An Airbus H125 helicopter belonging to State Grid Space Technology Co., Ltd (SGST) has successfully used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for a flight demonstration at Hefei Shiwan Airport in eastern China. This is the first helicopter flight using SAF in China. The H125, powered by a Safran Arriel 2 engine, flew at a hybrid ratio of 40% of SAF provided by CNAF (China National Aviation Fuel).
“The success of this flight is of great significance to stimulate SAF promotion and its application,” said Mr Du Guihe, Board Chairman of SGST. “It makes a positive impact on the enterprises which are proactive in low-carbon general aviation development. It is also a breakthrough for China’s general aviation industry to better implement carbon emission reduction in the post-pandemic era.”
The flight comes a few weeks after Airbus and the CNAF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to intensify Chinese-European cooperation on the production, competitive application and common standards formulation for SAF during French President Macron’s state visit to China.
