Dubai: Dubai’s flag carrier, Emirates, has completed an Airbus A380 demonstration flight using 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), making it the first airline in the world to do so.
Emirates test flight EK2641 took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) after 11.36 am with one of four Airbus A380’s powered by SAF. It returned to DXB at 12.12 pm, after circling the Dubai coastline.
The flight carried four tonnes of SAF, comprised of HEFA-SPK provided by Neste (hydro processed esters and fatty acids synthetic paraffinic kerosene) and HDO-SAK from Virent (hydro deoxygenated synthetic aromatic kerosene).
ENOC helped to secure the neat SAF comprised of HEFA-SPK, and blended it with Sustainable Aviation Kerosene (SAK) at its facility in Dubai International Airport ahead of the demonstration, and also carried out into-plane services.
- Emirates
According to Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer of Emirates Airline, the test flight conducted today paves the way for future standardisation, qualification and adoption for 100 per cent SAF flying.
He said, “Emirates is the first passenger airline in the world to operate an A380 with 100 per cent drop-in SAF (sustainable fuel blended with conventional fuel) powering one of four Engine Alliance GP7200 engines.” The PW980 auxiliary power unit (APU) from Pratt and Whitney Canada also ran on 100 per cent SAF.
Al Redha said the test also marks a significant step in validating the use of SAF in one of the engines of the A380, a wide-body aircraft with four engines.
This is the first time drop-in SAF (sustainable fuel blended with conventional fuel) has been used on an A380 aircraft, with the expectation of full compatibility across the aircraft’s existing systems.
SAF needed on a large-scale
Al Redha said, “Now that we have completed this test, the next step would be to ensure the availability of the fuel in various airports. We rely on fuel suppliers to start manufacturing and producing such fuel in the required volume, and that will be the challenge.” He added, “We’re just in the beginning of it and that’s why we’re not seeing the quantity we need but I expect in the next five to seven years we will see a major step-change in this direction.”
The growing global demand for lower-emission jet fuel alternatives is there, said Al Redha. “However, there’s work (cut out) for producers and suppliers to commercialise SAF and make it available will be critical in the coming years,” he explained.
Earlier this year, Emirates completed the first 100 per cent SAF-powered demonstration flight in the region on a GE90-powered Boeing 777-300ER, and last month, the first Emirates flights operating with SAF provided by Shell Aviation took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB). Shell supplied 315,000 gallons of blended SAF for use at the airline’s hub in Dubai.
The airline recently expanded its partnership with Neste to supply over 3 million gallons of blended SAF in 2024 and 2025 for flights departing from Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changi airports. Emirates currently uplifts SAF in Norway and France.
The test flight also comes against a backdrop of the third International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3), where members of the aviation industry, international organisations, regulatory bodies and high-level officials are driving policy-related decisions related to the adoption of SAF.
Global demand
Klaas Pel, Global Head of Renewable Aviation Regulation at Neste, a Finnish oil refining company, said, the company is ramping up its SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tonnes in 2024 and 2.2 million tonnes by 2026 to meet global demand. “Aviation arguably is the hardest to abate sector because of its characteristics. So here, we have the biggest challenge globally,” said Pel.
The test flight also comes against a backdrop of the third International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3), where members of the aviation industry, international organisations, regulatory bodies and high-level officials are driving policy-related decisions related to the adoption of SAF.
In response to the discussions at CAAF/R, Pel said, “We will be seeing mandates (changing SAF regulation) across the globe, Europe leading. We can only imagine that in the Middle East and the UAE they want to be front runners. So they will at some point also decide to implement policy, whether that is a global that comes from ICAO or let's say regional initiative doesn't really matter. We just need to ramp it up.” Pel is hopeful that ICAO member states will commit to long-term quantitative goals to achieve NetZero.
Meanwhile, Alexandre Jay, Chief Engineer for the Airbus A380, the existing hurdle in adopting SAF lies not in the aircraft itself but in the fuel supply. Jay said, “The aircraft has demonstrated its capability, and the primary challenge is overcoming issues within the supply chain.” He expressed confidence that by showcasing the aircraft's capabilities and with a substantial increase in demand, addressing the supply chain challenges for the fuel becomes more feasible.
