Emirates Operates Demonstration Flight Using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Photo © Emirates - Disclosure.
Emirates has operated its first milestone demonstration flight on a Boeing 777-300ER, powering one of its engines with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The flight took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB), and was commanded by Captain Fali Vajifdar and Captain Khalid Nasser Akram, flying for more than one hour over the Dubai coastline. The flight deck crew were accompanied by Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer, and Captain Hassan Hammadi, Divisional Senior Vice President, Emirates Flight Operations.
The demonstration flight powered by SAF holds particular
significance as the UAE declares 2023 the ‘Year of Sustainability’. The year
will showcase the UAE’s commitment to seek innovative solutions to challenges
such as energy, climate change and other issues related to sustainability. The
flight supports collective industry efforts to enable a future of 100% SAF
flying and help advance the UAE’s sustainability objectives.
Emirates’ demonstration flight, the first in the Middle East
and North Africa to be powered by 100% SAF, supports broader efforts to reduce
lifecycle CO2 emissions as the industry looks to scale up its use of SAF. The
flights will also help to refine the playbook for future SAF demonstrations,
and support future certification where
100% drop-in SAF fuel is approved for aircraft. Currently, SAF is approved for
use in all aircraft, but only in blends of up to 50% with conventional jet
fuel.
Emirates worked alongside partners GE Aerospace, Boeing,
Honeywell, Neste and Virent to procure and develop a blend of SAF that closely
replicates the properties of conventional jet fuel. At each blend ratio, a host
of chemical and physical fuel property measurements were carried out. After multiple lab tests and rigorous trials,
they arrived at a blending ratio that mirrored the qualities of jet fuel.
Eighteen tonnes of SAF were blended, comprised of HEFA-SPK provided by Neste
(hydro processed esters and fatty acids and synthetic paraffinic kerosene) and
HDO-SAK from Virent (hydro deoxygenated synthetic aromatic kerosene). The 100%
SAF supplied one GE90 engine, with conventional jet fuel supplying the other
engine.
The test flight further demonstrates the compatibility of
the specially blended SAF as a safe and reliable fuel source. The promising
outcome of this initiative also adds to the body of industry data and research
around SAF blends in higher proportions, paving the way for standardization and
future approval of 100% drop-in SAF as a replacement for jet fuel, well above
the current 50% blend limit.
Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer, Emirates Airline
said: “This flight is a milestone moment for Emirates and a positive step for
our industry as we work collectively to address one of our biggest challenges -
reducing our carbon footprint. It has been a long journey to finally see this
demonstration 100% SAF flight take off. Emirates is the first passenger airline
in the world to operate a Boeing 777 powering a GE engine with 100% SAF. Such
initiatives are critical contributors to industry knowledge on SAF, and provide
data to demonstrate the use of higher blends of SAF for future regulatory
approvals. We hope that landmark demonstrations flights like this one, will
help open the door to scale up the SAF supply chain and make it more available
and accessible across geographies, and most importantly, affordable for broader
industry adoption in the future.”
“GE Aerospace congratulates Emirates on this major
achievement. SAF is critical to helping the aviation industry reach its goal to
be net zero by 2050 and collaborations like this to test 100% SAF globally will
help bring us closer to this target,” said Aziz Koleilat, Vice President of
Global Sales and Marketing for the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Turkey at
GE Aerospace. “All GE Aerospace engines can operate on approved SAF blends
today and we are helping support the approval and adoption of 100% SAF.”
“Boeing congratulates Emirates on its successful flight
tests using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),” said Omar Arekat, Vice President,
Commercial Sales and Marketing, Middle East, The Boeing Company. “SAF will play
a critical role in the aviation industry’s commitment to be net zero by 2050,
requiring strong industry collaboration. We were proud to partner with Emirates
on these tests and look forward to further working with our partners to enable
the widespread use of SAF across the globe.”
“We are excited to apply our technology to such a milestone
demonstration. The 331-500 auxiliary power unit or APU is an integral part of
the Boeing 777 aircraft system. The APU provides main engine starting,
environmental control and emergency back-up systems for the aircraft on the
ground and in-flight. It uses the same fuel as the main propulsion engines.
Currently the APU is certified to run on only 50% SAF, so this demonstration is
a big first step in showing full APU functionality and capability when running
on 100% SAF,” said Mosab Alkubaisy, Director of Airlines, Honeywell Aerospace
Middle East.
Jonathan Wood, Vice President EMEA, Renewable Aviation at
Neste said: "Sustainable aviation fuel plays a crucial role in reducing
the emissions of air travel but to fully leverage its decarbonization potential
we need to enable 100% SAF use. Test flights like this Emirates flight with
Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel are an important step towards 100% SAF
certification. Neste is working closely together with partners to accelerate
the availability and use of SAF as we increase our SAF production capacity to
1.5 million tons per annum by the end of this year. We look forward to growing
the supply of SAF also to Dubai.”
“Virent’s technology converts widely available, plant-based
sugars into the compounds that make 100% sustainable aviation fuel possible,
without the need to blend with traditional jet fuel,” said Dave Kettner,
President and General Counsel of Virent, Inc. “Along with our parent company
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, we are committed to meeting today’s energy
needs while investing in an energy diverse future, and today’s flight is a
great example of this commitment. We’re excited about this opportunity to work
with our forward-thinking colleagues at Emirates, GE Aerospace, Boeing,
Honeywell and Neste as we demonstrate that we can power sustainable aviation
without modifying today’s modern airline engines or the infrastructure that
serves the airline industry.”
His Excellency Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO at ENOC
praised the achievement as it coincides with 2023 as the 'Year of
Sustainability', which was announced by the UAE’s President His Highness Sheikh
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It also represents a major step towards reducing
carbon dioxide emissions and achieving climate neutrality.
His Excellency added: “At ENOC, we prioritise working
closely with our strategic partners to implement a national roadmap for
sustainable aviation fuel. This not only aims to accelerate the decarbonisation
of the aviation sector, but also contributes to achieving the UAE’s goals in
climate neutrality, enhances the efficiency and conservation of fuel, as well as
positions the UAE as a regional hub for sustainable aviation fuel. Playing an
active role in supplying Dubai Airports with aviation fuel, ENOC Group is
participating in this achievement by securing and blending sustainable aviation
fuel, which will help to secure this type of fuel in the UAE in the future.”
Emirates is committed to supporting initiatives that help
minimise its CO2 emissions, and the airline has already made great strides in
fuel efficiency and conservation as well as operational advancements. The
airline also supports IATA’s collective industry commitment to reach net zero
emissions by 2050, and is exploring opportunities to augment operational fuel
efficiency, SAF, low carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) and renewable energy.
The airline already runs a comprehensive fuel efficiency
programme that actively investigates and implements ways to reduce unnecessary
fuel burn and emissions, wherever it is operationally feasible. Some of the
programme’s most significant initiatives include the operation of “flex
tracks”, or flexible routings - partnering with air navigation service
providers to create the most efficient flight plan for each flight. These
efforts have been ongoing since 2003, and Emirates has been working with IATA
to extend this routing system across the world as a standard operating
procedure where possible.
Emirates’ first flight powered by SAF blended with jet fuel
was in 2017, operating from Chicago O’Hare airport on a Boeing 777. It received
its first SAF-powered A380 delivery in 2020, and also uplifted 32 tonnes of SAF
for its flights from Stockholm that same year.
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