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How to successfully scale up Sustainable Aviation Fuel solutions

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is currently the best option for reducing carbon emissions in aviation, but the high cost remains a big barrier to widespread adoption. Here’s why and how partners across the aviation value chain are joining forces to fund the purchase of SAF, ramp up production, and decarbonize air transport.

Cracking the SAF ‘chicken and egg’ problem

Expanding the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) faces the classic ‘chicken and egg’ challenge. How do we increase demand for a high-cost but much-needed product?

Thankfully, progress is being made. In 2023, more than 490,000 flights used SAF, up from only 500 in 2016. And SAF production doubled – from 300 million liters in 2022 to 600 million liters in 2023. But that’s still less than 1% of global jet fuel use.

The cost remains high, keeping demand relatively low. Producers need capital to invest in new production capacity and reach a scale that competes economically with existing fossil fuels. But many customers are unwilling or unable to pay the price premiums necessary to fund these investments.

Here's the thing: we need SAF right now. The climate crisis requires every industry to decarbonize, and transportation is falling behind. Long-distance commercial flights cause the most air transport emissions and there are no real alternatives to SAF. Battery technology is not ready for long-distance commercial flights, and hydrogen power is not mature enough to replace jet engines in larger aircraft.

Collaborating with committed partners to drive demand for sustainable aviation fuel

How can we solve this problem? How do we create the demand needed to boost supply? The answer is by joining forces with like-minded companies and organizations.

Our most recent strategic partnership is with Standard Chartered, a leading cross-border bank. DHL Express and Standard Chartered have agreed to co-invest in SAF. This partnership is the latest in a growing number of collaborations aimed at increasing demand in SAF so producers are encouraged to scale up production.

Our journey to drive the transition to SAF has been built on partnerships from the very beginning. For example, we’re a proud supporter of the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition (now called Airports of Tomorrow), led by the World Economic Forum (WEF), and a signatory to the 2030 Ambition Statement. Airports of Tomorrow is the WEF’s flagship aviation decarbonization initiative aimed at addressing the energy, infrastructure, and financing needs of the aviation industry’s transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

One important project is developing a ‘book and claim’ system based on the SAFc Framework introduced by the WEF. This system is facilitating the purchase of SAF and proving to be a game changer. In 2021, we joined United Airlines’ Eco-Skies Alliance to test the SAFc concept. In early 2022, we started a three-year cooperation with Air France KLM Martinair Cargo to purchase 33 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel and announced one of the largest SAF deals to date: a collaboration with bp and Neste to buy more than 800 million liters through 2026. In 2023, we partnered with IAG Cargo to order 11.5 million liters of SAF and announced a seven-year agreement with World Energy to purchase 668 million liters, marking more milestones on our journey toward sustainable air freight.

Primary benefits of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

IMMEDIATE ACTION

To keep global warming well below 2°C, it’s critical to reduce emissions between now and 2030 (according to IPCC).

SCALE

Potential to increase global SAF production to cover 10% of the jet fuel market by 2030, if suitable investments are made.

AVIATION VALUE-CHAIN

SAF is the only “in-sector” climate solution for the air transport sector.

DROP-IN FUEL

SAF can be used right now in today’s aircraft, most of which will be operational for decades. 

What is sustainable aviation fuel?

Let’s take a step back for a moment. What exactly is SAF? SAFs are alternative liquid fuels that can be used in place of traditional jet fuel to power aircraft. Unlike traditional jet fuel, which is derived from petroleum, SAFs are biofuels made from sustainable and renewable resources (feedstock) such as used cooking oil, animal fats, and agricultural waste. In contrast to fossil fuels, which emit carbon that had been previously locked away in the ground, SAFs release the carbon that was absorbed by the feedstock during its lifecycle, making them carbon neutral. SAFs are also sustainable because the raw feedstock doesn’t compete with food crops or water supplies or lead to forest degradation.

SAFs offer several benefits over traditional jet fuel, including a significant reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lower particulate matter emissions, and improved air quality. SAFs can be blended with traditional jet fuel and used in existing aircraft engines without any modifications, making them a so-called ‘drop-in’ replacement for fossil-based fuel.

The aviation industry is a significant contributor to GHG emissions, and SAFs represent a promising solution to reduce the sector's carbon footprint. SAFs can reduce emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional jet fuel, making them a key tool in the fight against climate change. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that SAF could contribute around 65% of the reduction in emissions needed by aviation to reach net-zero in 2050.

Learn more about the sources for SAF:

You may be surprised at how many ways there are to produce SAF. © IATA

Sustainable Aviation Fuel in 2023

490,000+ Flights

Have used SAF since 2016

600 Million

Liters of SAF produced, up from 300 million in 2022

130+

Renewable fuel projects publicly announced by 85+ producers across 30 countries

70%

Average CO2 reduction when using SAF

Source: IATA

How do you buy sustainable aviation fuels?

The answer is similar to the way you can purchase renewable energy. Consumers can’t control the source of the energy piped into their homes. The same goes for people who purchase passenger seats or air cargo services: they have no control over the fuel pumped into the aircraft that takes them on vacation or carries their goods to market. That’s where SAFc comes in. Modeled after energy attribute certificates (EACs), which helped enable the power of markets to drive change and accelerate demand for renewable energy, corporations and individuals can purchase sustainable aviation fuel certificates to achieve their climate goals while simultaneously funding the ramp-up of SAF production.

So, how exactly do sustainable aviation fuel certificates work? Fuel producers generate an SAFc for each metric ton of SAF produced from sustainable feedstock. They sell the physical fuel and the virtual energy attributes as SAFc. Aircraft operators receive the fuel and claim the value of the direct emissions reduction (Scope 1). Air transport customers can buy the value of the indirect emissions reduction (Scope 3).

This is all done through a ‘book and claim’ accounting system that tracks and transfers the emissions reductions from sustainable fuels across the value chain. By buying and selling SAFc, companies can own the environmental benefits of SAF even though the physical fuel might not end up in the aircraft that carriers their goods. The system gives everyone in the industry, regardless of location or size, access to the market. DHL Global Forwarding first piloted the system with select customers before making it available to all in February 2022. In 2023, DHL Express launched GoGreen Plus, which also allows customers to reduce the carbon emissions associated with their cargo using SAF.

We’re also working with Neste and ISCC to develop a new system through which airlines, logistics providers, and end customer can credibly report emissions reductions when the purchase SAF.


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How do we scale up the production of sustainable aviation fuels?

As mentioned above, we have to work together across the aviation value chain to make this model a real game changer. Together with our partners, we’re purchasing the SAF available now and placing orders for more – orders that suppliers don’t even have the capacity yet to fill. Why are we doing this? Because it’s the only way to stimulate the changes needed to create an SAF marketplace – to drive up the demand for and, in turn, the supply of sustainable aviation fuel.

For example, the United Airlines’ Eco-Skies Alliance was a first-of-its-kind program to reduce our environmental impact while helping United make flying more sustainable. In 2021, the  alliance purchased the environmental benefits of 3.4 million gallons (12.87 million liters) of SAF. That eliminated about 31,000 metric tons of GHG emissions over the lifecycle, compared to the use of conventional jet fuel.

And that was just the start. With bp and Neste alone, we will save approx. 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) over the aviation fuel lifecycle. With that amount, we could fuel 1,000 flights per year between our Cincinnati (USA) and Leipzig (Germany) hubs for about 12 years! And together with World Energy, we will avoid approx. 1.9 million metric tons of CO2e over the lifecycle. That’s equivalent to a fully loaded Boeing 744 jumbo air freighter circumnavigating the globe 3,700 times!

How do we share the benefits with our customers? By using the ‘book and claim’ system mentioned above. For example, both our DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Express divisions offer GoGreen Plus. This allows customers to claim the environmental benefits associated SAF and reduce their carbon footprint.

The real benefits of SAF

bp and Neste

800 MILLION

LITERS SAF ORDERED

2 MILLION

MERTIC TONS REDUCED GHG EMISSIONS

1,000 x 12

EQUIVALENT FLIGHTS PER YEAR POWERED BY SAF FOR 12 YEARS

World Energy

668 MILLION

LITERS SAF ORDERED

1.7 MILLION

METRIC TONS REDUCED GHG EMISSIONS

77,000

DHL EXPRESS AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS IN THE AMERICAS REGION FUELED FOR A FULL YEAR (EQUIVALENT)

Source: Partnerships with bp and Neste and World Energy

Participating in programs like United’s Eco-Skies Alliance and working together with trusted partners like Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, bp, Neste, IAG Cargo, and World Energy is one pillar of our carbon insetting strategy, which aims to reduce and neutralize the emissions where they are emitted. It also aligns perfectly with our plans to increase our use of SAFs to more than 30% by 2030. If others do the same, the supply of sustainable aviation fuel should increase rapidly, and the price should fall accordingly.

Clean skies ahead

We can't create a lasting positive impact unless we follow a clear strategy. That's why our roadmap to sustainability focuses on meeting three key commitments: Clean operations for climate protection. Great company to work for all. Highly trusted company.

One company alone cannot scale up sustainable aviation fuel solutions and decarbonize air transport, but we can help lead the industry in the right direction. That’s why we’ve drawn a Sustainability Roadmap for our Mission 2050. By 2050, we aim to reduce all logistics-related emissions to zero. And we are well underway. Compared to 2007, we have improved our carbon efficiency by 37%. And we’re investing €7 billion through 2030 in clean operations to continuously reduce our carbon footprint.

Collaborating with committed partners and offering customers more sustainable solutions is all part of the plan – and each partnership is an all-important milestone on our own sustainability journey.

Updated: March 2024

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