British Airways to use UK-made SAF

PHILLIPS 66 will supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to British Airways (BA), under a new supply agreement, which the companies say will make the airline the first to use SAF produced on a commercial scale in the UK.

SAF has a role to play in achieving net zero. According to the partners, SAF can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by more than 80% compared to traditional jet fuel.

Under the multiyear supply agreement, Phillips will produce SAF from sustainable waste feedstock at its Humber Refinery. This will then be delivered to BA via existing pipeline infrastructure that feeds directly into UK airports.

According to Dan Cunningham, General Manager of the Humber Refinery and Lead Executive for Phillips 66 UK, the refinery was the first in the UK to co-process waste oils to produce renewable fuels and will now be the first to produce SAF at scale. He added that the company is currently refining “almost half a million litres of sustainable waste feedstocks a day, and this is just a start”.

“Markets for lower-carbon products are growing, and this agreement demonstrates our ability to supply them.”

BA, which is working to achieve net zero by 2050, is Phillips’ first UK customer. It plans to purchase enough sustainable fuel to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by almost 100,000 t. The airline company will receive Phillips’ sustainable fuel from early 2022.

The agreement between BA and Phillips 66 Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Phillips 66, will advance commitments from both companies for a lower-carbon future.

Cunningham said the announcement reflects on the importance that aviation and energy industries are placing on sustainability, and the continued development, adoption, and scaling up of SAF.

He added: “This agreement with British Airways aligns with our strategy to create a refinery of the future, where we’re producing fuels from waste, being a critical part of the electric vehicle supply chain, reducing the carbon intensity of our processes through carbon capture and using hydrogen to power the refinery.”

“It secures long-term business in an ever-changing world.”

Sean Doyle, CEO of BA, said: “This agreement marks another important step on our journey to net zero carbon emissions and forms part of our commitment, as part of International Airlines Group, to power 10% of flights with SAF by 2030.”

“The UK has the resources and capabilities to be a global leader in the development of SAF and scaling up the production of SAF requires a truly collaborative approach between industry and government.

“We are excited to develop our relationship with Phillips 66 Limited further by hopefully growing production capacity and using a wider range of sustainable waste feedstocks to supply our future flights.”

The companies are both supporting the UK Government’s plan for a future SAF mandate and a business model for investing in advanced waste-to-jet fuel projects through participation in a Department of Transport’s Jet Zero Council (JZC) Delivery Group, in which they are both members. JZC is a partnership between industry and government aiming to deliver zero emissions transatlantic flight within a generation.