Renewable fuels company Aemetis has announced a multi-year agreement with parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to help power both British Airways and Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus’ flights from San Francisco Airport from 2025.
IAG will purchase a total of 78,400 tonnes of SAF over seven years, enough to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 248,000 tonnes – the equivalent of taking over 16,000 cars off the road – across the same time period.
The SAF will be produced at the Aemetis Carbon Zero plant in Riverbank, California. This plant is currently under development and will also be emission-free. It will be powered by 100% renewable electricity and is designed to sequester CO2 from the production process, significantly reducing the carbon intensity of the fuel.
British Airways is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions through a series of short, medium- and long-term initiatives as part of its BA Better World sustainability program. In the short-term, this includes improving operational efficiency, flying more fuel-efficient aircraft, funding carbon offset and removal projects to mitigate emissions on International Airlines Group (IAG) to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) UK domestic flights, and progressively introducing sustainable aviation fuels manufactured using carbon capture technology and waste feedstocks.
In the medium to longer term, the airline is continuing to invest in developing and scaling sustainable aviation fuel and accelerating the growth of new technologies such as zero emissions hydrogen-powered aircraft and carbon capture technology.
International Airlines Group was the first airline group in the world to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the first European airline group to commit to using SAF for 10% of its fuel by 2030.
