Aemetis, American Airlines sign offtake agreement for 280M gallons of blended SAF

Aemetis Inc. announced Dec. 1 that it has signed a blended-SAF offtake agreement with American Airlines for 280 million gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over a seven-year term, a contract worth more than a billion dollars including all relevant carbon, RIN and tax credits. The contracted blend is 40 percent SAF and 60 percent fossil aviation fuel.

The SAF is expected to be produced beginning in 2024 by the Aemetis renewable diesel and SAF plant under development in Riverbank, California. Powered by 100 percent renewable electricity, the Aemetis Carbon Zero plant design utilizes cellulosic hydrogen made from carbon-negative waste wood, which is used to hydrotreat vegetable or other renewable oils to produce renewable diesel and SAF using Axens technology. The project plans to implement carbon capture and sequestration as well, to further reduce its carbon footprint.

On Nov. 30, the company announced the signing of memorandums of understanding with eight oneworld Alliance members for 350 million gallons of blended SAF.

“The American Airlines team is committed to reducing emissions from our operations, and sustainable aviation fuel is the cornerstone of our strategy in this decade,” said Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of American Airlines. “We’re proud to join with our oneworld partners in supporting the growth of SAF through this agreement with Aemetis, and we’re eager to continue collaborating with like-minded partners to meet aviation’s climate challenge.”