Airbus has become a strategic partner with DG Fuels LLC (DGF). DGFs plant aims to have an initial production capacity of 120 million US gallons (454 million litres) of SAF per year on average, which could save approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually from 2026. DGF’s fuel production system is based entirely on cellulosic waste products, such as wood waste from the logging industry, and renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power.
“Sustainable aviation fuels play a crucial role in enabling aviation’s decarbonisation roadmap. We are committed to supporting all efforts that contribute to making them available at scale around the globe,” said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. “The partnership with DG Fuels supports the emergence of a new technological pathway allowing for the production of SAFs from a broader range of waste and residue sources, first in the US with a potential for large-scale production worldwide.”
In 2016, Airbus became the first aircraft manufacturer to offer customers SAF at delivery flights. Today, aircraft and helicopters leave Airbus delivery centres with SAF onboard from Toulouse and Marignane in France, Hamburg and Donauworth in Germany, Mobile in the USA, and, most recently, Tianjin, China. Airbus operations and logistics are also carried out with SAF, including its fleet of Belugas from 2019. Airbus’s commercial aircraft, helicopters and military aircraft are capable of flying with an up to 50% blend of SAF mixed with kerosene and will be capable of operating with 100% SAF by 2030. This capability will play an important role in the sector’s decarbonisation journey.
