SIA Group Aiming for SAF to Replace 5% of Fuel Requirements by 2030

Dark/Light Mode (14/11/23)  Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot are aiming to replace 5% of their total fuel requirements with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2030.

Given its potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80% on a life-cycle basis compared to conventional jet fuel, SAF is a key decarbonisation lever for the airline industry and critical to SIA Group’s goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“This is an important milestone in the SIA Group’s sustainability journey. The greater use of sustainable fuel will be a key lever in our decarbonisation strategy, which includes our continued investment in new generation aircraft and greater operational efficiencies. Together, this will put us on the path towards our net zero target,” said Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines. “However, we cannot do this alone. Deeper collaboration with partners and stakeholders, both in Singapore and around the world, is needed for all of us to meet our collective sustainability targets. We will continue to find opportunities to work together to support the greater production and use of sustainable fuel in the airline industry, as well as other decarbonisation initiatives.”

Singapore Airlines A380 reg: 9V-SKT landing at LHR in June 2023. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

As a member of Singapore’s International Advisory Panel (IAP) to develop the sustainable air hub blueprint, SIA has been playing an active part in the development of a decarbonisation roadmap for the country’s aviation sector.

Over the last few years, SIA Group has been working closely with partners, both in Singapore and around the world, to better understand the operational and commercial considerations that would support the greater supply and adoption of SAF.

The group also supports IATA and other stakeholders in their efforts to agree on the core principles of various SAF accounting methods which will increase trust that emission reductions from using SAF can be reliably tracked, traced and accounted for.

In 2017, in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), SIA operated 12 green package flights from San Francisco to Singapore that incorporated the use of SAF, fuel-efficient aircraft, and optimised flight operations.

In 2020, SIA entered a year-long partnership with Stockholm’s Swedavia Airport to deploy a blend of jet fuel and SAF through the airport’s fuel hydrant system on SIA flights between Stockholm and Moscow. This partnership improved the group’s understanding of the logistics and procurement of renewable fuels.

In September 2023, SIA, CAAS, and GenZero, concluded a 20-month SAF pilot under which 1,000 tonnes of neat SAF were imported, blended in Singapore, and uplifted via Changi Airport’s fuel hydrant system on SIA and Scoot flights.

An equivalent 1,000 SAF credits were generated through a trusted industry standard, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) Book & Claim System, representing approximately 2,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide reductions. The credits were offered to corporates and freight forwarders as an avenue to reduce their carbon footprint while supporting the development of a nascent SAF industry.

One of the major stumbling blocks facing the airline industry's sustainable aviation goals for 2030, will be the fact that there is simply not enough SAF currently available globally, and refineries, although confirmed in some instances, are yet to even begin construction.

The SIA Group said that discussions with fuel suppliers on opportunities to purchase sustainable aviation fuel are ongoing.

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