakeholders.

 

Kaisa Hietala, Neste’s Executive Vice President in the Renewable Products business area, said she expect the new collaboration would not only “provide a solution to better matching supply to increased demand for renewable jet fuel”, but would also deliver “distinct advantages to airlines by significantly decreasing their environmental footprint.”

 

Jon Platt, Air BP’s CEO further remarked: “The aviation industry’s carbon reduction targets can only be achieved with support from across the entire supply chain and, by bringing our experience and expertise together, we are looking to drive change by promoting and securing the supply of sustainable aviation fuel.”