IAG enters 14-year purchase agreement with Twelve for 260 million gallons of eSAF

Photo: International Airlines Group

International Airlines Group announced Feb. 28 its largest sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) purchase agreement to date, with eSAF producer Twelve, which will supply advanced eSAF made from CO2, water and renewable energy.

Under the terms of the 14-year contract, Twelve will supply IAG with 260 million gallons of eSAF to support its five European airlines (British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Level).

The next-generation fuel will reduce lifecycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by up to 90 percent versus conventional jet fuel.

IAG is the first European airline group to announce an eSAF deal, and the agreement will enable IAG to continue increasing its SAF use, which was approximately 12 percent of the world’s supply in 2023.

This deal brings the scale-up of eSAF, produced using power-to-liquid technology, one step closer to reaching its full potential in the aviation industry.

eSAF does not face feedstock limitations, has a high degree of emissions reduction versus conventional jet fuel and has relatively low land- and water-use footprints.

Berkeley, California-based Twelve is a pioneer in carbon transformation and power-to-liquid technology.

The company has developed and patented a proprietary process that can produce high-quality synthetic fuels from renewable electricity and CO2.

The company is constructing a demonstration plant in Moses Lake, Washington, which will supply the first SAF deliveries to IAG starting as early as 2025.

The two companies first began partnering in 2020, when Twelve joined IAG’s Hangar 51 start-up accelerator program to commercialize Twelve’s technology.

The new Twelve partnership is a major step forward for IAG on its journey towards 2030, when it has committed as a group to fly with 10 percent SAF—the first European airline group to set this target.

IAG has now secured one-third of the SAF needed to reach its 2030 target.

“We have a roadmap to achieve net zero by 2050 including a target to fly with 10 percent SAF by 2030,” said IAG CEO Luis Gallego. “The shortage of sustainable fuel globally continues to be a problem for our industry although innovative companies like Twelve are an important part of the solution. This new deal will contribute towards our 2030 SAF target. We would like to see similar projects scale in Europe, and we look forward to working with governments across our key markets to build the SAF industry to deliver jobs, economic growth and a stable supply of SAF.”

Nicholas Flanders, Twelve’s co-founder and CEO, said, “We are proud to partner with IAG on this historic deal to advance sustainable aviation with our eSAF that has up to 90 percent lower emissions than conventional jet fuel. Our power-to-liquid E-Jet® fuel offers industry-leading emissions-reduction potential with the added benefits of an abundant feedstock supply and significantly smaller land and water footprints compared to alternative SAF pathways.”

This deal is the largest eSAF commitment announced by any European airline group, which earned IAG an award for “SAF Offtake Deal of the Year” at the inaugural SAF Investor Conference and Awards in London Feb. 27.

As part of its sustainability roadmap, IAG is also investing in new aircraft and implementing fuel-efficiency initiatives, purchasing and investing in SAF, and advancing carbon removals to mitigate any residual emissions from its operations.

Most recently the group’s Project Speedbird in the U.K., an ethanol-to-jet fuel project between LanzaJet, Nova Pangaea and British Airways, was granted £9 million (USD$11.4 million) from the U.K. government’s Advanced Fuels Fund.