Airbus joins bid to produce sustainable aviation fuel

Having a large and big partner such as Airbus proves the seriousness behind our project.

Airbus agreed to join a Montreal-based aviation industry collective that aims to start producing sustainable aviation fuel by the end of the month.

The European planemaker will be making “in-kind” contributions to the SAF+ consortium, according to a statement issued Thursday.

The contribution will take the shape of technical and certification expertise, economic analysis and advocacy.

SAF+'s goal is to turn Montreal into a North American hub of sustainable aviation by making kerosene from carbon dioxide.

It plans to use the CO2 generated by chemicals maker ParaChem in Montreal East, reducing the typical greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent.

Contributing to the creation of a sustainable fuel “ecosystem” in Canada represents a “key milestone” for Airbus as the planemaker works to cut emissions by 2050, said Steven Le Moing, who heads the company's new energy program.

Airbus is already involved in several initiatives across the globe — including in France — to develop alternatives to conventional kerosene.

“We need now to start delivering this solution for aviation that will surely play a very important role in the aviation decarbonization objectives,” Le Moing said Thursday on a conference call.

“Being part of such initiatives is really one of the key engagements that Airbus is taking worldwide.”

SAF+ expects to start producing sustainable jet fuel by the end of the month, chief executive Jean Paquin told reporters.

By 2025, the consortium wants to produce 30 million litres a year of the alternative fuel.

Carrier Air Transat — a partner in SAF+, along with ParaChem and airport operator Aéroports de Montréal — has agreed to buy an undisclosed part of the group's output, Paquin said.

“Having a large and big partner such as Airbus proves the seriousness behind our project,” Paquin said.

“It also gives us a really clear vision of the future. We're aligned with people who have that vision, that 2050-and-upward vision, of the aviation sector, and how we are going to decarbonize the sector for this industry to be sustainable.”

Airbus expanded its planemaking operations into Canada when it took control of Bombardier's C Series jet program in 2018.

Bombardier sold its remaining stake in the venture — now called the Airbus A220 — last year, ending a multi-decade foray in commercial aviation.

Under a global offsetting and carbon-reduction scheme adopted by civil aviation regulators, airlines are only required for now to power a minuscule proportion of their flights with sustainable fuel. That fuel can be mixed with conventional kerosene.

“The quantities are quite small, and with 30 million (litres) we will be able to provide for quite a lot of offsetting in the industry,” Paquin said.

Although airlines have an obligation to decarbonize, economics may prove to be a problem. Sustainable fuel can cost at least three times as much as kerosene, Paquin said.

“We know very well from having regular discussions with the airline companies that price and operational costs are an issue,” he said.

Still, “companies will need a very minute amount of SAF to start with.”