Japan Airlines enters 5-year SAF agreement with Gevo for 5.3 mgy

Gevo Inc. announced June 7 a new fuel-sales agreement with Japan Airlines Co. Ltd. The agreement outlines the details for the purchase of 5.3 million gallons per year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for five years with deliveries expected to begin in 2027.

JAL is a member of oneworld® Alliance, and this agreement falls within the purview of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that oneworld and Gevo signed in March, laying the groundwork for the associated world-class airlines in the alliance to purchase up to 200 million gallons of SAF from Gevo’s commercial operations. The agreement with JAL will further enhance Gevo’s global footprint for its sustainable fuel products, and also supports Gevo’s efforts in pursuit of its stated goal of producing and commercializing 1 billion gallons of SAF by 2030.

“Our sustainable aviation fuel is a drop-in fuel that delivers renewable energy where it’s needed,” said Patrick R. Gruber, Gevo’s CEO. “Our process is a model of efficiency, designed to allow the same acre of farmland to produce SAF from corn using atmospheric carbon while simultaneously adding high-value nutritional products to the food chain.”

Gevo uses the Argonne GREET® model established by Argonne National Laboratory with the support of the U.S. DOE to measure greenhouse gas emissions. Argonne GREET provides an accurate lifecycle inventory of carbon and leverages the decarbonizing impact of sustainable agriculture and fuel-production practices. Gevo’s Net-Zero business systems are expected to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to net-zero over the entire lifecycle of each gallon of advanced renewable fuel produced, including its SAF, and that includes the emissions resulting from burning the fuel in engines to power transportation.

As the airline industry has worked to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by cutting the quantity of fuel used, JAL and other oneworld members acknowledge that, to achieve further reductions in emissions going forward, they need to change the fuels, too, and expect that the use of SAF will become widespread toward 2030 and on. JAL and oneworld have the common ultimate goal of net-zero emission by 2050, with an intermediate target of replacing 10 percent of conventional jet fuel with SAF by 2030.

“JAL sees the value in reducing its dependence on fossil fuels while still being able to continue to use its existing aircraft,” Gruber said. “Our agreement will empower the company to achieve carbon-emissions reductions now as it explores other technologies to manage its energy transition.”

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