Emirates has recently partnered with Shell Aviation to ensure a sustainable fuel supply at their international hub in Dubai (DXB). Under this agreement, more than 300,000 gallons of blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will be provided to Emirates. It is the first time SAF will be supplied through the DXB airport fuelling system.
- Shell Aviation will supply over 300,000 gallons of blended SAF to Emirates for use at its Dubai (DXB) hub.
- The agreement includes Emirates using the Avelia platform for tracking SAF delivery and its environmental attributes.
This collaboration is part of Emirates’ broader commitment to environmental sustainability. The airline focuses on reducing emissions, promoting responsible consumption, and conserving wildlife and habitats.
Avelia Blockchain-powered SAF Solution
To ensure transparency and accountability, Emirates will use Avelia. This is a blockchain-powered SAF solution developed by Shell Aviation, Accenture, Energy Web, and American Express Global Business Travel. With Avelia, Emirates can purchase SAF and obtain the associated environmental attributes. This will help Emirates reduce its emissions from Scope 1 sources. Shell Corporate Travel will use the Scope 3 environmental attributes of the same fuel to decarbonize their business travel. The use of Avelia demonstrates how book and claim solutions can facilitate the sharing of environmental benefits between airlines and corporations.
Emirates Deal with Shell Delivers SAF to Dubai for the First Time
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “We are proud to work in partnership with Shell to make a SAF supply available for Emirates in Dubai for the first time, and to utilize the Avelia platform that provides business travelers the flexibility to align their sustainability targets and reduce their environmental footprint when traveling. We hope that this collaboration develops further to provide an ongoing future supply of SAF in our hub, as there are currently no production facilities for SAF in the UAE. Aviation plays a vital role in Dubai and the wider UAE economy, and we look forward to continue collaborating with like-minded organizations and government entities to look at viable solutions that introduce more SAF, a fuel that is currently extremely limited in supply, into the aviation fuel supply chain and support Emirates’ efforts to reduce emissions across our operations.”
Chu Yong-Yi, Vice President of Shell Corporate Travel, said: “Emirates and Shell have a long-standing commercial relationship, and it is fantastic to build on this to now work together on decarbonization. This agreement marks a step forward for the aviation industry in the UAE. Enabling SAF to be supplied at DXB for the first time is an important milestone, and a perfect example of how the different parts of the aviation value chain have a role to play in unlocking progress on SAF. We hope that this can act as a springboard for more action on SAF across the aviation industry in the UAE and region, delivering another step forward for our net zero emissions journey.”
The Advantages of SAF
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional jet fuel. It can be blended with regular jet fuel at a ratio of up to 50%. This results in a significant reduction in carbon emissions throughout its lifecycle. In fact, neat SAF (used without blending) can lower emissions by up to 80% compared to regular jet fuel.
Emirates, an airline company, has been actively promoting the use of SAF. They successfully conducted the first demonstration flight in the region powered entirely by SAF. This significant milestone followed previous successful flights using SAF blended with regular jet fuel.
Emirates has committed to supporting the production and supply of SAF. The airline collaborates with industry and government groups, engaging with stakeholders to promote the adoption and scaling of SAF. Emirates contributed to the development of the UAE’s Power-to-Liquid (PtL) fuels roadmap. The airline is also active in the UAE’s National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap, aiming to make aviation more sustainable and reduce carbon emissions.
[1] The actual carbon reduction estimate for SAF will vary depending on the production pathway. An 80% reduction is the upper limit of what is commercially available today. IATA, Developing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
