Boeing makes its largest purchase of blended sustainable aviation fuel

Photo: Boeing

Boeing announced April 16 that it is buying 9.4 million gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to support its 2024 U.S. commercial operations, reducing its carbon emissions and working to help grow the supply of the fuel globally.

This is the company’s largest annual SAF purchase, more than 60 percent higher than its buy in 2023.

The blended fuel—30 percent SAF made from waste byproducts such as fats, oils and greases and 70 percent conventional jet fuel—will support the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program and Boeing U.S. commercial operational flights.

“As our focus remains on safety and quality, sustainability continues to be a priority,” said Ryan Faucett, vice president of environmental sustainability at Boeing. “Sustainable aviation fuel is essential to decarbonize aviation. About 20 percent of our fuel usage is a blend of SAF, and we continue to increase our use of this fuel to encourage growth in the SAF industry. We are also working to make SAF more available and affordable to our commercial-airline customers through collaboration, investment, research and policy development.”

Unblended or neat SAF can reduce carbon emissions up to 85 percent over the fuel’s lifecycle and offers the commercial-aviation industry’s greatest potential to reduce its climate impact over the next 30 years.

Boeing will receive 4 million gallons of the blended SAF into its fuel farms in the Pacific Northwest.

Epic Fuels, a Signature Aviation company, will supply 2.5 million gallons from Neste, and Avfuel will provide 1.5 million gallons of blended SAF from Neste.

Boeing will also purchase the CO2-emissions reduction associated with 5.4 million gallons of blended SAF through an accounting process called book and claim.

Book and claim is when a company purchases SAF certificates to displace conventional jet fuel.

Instead of putting the fuel into a Boeing fuel farm, distributors will deliver it to nearby airports for use by airlines and other carriers.

Through Boeing’s book-and-claim purchases, Epic Fuels will supply 3.5 million gallons of blended SAF made by Neste.

World Fuel Services, a World Kinect company, will supply 1.9 million gallons from World Energy.