The first long-haul flight using clean jet fuel made from used cooking oil left Paris on May 18, 2021 for Montreal. This is a new step towards the “decarbonization of air transport” – a joint achievement of Air France-KLM, Total, ADP Group and Airbus.
Air France-KLM, Total, ADP Group and Airbus have announced that they have operated their first long-haul flight using environmentally friendly aviation fuel (SAF) produced in France.
Air France flight 342 departed on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 from Terminal 2E of Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in Montreal, Canada, “fueled for the first time with environmentally friendly aviation fuel produced by Total at its French factories,” the report said.
This flight is a concrete expression of the common ambition of the four mentioned companies to decarbonize air transport and develop the French production chain for environmentally friendly aviation fuels, which is an important prerequisite for their widespread use at airports in France and beyond.
The biofuels used for this flight come from waste from the food industry. The material was produced by Total from used vegetable oil in its own bio-processing plant without the use of natural vegetable oils.
This is the first SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) biofuel “Made in France” to receive ISCC-EU certification from the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification, an independent body that guarantees its sustainability and sustainability. By incorporating 16% of this material on this particular flight, 20 tonnes of CO2 were avoided.
Large groups prepare for eco-evolution
French legislation currently provides for the use of 1% biofuels of this type on all flights departing from France starting in 2022, ahead of the plans for phasing in (up to 2% by 2025 and 5% by 2030), which are to be fulfilled within the European “Green deal”.
In response to this legislative change, Total will also produce clean aviation biofuels starting in 2024 at its “no oil” production site in Grandpuits (Seine et Marne).
The flight also demonstrates the complementary nature of various levers to reduce environmental impact: clean air fuels, the latest generation of aircraft, and electrification of ground operations.
“The flight was operated by an Airbus A350, which consumes 25% less fuel than its predecessor. The aircraft was fueled by the first fully electrified tanker developed in France with Total’s participation, and all ground equipment used by Air France was also fully electric, ”the press release said.
It should be noted that KLM made its first flight with SAF back in 2009, since then Air France-KLM Group has expanded its innovative programs to include 78 Air France flights between 2014 and 2016 with 10% SAF in collaboration with Total.
This experimentation has shown that the use of environmentally friendly fuels does not affect the reliability of airlines. The Air France-KLM Group intends to strengthen its leadership in sustainable aviation fuels in the coming years, while at the same time participating in the development of the aircraft of the future.
In parallel with this operation, Airbus is conducting several series of tests to certify airliners operating on 100% environmentally friendly aviation biofuel over the coming decades.
The company’s industrial facilities also have dedicated biofuel filling stations (SAFs), which allows Airbus to use this type of fuel in its production operations, as well as when moving aircraft for production purposes. These efforts demonstrate the ambition of the Airbus Group to decarbonize all of its operations.