Cathay Pacific airline is marking another step towards meeting its 10% SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) usage target by 2030. Recently, Cathay Pacific announced the signing of an offtake agreement with Aemetis for supplying 38 million US gallons (144 million liters) of blended SAF to be delivered over seven years beginning in 2025 from San Francisco International Airport. The SAF purchased can reduce more than 80,000 tons of lifecycle carbon emissions, equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 1.3 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years. The agreement is also part of the joint procurement initiative for SAF by the Oneworld alliance, of which Cathay Pacific is a founding member.
Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is a renewable natural gas, renewable fuel, and biochemicals company focused on acquiring, developing, and commercializing innovative technologies that replace petroleum-based products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their products include zero-carbon fuels that can “drop in” to be used in airplane, truck, and ship fleets.
“Cathay Pacific continues to reaffirm its commitment to addressing climate change despite these challenging times. In the past few years, we have announced our carbon net-zero by 2050 target and our goal of achieving 10% use of SAF by 2030. In doing this, we have built a robust SAF procurement strategy to help meet our goals. We are pleased that this agreement with Aemetis will contribute to that effort, and we hope it will also send the right signal to the SAF industry to encourage the much-needed investment and scaling up of its supply chain,” said chief executive officer Augustus Tang.
The blended SAF to be supplied under this agreement is 40% SAF and 60% Petroleum Jet A-1 fuel to meet international blending standards. The SAF will be produced at the Aemetis Carbon Zero plant currently under development in Riverbank, California. The facility will use waste wood to produce cellulosic hydrogen and combine it with wastes and non-edible sustainable oils. It will then be converted into SAF using carbon-neutral hydroelectricity. It is scheduled to begin deliveries to Cathay Pacific in 2025.
SAF provides significant environmental benefits compared to petroleum jet fuel, including up to 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis, depending on the technology used. It is a robust solution to the decarbonization of aviation over the next few decades, especially for long-haul flights.
Aemetis chair and CEO Eric McAfee said, “The use of SAF by Cathay Pacific is another step by the Oneworld Alliance towards lowering the environmental impact of aviation. SAF is an immediate solution to the decarbonization of air travel and cargo flights, without requiring extensive new fueling infrastructure or the expensive replacement of planes.”
Cathay Pacific continues to pioneer the aviation industry’s transition towards the substantial use of SAF, especially in supporting SAF development and deployment in Asia. (Story and photo courtesy of Cathay Pacific)