Air New Zealand has announced the purchase of over 30 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Neste.
The company said that the purchase is its largest contract for the supply of SAF till date.
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The SAF will be uplifted from Los Angeles and San Francisco in the US until February 2026.
Manufactured in Singapore, the SAF is produced from 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, including animal fat waste and used cooking oil.
It is expected to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80% across Air New Zealand’s lifecycle compared to conventional jet fuel.
Air New Zealand chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer Kiri Hannifin said that 1.6% of the airline’s total fuel supply for FY25 will be SAF. This meets the airline’s SAF target for the year and is more than four times the SAF volume used in FY24.
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By GlobalDataHannifin added: “As an airline, we are targeting using 10% SAF by 2030. We’ve invested in two feasibility studies to understand if New Zealand production from feedstocks like woody biomass could become a reality and we are delighted that it can be.
“We’re pulling every lever available to us because sitting on our hands is not an option. The climate crisis is worsening, and we are responsible for changing the course of action to protect our natural environment for future generations.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has noted a significant increase in SAF production, with 1.3 billion litres produced in 2024, doubling from 600 million litres in 2023.
Despite this growth, SAF only constituted 0.3% of global jet fuel production and 11% of global renewable fuel, falling short of the previously projected 1.9 billion litres due to delays in US production facilities.
In July 2024, Air New Zealand received its first batch of SAF in Wellington with a 500,000 litre delivery from EcoCeres and Exxon Mobil. The fuel is intended for use on domestic services from the city’s airport.
The airline signed an agreement with Neste earlier this year to supply nine million litres of SAF for its flights from Los Angeles between April and November 2024.
Last month, Air Canada entered an agreement with Neste to procure 77.6 million litres of SAF.
