TotalEnergies is ramping up production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to more than half a million tonnes annually in the coming years as Europe heads toward a 6% SAF blend mandate in 2030.
To get there, TotalEnergies has built up SAF capacity at several of its refineries and recently invested €500 million into its biorefinery in Grandpuits, France, to transform the site into a zero-crude platform. As a biorefinery, the site will have a production capacity of 230,000 tonnes in 2026. TotalEnergies has teamed up with Germany-based Saria Bioindustries, which collects organic materials that will serve as the majority of the feedstock supply.
In addition, TotalEnergies’ La Méde biorefinery is on track to produce 15,000 tonnes of SAF for distribution to airports in the south of France, and its Normandy refinery has begun co-processing SAF with an annual capacity of 160,000 tonnes. Co-processing involves the treatment of both fossil jet fuel and biomass in a standard refining unit.
In Antwerp, Belgium, TotalEnergies began coprocessing 50,000 tonnes of SAF a year, but expects to expand that to 80,000 tonnes. Also on tap is a co-processing project at its Leuna refinery in Germany, with 50,000 tonnes a year planned for 2026.
These efforts come as TotalEnergies has signed a deal to deliver up to 1.5 million tonnes of SAF to Air France-KLM over 10 years. TotalEnergies also has an agreement with low-cost airline Volotea that covers SAF sales through 2029, and the company supplies SAF blends to several French airports, including Bordeaux, Toulouse, Paris-Le Bourget, Clermont-Ferrand, and Saint-Nazaire.
Looking to the future, TotalEnergies is partnered with Airbus and Safran on research, particularly for SAF blends exceeding 50%.
“TotalEnergies is taking action to meet the strong demand from the aviation industry to reduce its carbon footprint. Sustainable aviation fuels are essential to bring the air industry’s CO2 emissions down immediately,” said TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné.