Boeing plans to increase its purchase of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) this year by 60 percent over last year, marking the airframer’s largest annual commitment to the greener fuel. The company will buy 9.4 million gallons of a 30 percent SAF blend to be used in support of its ecoDemonstrator program and U.S. commercial operational flights.
Of that amount, 4 million gallons will be delivered to Boeing’s fuel farms in the Pacific Northwest, with 2.5 million gallons of the Neste-produced fuel supplied by Epic Fuels and 1.5 million distributed by Avfuel.
For the remaining 5.4 million gallons, Boeing will use the book-and-claim process, with the actual fuel being delivered to airports near the production facilities but Boeing claiming the environmental credits. Epic will account for 3.5 million gallons of blended Neste SAF under book-and-claim, while World Fuel Services will provide 1.9 million gallons produced by World Energy.
“As our focus remains on safety and quality, sustainability continues to be a priority,” explained Ryan Faucett, the OEM’s v-p of environmental sustainability. “Sustainable aviation fuel is essential to decarbonize aviation.” He noted that SAF currently makes up 20 percent of the company’s annual jet fuel usage, and it is continuing to increase that amount to encourage growth of the sustainable fuel industry.