The Finnish company Neste has signed an agreement to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to DHL Express, the express service arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group, world’s leading mail and logistics company.
Through this agreement Neste has commenced supply of sustainable aviation fuel with immediate effect to DHL Express at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Earlier this year Neste established a continuous supply of sustainable aviation fuel to SFO. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation FuelTM has been made available for all commercial, cargo, business and private aviation operators at SFO, with commitments in place to use SAF from major commercial and business airlines.
"This deal will see DHL Express become the first cargo operator to use Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel on flights departing from SFO and will enable them to contribute to their climate protection target to reduce all logistics-related emissions to zero by the year 2050," the company said in a press release.
“DHL has set the goal of achieving zero logistics-related emissions by 2050. To reach this ambitious target and support our customers with their own vision of a greener supply chain in the future, we are exploring innovative solutions across every part of our network. Sustainable aviation fuels have great potential to further increase the environmental efficiency of our air network and we are therefore very excited to begin this collaboration with Neste out of San Francisco International Airport,” said Mike Parra, CEO, DHL Express Americas.
Waste and residue raw materials
Neste’s SAF is made from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue raw materials. Typically, in its neat form and over the life cycle, its use can reduce up to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil jet fuel use, the company says.
It can be used as a drop-in fuel with existing aircraft engines and airport infrastructure, requiring no extra investment. Prior to use, Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is blended with fossil jet fuel and is then certified to meet ASTM jet fuel specifications.
Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel annual capacity is currently 100,000 tons (approximately 34 million gallons).
With the Singapore refinery expansion on the way, and with possible additional investment into the Rotterdam refinery, Neste will have the capacity to produce some 1.5 million tons (515 million gallons) of SAF annually by 2023.
Neste is actively working with partners through the supply chain to grow the availability of SAF for the aviation industry globally. The fuel is already available, used in the market and supplied to various commercial airlines, business aviation customers and at various airports in Europe and North America.
