American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) and Shell Aviation have collaborated on a plan to increase the supply and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and accelerate the aviation industry’s pathway towards net-zero emissions (NZE).
This collaboration combines the buying power of airlines and GBT’s corporate business travel customers at scale to drive a step change in production and usage of SAF. This, in turn, would enable airlines and corporations to make progress towards long-term emissions targets.
For many companies, a return to flying for essential business travel is a crucial driver of economic growth. However, options to reduce air travel emissions, in line with wider net-zero emissions targets, are currently limited. Lower or zero-carbon technologies such as hydrogen and electric flight are unlikely to impact at scale until mid-century.
This leaves SAF as the only viable, in-sector, option for reducing emissions in the short- to medium-term. SAF can be made from a variety of feedstocks and a number of different technology pathways. Compared with conventional jet fuel derived from fossil fuels, SAF has the potential to cut lifecycle emissions from aviation by up to 80 per cent. However, today it represents less than 0.1% per cent of aviation fuel used and is produced using one technology type.
Anna Mascolo, president, Shell Aviation, said: “We want to help decarbonise the aviation sector and believe this collaboration could deliver new solutions for our customers to reach net-zero emissions. SAF has incredible potential to drive the decarbonisation of aviation. Even if all publicly announced projects today actually materialise, SAF would still account for just one per cent of the jet fuel market by 2030.
“If the aviation sector wants more SAF by 2025, significant new investments are needed today. This collaboration with GBT aims to create the environment that supports new investment in SAF production and new technologies.”
GBT’s chief executive Paul Abbott added: “Our approach with Shell could provide a turnkey solution for corporations working towards net-zero emissions. We believe aggregating corporate and airline demand is the most efficient way to drive the volume of investment needed to bring change at scale. By working with Shell, we aim to enable corporations and airlines to plot a course towards their own emissions targets, while acting as climate leaders and creating real change.”
