International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Vueling and LEVEL, has announced a major new partnership with Infinium, a manufacturer of sustainable aviation fuel, with plans to purchase commercial volumes of synthetic aviation fuel known as eSAF from Infinium over the next decade. Infinium is a California-based company that makes eFuels from renewable power and waste carbon dioxide. Their fuel is naturally sourced; it does not depend on fossil fuels or other feedstocks which could compete with food resources. Therefore, the alternative to conventional jet fuel is more sustainable.
Infinium produces eSAF using a combination of water, waste CO2, and renewable energy. This promising fuel offers a possibility to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by about 90% compared with conventional jet fuel. eSAF is superior to standard SAF since it’s less limited by the availability of specific feedstocks, and it has a relatively low land and water footprint. Most importantly, eSAF has a much greater potential for emissions reduction compared to traditional jet fuel, and this makes it the best so far in the aviation industry’s efforts towards decarbonization.
The IAG will use eSAF, which is set to be produced at Infinium’s Project Roadrunner facility, in west Texas, United States. Upon completion, Project Roadrunner is set to become the world’s largest producer of eSAF. The project will see the conversion of an existing GTL plant into an eFuels production plant that will utilize the CO2 emissions from local processing operations to produce eSAF. Besides eSAF, the facility will also produce eDiesel for the trucking and maritime industries and eNaphtha for low-carbon plastic production, thereby posing a crucial step toward carbon footprint reduction in multiple industries.
Robert Schuetzle is the CEO of Infinium. “We are proud to have entered into this partnership with IAG, a long-term agreement which will help propel the ramp-up in the production of eSAF,” he says. Such collaborations are critical to driving the growth of the eFuels industry and present an alternative to both traditional fossil fuels and earlier generations of SAF while being critical to achieving the sustainability goals of the aviation sector.
The deal with Infinium forms a part of IAG’s continued quest to achieve its ambitious sustainability goals. The combined airlines of IAG consumed nearly 12% of the total SAF consumed globally last year. That’s how seriously IAG is committed to carbon footprint reduction. IAG has done heavy investments in sustainability, including new aircraft technologies, fuel efficiency initiatives, and carbon removal projects in attempts to reduce emissions from its operation. For example, by 2030, the company aims to attain 10% SAF usage and yearly consumption of 1 million tonnes of SAF. IAG has planned to achieve zero net emissions by 2050.
IAG has been able to achieve substantial progress on the way to success. The company reported that it has reportedly acquired a third of the amount of SAF it needs to reach its 2030 target and spent over $1 billion on SAF to date. Jonathon Counsell, IAG’s Group Sustainability Officer, highlighted that agreements with innovators like Infinium are key to achieving the company’s SAF goals. He stressed the importance of continued investment in SAF and other sustainable technologies to ensure the aviation industry’s long-term decarbonization. Counsell also made the point that policies should focus on supporting solutions such as SAF rather than imposing cost increases that could negatively affect the competitiveness of Europe’s air transport industry. He called for more policy support to attract funding towards the construction of SAF plants and reducing the sector’s reliance on fossil fuels.
The aviation industry as a whole is increasingly getting squeezed by the need to reduce carbon emissions, and SAF is among the most exciting solutions. With the increasing global demand for sustainable aviation practices, partnerships between IAG and Infinium have recently become much more important. Overall, SAF and specifically eSAF have a strong potential to help the aviation sector achieve its sustainability objectives while still fulfilling demand for air travel globally.
This new partnership will help IAG strengthen its position as one of the leaders in the airline industry’s push toward decarbonization. It’s very clear that the partnership with Infinium is a clear step toward the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels across the industry. The innovation will play a major role in which it will also hasten the aviation sector toward a more sustainable future. The commitment and collaboration will be important factors for advancing the transition to cleaner, more sustainable aviation technologies.