Eni to supply Ryanair up to 33 million gallons of SAF by 2030

Photo: Ryanair

European airline Ryanair and Enilive, a company directly controlled and owned by Italian energy company Eni, announced Jan. 22 that they have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for the long-term supply of Enilive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at select Ryanair airports across Italy.

The agreement further advances the airline’s “Pathway to Net Zero by 2050” decarbonization strategy.

This LOI with Enilive would enable Ryanair to access to up to 33 million gallons of SAF between 2025 and 2030.

This is an equivalent volume needed to perform 20,000 flights from Milan Malpensa Airport in Italy to Dublin, Ireland.

SAF is a concrete solution to contribute to the decarbonization of aviation in the coming decades, yet currently only accounts for a small fraction of the current fuel usage worldwide.

In its biorefineries in Italy, Enilive processes mainly waste feedstock, such as used cooking oil, animal fats and agro-food industry residues, to produce Eni Biojet, which contains 100 percent biogenic components and is suitable to be blended with conventional jet fuel by up to 50 percent.

“Increasing the production of SAF is a key challenge that the industry faces over the coming years,” said Thomas Fowler, Ryanair’s director of sustainability, Thomas Fowler.

“Partnering with an industry leader like Eni will help Ryanair achieve our ambitious goal of using 12.5 percent SAF by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050,” Fowler added. “Eni is a key supplier in our largest market, Italy, and their success in producing SAF will play a significant role as our group grows to carry 300 million passengers per annum by 2034.”

Stefano Ballista, CEO of Enilive, added, “We are glad to launch an agreement with such a relevant player as Ryanair right after the European Union’s ReFuelEU regulations that aim to increase the adoption of SAF by 2050. Enilive plans to boost its biorefining capacity to over 5 million metric tons per year by 2030 and it is focused on developing new projects to expand its biorefining capacity. Biofuels can play a relevant role in decarbonizing mobility, including hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation. The plants and the technologies we have developed over the last decade enable Enilive to produce the necessary amounts of SAF to meet the needs of companies as Ryanair and the requirements of the EU regulations.”