SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) mixed with regular JetA1 fuel tested on an intercontinental flight

It has been talked about many times of the environmental impact that world air traffic produces, both for the number of daily flights on short, medium-long and intercontinental routes, and for the fuel consumption per traveler that an aircraft expresses.

With a view to finding compatible solutions, between the need for global population movement and the need to contain pollution , a 100% vegetable-derived fuel, produced in Italy, was tested which could, through mixing with the normal jetA1 fuel, express lower levels of polluting emissions.

A collaboration that was born between an Italian company and an African airline that are carrying out a project that not only leads to completing the test phase on long-haul flights, but also allows a more profitable collaboration for the sources of supply of the vegetable raw material used.

The airline Kenya Airways underwent this test, which performed the first flight departing from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, arriving at Amsterdam Schiphol with a Boeing 787-800 (B787-8) Dreamliner.

For this flight, the JetA1 was blended with Eni Biojet produced in the Livorno refinery by distilling the bio-components produced in the Gela biorefinery in Sicily.

“The collaboration with Eni Sustainable Mobility for this first flight with SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) puts us on the course to test the use of fuel for the sustainable aviation in Africa.

The data and insights generated from the pilot flight will be invaluable to policy decisions, regulatory frameworks and industry best practices related to SAF.

This is an important milestone for Kenya Airways and the wider African aviation sector" said Allan Kilavuka, Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Airways.

“The supply of Eni Biojet to Nairobi airport is an important step for Eni Sustainable Mobility because it confirms how the company can support, even internationally, airlines such as Kenya Airways on their decarbonisation journey” declares Stefano Ballista, Chief Executive Officer of Eni Sustainable Mobility.

Eni Biojet contains 100% biogenic component and is suitable for be used in mixture with conventional jet (JetA1) up to 50%.

From 2025, for all flights departing from European airports, a quota of SAF will be mandatory.

For this KQ is working to take advantage of the current spread of sustainable aviation fuels, in accordance with the indicated direction by the European Union with the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, which sets targets for blending traditional fuels with more sustainable fuels in increasing quantities.

Eni also markets a fuel for the aviation sector containing 20% of a biogenic component, JetA1+Eni Biojet, for the supply of which it has signed agreements with airlines national and international, as well as with airports and operators in the logistics sector.

From 2024 the biorefineries of Venice and Gela will begin the production of Eni Biojet starting from renewable raw materials which will reach over 200 thousand tons/year.

This objective requires an important supply of raw materials, for which Eni is developing both a supply chain in Kenya for the collection of UCO (used cooking oils), working with companies and operators in the food sector and helping to manage food waste in a circular economy perspective, both a network of agri-hubs in Kenya and other African countries, to produce vegetable oils from marginal lands that do not compete with food production.

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.

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