Emirates partners with Shell Aviation to supply SAF in central Dubai

Emirates has today announced an agreement with Shell Aviation for the supply of more than 300,000 gallons of blended SAF for use at the airline’s international hub in Dubai (DXB).

The first delivery of SAF under the agreement is expected to begin before the end of the year, making it the first time that SAF has been supplied through the DXB airport fueling system.

The agreement is the latest step forward taken by the Emirates as part of its environmental strategy that focuses on three areas: emissions reduction, responsible consumption and conservation of wildlife and habitats.

As part of the agreement, Emirates will track the delivery of SAF and your usage data through Avelia, one of the world’s first blockchain-powered SAF solutions. Avelia works with Shell Aviation and Accenture, with the support of Energy Web together with American Express Global business travel. Through Avelia, Emirates will purchase the physical SAF and associated environmental attributes to help decarbonize its Scope 1-related emissions, while Shell Corporate Travel will purchase the Scope 3 environmental attributes associated with the same physical SAF to help decarbonize its travel. of related businesses. Using Avelia, the agreement demonstrates how reservations and claims solutions can enable airlines and businesses to share in the environmental benefits of SAF.

Sir Tim Clark, Chairman of Emirates Airline saying:

“We are proud to be working in partnership with Shell to make SAF supply available to Emirates in Dubai for the first time and to use the Avelia platform, which offers business travelers the flexibility to align their sustainability goals and reduce their footprint. environmental when traveling. We hope this collaboration will be developed further to provide a continued future supply of SAF at our hub as there are currently no production facilities for SAF in the UAE. Aviation plays a vital role in Dubai and the economy of the UAE in general, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with like-minded organizations and government entities to seek viable solutions that introduce more SAF, a fuel whose supply is currently extremely limited, into the aviation fuel supply chain and support the Emirates’ efforts to reduce emissions across all our operations.

Chu Yong-Yi, vice president of corporate travel at Shell saying:

“Emirates and Shell have a long-standing business relationship, and it is fantastic to build on it to now work together on decarbonisation. This agreement marks a step forward for the aviation industry in the UAE. Allowing SAF to be supplied at DXB for the La first time is an important milestone and a perfect example of how different parts of the aviation value chain have a role to play in unlocking progress in SAF. We hope this can act as a springboard for further action on SAF across aviation industry in the UAE and the region, taking another step forward on our path to net zero emissions.”

As a safe and fully certified fuel, compatible with the existing aircraft fleet and airport infrastructure, SAF can be blended with conventional jet fuel at a rate of up to 50%, creating an aviation fuel with significantly lower carbon emissions during its life cycle. In its elegant form, SAF can reduce life cycle emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.1

At the beginning of this year, Emirates successfully completed the first 100% SAF powered demonstration flight in the region. The airline’s first flight powered by SAF blended with jet fuel took place in 2017, operating from Chicago on a Boeing 777. The airline has also upgraded SAF for flights from Stockholm and currently operates flights from Paris, Lyon and Oslo with SAF combined.

Emirates participates in a variety of UAE government and industry working groups, along with ongoing engagements with stakeholders to help scale SAF production and supply. Last year, together with the UAE GCAA, the airline contributed to the development of the UAE Power-to-Liquid (PtL) fuels roadmap, driven by the UAE. Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the World Economic Forumand has been an active participant in the UAE National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap launched in January 2023 by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and GCAA.

News source: Dubai Press Office