Finnair, Gevo enter into sales agreement for 7 mgy of SAF over 5 years

Gevo Inc. announced June 21 a new fuel-sales agreement with Finnair. The agreement outlines the details for the purchase of 7 million gallons per year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for five years from Gevo’s commercial operations. Deliveries of the SAF by Gevo are expected to begin in 2027. The value of the agreement is expected to be $192 million over the five-year period, inclusive of the value from environmental benefits for Gevo.

Finnair is a member of oneworld® Alliance, and this agreement falls under the purview of a memorandum of understanding that oneworld and Gevo signed in April, laying the groundwork for the 14 world-class airlines in the alliance to purchase 200 million gallons of SAF per year, from Gevo’s commercial operations. The agreement with Finnair will broaden Gevo’s range of airline partners and grow its global footprint with its sustainable fuel products, and also supports its efforts to reach the goal of producing and commercializing 1 billion gallons of SAF by 2030.

“Gevo was founded on the principle of building sustainability into every step of our process,” said Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo. “But it is not static—it’s always improving. We’re constantly incorporating new developments at every stage of our business system to reduce our carbon intensity. This is expected to make the renewable energy carried in our advanced renewable fuels even more impactful as they help to lower our customers’ carbon scores.”

Finnair uses an extensive toolkit to achieve emission reductions, including sustainable aviation fuels, reducing the weight of aircraft, developing fuel-efficient flight methods, offsetting, and engaging customers in reducing aviation emissions. Finnair is also actively exploring the possibilities of introducing new technologies into its operations.

“Finnair has ambitious emissions reduction targets,” said Eveliina Huurre, senior vice president of sustainability at Finnair. “By the end of 2025, we intend to halve the level of net emissions from 2019 and achieve carbon neutrality by the end of 2045. SAF plays an important role for reaching these targets.”

Gevo’s process is designed to create multiple efficiencies by allowing the same acre of farmland to produce SAF from corn using atmospheric carbon while simultaneously adding high-value nutritional products to the food chain.

“Finnair knows the future will be built on renewable energy, and our SAF delivers renewable energy in a drop-in fuel that is expected to make an impact right away,” Gruber said. “Because it is fungible, this SAF is expected to reduce the carbon intensity in any flight proportional to the blend used to fill up the aircraft.”

The agreement with Finnair is subject to certain conditions, including Gevo developing, financing, and constructing one or more production facilities to produce the SAF contemplated by the agreement.