Key takeaways from top aviation industry experts on establishing winning conditions to achieve net-zero targets by 2050.
By Ashwin Jadhav, VP Business Development
Ashwin Jadhav, VP Business Development at Twelve, IATA Annual Energy Forum 2024
Fueling Aviation's Sustainable Future: SAF and eSAF
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual Energy Forum is one of the premier events in global aviation sustainability that addresses key topics on fuel supply, reliability and energy transition. This year over 1,000 delegates gathered in Vienna to learn, collaborate and progress towards the International Civil Aviation Organization 2050 Net-Zero Roadmap. I had the pleasure of representing Twelve™ and speaking about our recent announcements with International Airlines Group (IAG) and Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA). The panel was moderated by Preeti Jain and my co-panelists were Maxime Molenaar from SkyNRG and Stephane Thion from LanzaJet. I was encouraged by the progress the industry had made and have highlighted some of the key takeaways below.
SAF Offtake Agreements Are Key
One of the key themes of the discussion was finding solutions to various complex problems within each sub-domain, such as equity financing, supply chain, project development, deal bankability, etc., to create even more success stories. However, this is not a one-size-fits-all marketplace. Decarbonization requires an entire value chain to align on a specific set of winning conditions, such as long-term offtake agreements, harmonized calculation of well-to-wing emissions, ramp-up flexibility in high-risk technology, traceability of attributes in registries, etc., which must be customized on a deal-by-deal basis.
Decarbonization requires an entire value chain to align on a specific set of winning conditions, such as long-term offtake agreements, harmonized calculation of well-to-wing emissions, ramp-up flexibility in high-risk technology, and traceability of attributes in registries
During the panel, we also celebrated the ways Twelve, SkyNRG, and LanzaJet are collectively decarbonizing the aviation industry and driving innovation. One of the milestones that Twelve reached earlier this year was a landmark offtake agreement that meets multiple favorable conditions: long-term deal, large volumes, bankable contract, high-integrity product attributes and a robust plan to find blending/logistics solutions. The International Airlines Group (IAG) and Twelve announced a historic Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) purchase agreement for Twelve's E-Jet® SAF made using the power-to-liquid (PtL) process. Under the terms of the fourteen-year contract, Twelve will supply IAG with 785,000 tonnes of e-SAF to support the five European airlines (British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, and LEVEL) under the IAG umbrella.
One of the milestones that Twelve reached earlier this year was a landmark offtake agreement (with IAG) that meets multiple favorable conditions: long-term deal, large volumes, bankable contract, high-integrity product attributes and a robust plan to find blending/logistics solutions
Ashwin Jadhav, VP Business Development at Twelve, IATA Annual Energy Forum 2024
While there are a few ways to make SAF, Twelve makes e-SAF from CO2 and renewable energy through electrochemical production. E-Jet® SAF has up to 90% lower lifecycle emissions than conventional jet fuel, with less intense land and water use implications than other SAF pathways require.
Largest eSAF Deal Sets a New Standard
This deal is the largest e-SAF commitment announced by any European airline Group, which earned IAG and Twelve an award for ‘SAF Offtake Agreement of the Year’, at the SAF Investor Conference and Awards, in London in February 2024.
This deal is the largest e-SAF commitment announced by any European airline Group, which earned IAG and Twelve an award for ‘SAF Offtake Agreement of the Year’, at the SAF Investor Conference and Awards, in London in February 2024
Another theme that was often brought up in the discussion was the role that corporations play in the decarbonization roadmap. Since airlines have such thin margins, the industry will need support in the form of the purchase of SAF certificates, thereby reducing the financial burden on airlines. A great example of this is the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) recently announcing the largest ever collection of deals that brought together travelers, airlines, non-governmental organizations and fuel providers to purchase high-integrity E-Jet® SAF Attributes.
Twelve is very proud to have been selected as the only PtL SAF producer as part of this historic purchase of SAF certificates (SAFc) to grow investment in clean fuel technologies.
Over the span of five years, large corporations, including Autodesk, BCG, Mckinsey & Co., Novo Nordisk and the Environmental Defense Fund, are channeling close to $200 million into purchasing SAFc equal to about 50 million gallons of high integrity SAF, or 500,000 tons of CO2e2 from various SAF producers. This is roughly equivalent to the emissions of 3,000 fully loaded passenger flights from New York City to London.
Large corporations, including Autodesk, BCG, Mckinsey & Co., Novo Nordisk and the Environmental Defense Fund, are channeling close to $200 million into purchasing SAFc
These deals have only been possible due to the confluence of winning conditions across the ecosystem - airlines, corporate buyers, fuel suppliers, blenders, policy-makers, logistics providers, and more. Creating a future from air, not oil, will take a collaborative effort across the entire value chain. Finding these solutions will not only ensure progress towards the 2050 net-zero climate goals, but also position SAF, such as Twelve’s E-Jet® SAF, as fuel for now, and for the long haul.
As the IATA panel discussed the recent wins each company has celebrated, we stressed that collaboration, problem-solving and financing are key elements that need to be at the forefront. Together, we have made a lot of progress over the past year, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
As the IATA panel discussed the recent wins each company has celebrated, we stressed that collaboration, problem-solving and financing are key elements that need to be at the forefront
It takes everyone to decarbonize aviation, join us for the ride. Follow Twelve’s Fuel for the Long Haul campaign to learn more about how you can help decarbonize aviation through innovation.