World leader in express services DHL Express and biofuel producer Neste have signed a long-term new deal to provide sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for DHL cargo flights from Singapore. Neste will supply 7,400 metric tons (or about 9.5 million liters) of SAF annually to fuel DHL's global air freight operations from Singapore Changi Airport under the agreement. The agreement, which runs from July 2025 to June 2026, is one of the biggest SAF agreements in the air cargo business and is DHL's first direct SAF buying agreement for departures out of Singapore.

This new partnership is based on a relentless growing collaboration between the two firms, initiated earlier this year with a vision for DHL to offtake approximately 300,000 metric tons — or about 375 million liters — of unblended SAF every year by 2030. Besides aviation, the whole partnership also encompasses exploration for the uptake of renewable diesel in DHL's road transport, marking a holistic decarbonization strategy in logistics.

Neste, sustainability-focused Finnish producer of circular and renewable products. Neste produces SAF, or Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Neste MY SAF is produced from renewable waste and residues produced sustainably like used cooking oil and animal fat waste. One of the prominent benefits of Neste's SAF. is that it has the same functionality as the existing airport fueling system and existing aircraft. engine, allowing easy replacement of current operation with no necessity to make any changes. The company claims that its SAF is capable of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 80% for the life of the fuel relative to traditional jet fuel.

The SAF to be supplied by Neste under this deal will be manufactured locally at its Singapore refinery, the world's largest facility to manufacture SAF. The local production capacity of the refinery not only simplifies the supply chain but also assists in fulfilling Singapore's vision of being a regional leader in sustainable aviation.

The agreement is also a landmark for Singapore's domestic climate targets. In 2023, Singapore introduced a package of measures to decarbonize its aviation sector. One of the key regulatory reforms is a mandate that every outgoing Singapore flight use SAF from 2026, beginning at a 1% blend. The collaboration between DHL and Neste will enable Singapore to make inroads towards this target and show the potential of private-public partnership to catalyze country-level sustainability initiatives.

Christopher Ong, DHL Express Singapore Managing Director, reiterated the firm's industry leadership in the shift towards cleaner fuels for the logistics sector. "With one of the highest use of SAF worldwide, DHL Express is setting the pace with more sustainable logistics and driving voluntary demand for SAF take-up. We are not only at industry standard but shaping the standard," he stressed.

This is very similar to DHL's 2021 launched Sustainability Roadmap, which consists of an investment of €7 billion over ten years in activities designed to lower CO₂ emissions. Some of the initiatives to be invested in are adding DHL's fleet of zero-emission vehicles, using sustainable fuels, and building climate-neutral buildings. In line with its overall climate goals, DHL also aims for net-zero by 2050. It also set milestone targets, such as powering two-thirds of its last-mile delivery vehicles electrically and ensuring that over 30% of all fuels consumed in all modes of transport become sustainable by 2030.

Neste's Senior Vice President of Commercial for Renewable Products, Carl Nyberg, highlighted the strategic importance of this partnership in Asia-Pacific. We look forward to extending our collaboration with DHL to Singapore, a major aviation hub in Asia Pacific. It is the culmination of the strength of our SAF production and availability in Singapore and reflects how we are collaborating with DHL around the world to support the company in meeting its air transport decarbonization ambitions through a solution available at scale today," he stated.

The SAF supplied by Neste will likely represent 35-40% of the overall fuel usage of DHL Express' fleet of five Boeing 777 freighters based at the South Asia Hub in Changi Airport. The large percentage indicates the game-changing ability of SAF to lower the carbon footprint of international logistics operations.

As the aviation sector faces mounting pressure to lessen its carbon footprint, this DHL-Neste transaction is a powerful indication of how partnership between clean energy producers and logistics companies can provide tangible, real-world solutions. With the ability for production and delivery established, this SAF arrangement is as much technological progress as pragmatic step toward facilitating more sustainable global commerce.