Emirates operates key demonstration flight with 100 pc Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Emirates joins UAE declaration of 2023 as ‘Year of Sustainability’
2023-02-01
/
/ New Delhi
MarketsandMarkets. SAF Aviation fuel
Emirates operates key demonstration flight with 100 pc Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Emirates Airlines has joined in the effort of the UAE government to promote 2023 as the Year of Sustainability

Dubai-based carrier, Emirates Airlines, has joined in the effort of the United Arab Emirates government to promote 2023 as the Year of Sustainability as it operates first demonstration flight in Middle East and North Africa to be powered by 100 pc Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
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Emirates Airlines says it has operated its first milestone demonstration flight on a Boeing 777-300ER, powering one of its engines with 100 pc Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). According to a press statement issued by the airline, the flight took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB), and was commanded by Captain Fali Vajifdar and Captain Khalid Nasser Akram, flying for more than one hour over the Dubai coastline.

The statement adds that the flight deck crew were accompanied by Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer, and Captain Hassan Hammadi, Divisional Senior Vice President, Emirates Flight Operations.

The statement adds that the demonstration flight powered by SAF holds particular significance as the UAE declares 2023 the ‘Year of Sustainability’. The year will showcase the UAE’s commitment to seek innovative solutions to challenges such as energy, climate change and other issues related to sustainability. The flight supports collective industry efforts to enable a future of 100 pc SAF flying and help advance the UAE’s sustainability objectives.

The airline says that its demonstration flight, the first in the Middle East and North Africa to be powered by 100 pc SAF, supports broader efforts to reduce lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions as the industry looks to scale up its use of SAF. The flights will also help to refine the playbook for future SAF demonstrations, and support future certification where 100 pc drop-in SAF fuel is approved for aircraft. Currently, SAF is approved for use in all aircraft, but only in blends of up to 50 pc with conventional jet fuel.

Emirates says it worked alongside partners GE Aerospace, Boeing, Honeywell, Neste and Virent to procure and develop a blend of SAF that closely replicates the properties of conventional jet fuel. At each blend ratio, a host of chemical and physical fuel property measurements were carried out.  After multiple lab tests and rigorous trials, they arrived at a blending ratio that mirrored the qualities of jet fuel. Eighteen tonnes of SAF were blended, comprised of HEFA-SPK provided by Neste and HDO-SAK from Virent. The 100 pc SAF supplied one GE90 engine, with conventional jet fuel supplying the other engine, says the airline.

The test flight further demonstrates the compatibility of the specially blended SAF as a safe and reliable fuel source. The promising outcome of this initiative also adds to the body of industry data and research around SAF blends in higher proportions, paving the way for standardization and future approval of 100 pc drop-in SAF as a replacement for jet fuel, well above the current 50 pc blend limit, adds the press statement.

Adel Al Redha

Adel Al Redha

“This flight is a milestone moment for Emirates and a positive step for our industry as we work collectively to address one of our biggest challenges – reducing our carbon footprint. It has been a long journey to finally see this demonstration 100 pc SAF flight take off. Emirates is the first passenger airline in the world to operate a Boeing 777 powering a GE engine with 100 pc SAF. Such initiatives are critical contributors to industry knowledge on SAF, and provide data to demonstrate the use of higher blends of SAF for future regulatory approvals. We hope that landmark demonstrations flights like this one, will help open the door to scale up the SAF supply chain and make it more available and accessible across geographies, and most importantly, affordable for broader industry adoption in the future,” says Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer, Emirates Airline.

Aziz Koleilat

Aziz Koleilat

“GE Aerospace congratulates Emirates on this major achievement. SAF is critical to helping the aviation industry reach its goal to be net zero by 2050 and collaborations like this to test 100 pc SAF globally will help bring us closer to this target. “All GE Aerospace engines can operate on approved SAF blends today and we are helping support the approval and adoption of 100 pc SAF,” says Aziz Koleilat, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Turkey at GE Aerospace.

Omar Arekat

“Boeing congratulates Emirates on its successful flight tests using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which will play a critical role in the aviation industry’s commitment to be net zero by 2050, requiring strong industry collaboration. We were proud to partner with Emirates on these tests and look forward to further working with our partners to enable the widespread use of SAF across the globe,” says Omar Arekat, Vice President, Commercial Sales and Marketing, Middle East, The Boeing Company.

Mosab Alkubaisy

Mosab Alkubaisy

“We are excited to apply our technology to such a milestone demonstration. The 331-500 auxiliary power unit or APU is an integral part of the Boeing 777 aircraft system. The APU provides main engine starting, environmental control and emergency back-up systems for the aircraft on the ground and in-flight. It uses the same fuel as the main propulsion engines. Currently the APU is certified to run on only 50% SAF, so this demonstration is a big first step in showing full APU functionality and capability when running on 100 pc SAF,” says Mosab Alkubaisy, Director of Airlines, Honeywell Aerospace Middle East.

Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO at ENOC praised the achievement as it coincides with 2023 as the ‘Year of Sustainability’, which was announced by the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It also represents a major step towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions and achieving climate neutrality, says the statement.

Emirates says it is committed to supporting initiatives that help minimise its carbon emissions, and that the airline has already made great strides in fuel efficiency and conservation as well as operational advancements. The airline also supports IATA’s collective industry commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and is exploring opportunities to augment operational fuel efficiency, SAF, low carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) and renewable energy.

The airline says it already runs a comprehensive fuel efficiency programme that actively investigates and implements ways to reduce unnecessary fuel burn and emissions, wherever it is operationally feasible. Some of the programme’s most significant initiatives include the operation of “flex tracks”, or flexible routings – partnering with air navigation service providers to create the most efficient flight plan for each flight. These efforts have been ongoing since 2003, and Emirates has been working with IATA to extend this routing system across the world as a standard operating procedure where possible.

Emirates’ first flight powered by SAF blended with jet fuel was in 2017, operating from Chicago O’Hare airport on a Boeing 777. It received its first SAF-powered A380 delivery in 2020, and also uplifted 32 tonnes of SAF for its flights from Stockholm that same year.

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