International Airlines Group (IAG) has made its largest sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) purchase agreement to date, with e-SAF producer Twelve.
California-based Twelve will supply IAG with 260 million gallons of e-SAF made from CO2, water and renewable energy, after signing a 14-year agreement with the European airline group which includes British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, LEVEL and Vueling.
The two companies first partnered in 2020 when Twelve joined IAG’s Hangar 51 start-up accelerator programme to commercialise Twelve’s technology.
The new partnership is a major step forward for IAG on its journey towards 2030, it says, when it has committed as a group to fly with 10 per cent SAF — the first European airline group to set this target.
With the agreement IAG has now secured one-third of the SAF needed to reach this 2030 target.
The airline group is the first European airline group to announce an e-SAF deal and the fuel will be supplied to all five airlines.
E-SAF has a relatively low land and water-use footprint and a high degree of emissions reduction – by up to 90 per cent versus conventional jet fuel.
Luis Gallego, IAG’s CEO said: “We have a roadmap to achieve net zero by 2050 including a target to fly with 10 per cent sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.
“The shortage of sustainable fuel globally continues to be a problem for our industry although innovative companies like Twelve are an important part of the solution. This new deal will contribute towards our 2030 SAF target. We would like to see similar projects scale in Europe, and we look forward to working with governments across our key markets to build a SAF industry to deliver jobs, economic growth and a stable supply of SAF.”
Twelve is constructin a demonstration plant in Moses Lake, Washington, which will supply the first SAF deliveries to IAG
starting as early as 2025.