Emirates, Shell Aviation sign agreement for SAF

Emirates announced an agreement with Shell Aviation for the supply of over 300,000 gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for use at the airline’s international hub in Dubai.

The first SAF delivery under the agreement is expected to commence before the end of the year, making it the first time that SAF is supplied through the Dubai airport fuelling system, says a release from Emirates.

"As part of the agreement, Emirates will track SAF delivery and its use data through Avelia, one of the world’s first blockchain powered SAF solutions. Avelia is powered by Shell Aviation and Accenture with support from Energy Web together with American Express Global business travel. Through Avelia, Emirates will purchase the physical SAF and associated environmental attributes to help decarbonise its Scope 1 related emissions while Scope 3 environmental attributes associated with the same physical SAF will be purchased by Shell Corporate Travel to help decarbonise its related business travel. By using Avelia, the agreement demonstrates how book and claim solutions can enable airlines and corporates to both share the environmental benefits of SAF."

Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline says: “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 utilise the Avelia platform that provides business travellers the flexibility to align their sustainability targets and reduce their environmental footprint when travelling. 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.”

Chu Yong-Yi, Vice President, Shell Corporate Travel adds: “Emirates and Shell have a long-standing commercial relationship, and it is fantastic to build on this to now work together on decarbonisation. This agreement marks a step forward for the aviation industry in the UAE. Enabling SAF to be supplied at Dubai 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.”

Earlier this year, Emirates successfully completed the first 100 percent SAF-powered demonstration flight in the region, the release added. "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 uplifted SAF for flights from Stockholm, and currently operates flights from Paris, Lyon and Oslo with blended SAF."