Top 5 facts about Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
At Bombardier, we are committed to leading the charge towards a carbon neutral aviation industry by 2050. Our current goals include reducing our annual greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2025. We’re doing this by covering all internal flight operations activities with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the book-and-claim system.
Do you have questions about SAF? Here are five important facts about the fuel of the future:
SAF is currently the aviation industry’s most viable path to achieving the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Compared to conventional aviation fuel (CAF), SAF can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80% on average throughout its life cycle.
SAF can be made from a variety of feedstocks, including used cooking oils and fats, agricultural and forestry residues, and municipal solid waste. Depending on the feedstock and how it is produced, SAF is considered a “drop-in” fuel, meaning it is fully compatible with existing aircraft engines.
Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and others have issued clear guidance allowing for the use of up to 50 per cent blended SAF. All Bombardier aircraft are authorized to use equal parts SAF and conventional aviation fuel in their tanks.
SAF has been made available for continuous delivery to a number of major airports worldwide, such as SFO, LAX, and NRT. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), SAF production is expected to reach 1.9 billion litres in 2024, approximately three times the quantity of SAF produced in 2023. While this is positive news, much more must be done by governments, investors and industry to ramp up global SAF production and adoption.
Is SAF unavailable at your airport? No problem! The book-and-claim system allows operators in any location to order and pay for SAF, while also claiming the GHG reductions associated with its use. The SAF they pay for is actually pumped into the tanks of an aircraft that is fuelling up at an airport where SAF is in stock. That operator pays for conventional fuel and does not claim any GHG reductions.
Read more about Bombardier’s commitment to sustainable aviation in our latest Environmental, Social and Governance report, released on May 6, 2024.
We’ll be publishing a series of articles on sustainable aviation fuel – watch for more content to come!