Total touts SAF plans at Paris Air Show

The French multinational energy and petroleum company Total Energies announced June 19 during the Paris Air Show that it is actively responding to a call from its aviation customers to increase production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Starting in 2028, the company will be in a position to produce half a million tons of SAF, or approximately 165 million gallons, enough to cover the gradual increase in the European SAF blending mandate set at 6 percent for 2030.

To this end, Total Energies is investing heavily and has launched multiple SAF production projects.

These include:

• Grandpuits—Total Energies is investing 400 million euros (USD$437.3 million) to convert the site into a zero-crude platform, primarily focused on producing SAF from circular feedstock such as animal fat and used cooking oil. Grandpuits will be able to produce approximately 70 million gallons a year (mgy) of SAF as of 2025, and a new investment has been announced to produce an additional 25 mgy by 2027.

• Normandy—Total Energies has started coprocessing SAF from used cooking oil at its Gonfreville refinery. The company plans to increase annual production at the site to approximately 13 mgy from 2025. In addition, following technical work carried out with its aeronautical partners, Total Energies will produce an additional 50 mgy of SAF by coprocessing hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) produced at La Mède as soon as this production method is approved by ASTM International.

• La Mède—Total Energies has invested 340 million euros (USD$371.7 million) to convert its refinery into a biorefinery. HVO produced at La Mède is already being used to make SAF at the Total Energies Oudalle plant near Le Havre. Total Energies is studying a new investment to have the capacity by 2024 to process at La Mède 100 percent waste from the circular economy (used cooking oil and animal fat) to produce biofuels and SAF by coprocessing.

Beyond France, Total Energies aims to produce approximately 500 mgy of SAF by 2030 at production units in Europe, the U.S., Japan and South Korea, representing 10 percent of the world market by that date.

“Total Energies is taking action to meet the strong demand from the aviation industry to reduce its carbon footprint,” said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of Total Energies. “Sustainable aviation fuel is essential to reducing the CO2 emissions of air transport, and its development is fully aligned with the company’s climate ambition to get to net zero by 2050, together with society.”