Bringing together a slate of regulators, fuel producers, fuel dealers, aircraft operators, and OEMs, EBAA today hosted its first European Business Aviation Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Summit. The sessions explored business aviation’s commitment to the environment, detailing how among the several pillars aviation has identified as crucial to its sustainability, SAF is the most promising and most immediate tool available to embark on the industry’s path towards fulfilling its decarbonization goals.
Frank Moesta, senior v-p of strategy and future programs with Rolls-Royce Deutschland, noted that while electrification and hydrogen will have their place, for medium- and long-range business jets, the gas turbine will not be displaced anytime soon. Thus, his company has been engaged in testing its engines at ratios of up to 100 percent SAF, he said.
Just as business aviation was an early adopter of air traffic management optimization technologies, many see the sector doing the same for sustainable fuel. “You have a role to play in this challenge to be a pioneer and to increase awareness about SAF,” said Marylin Bastin, Eurocontrol’s head of aviation sustainability. “If we want to reduce the cost related to SAF, if we want to increase the demand, and so on, we need to increase awareness and I think that like for ATM optimization, the business aviation sector can play the role of pioneer and lead by example.”