China has made its first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)-powered helicopter flight. The 40 percent SAF blend from China National Aviation Fuel (CNAF) was used in an Airbus Helicopters H125 belonging to State Grid Space Technology Co. (SGST).
The flight was made a few weeks after Airbus and the CNAF signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to intensify Chinese-European cooperation on the production, application, and common standards formulation for SAF during the French state visit to China in April. This agreement between Airbus and CNAF aims to optimize the SAF supply chain by diversifying sources for the fuel and enhancing SAF production with a stated goal of using 10 percent SAF in China by 2030. All Airbus helicopters can fly with up to 50 percent SAF blend and Airbus’s goal is to have all its aircraft capable of flying with 100 percent SAF by 2030.
“I am proud that our customer, SGST, launched this noteworthy SAF flight with the H125, marking Airbus Helicopters as the first helicopter manufacturer to perform an SAF flight in China,” said Colin James, Airbus Helicopters’s managing director in China. “In an effort to reduce carbon emissions and set a standard within the industry, we are working with our partners to use locally produced SAF.”