Australian airline Qantas has created a new coalition of corporate clients, which aims to increase the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to power its flights.
Qantas has formed the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition with five major companies in Australia: Australia Post, Boston Consulting Group, KPMG Australia, Macquarie Group and Woodside Energy.
Members of the coalition will pay a “premium” to reduce about 900 tonnes of their carbon emissions from flights by contributing to the cost of SAF, instead of using carbon offsets.
The initiative’s main aim is to “send a clear message that there is significant demand for SAF” in Australia, as the global aviation industry tries to encourage suppliers of biofuels to ramp up demand as part of its decarbonisation efforts.
The coalition will initially contribute to the incremental cost of up to 10 million litres of SAF sourced by Qantas at London Heathrow airport, which represents around 15 per cent of the fuel consumed by the airline’s flights from London.
Qantas also plans to source a further 20 million litres of SAF each year from the Californian hubs of Los Angeles and San Francisco starting from 2025.
Earlier this year, the airline said it would team up with Airbus to invest up to $200 million to develop a local SAF industry in Australia.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “The demand for SAF has never been higher but supply is lagging well behind, particularly without a local industry in Australia, and that’s keeping prices several times more expensive than traditional jet kerosene.
“The more leading corporates that join our programme and coalition the more feasible a local industry becomes and the more cost effective the fuel becomes.”
In another sustainable fuel development, US carrier United Airlines has invested in Next Renewable Fuels, which is developing a flagship biofuel refinery in Oregon where production is expected to begin in 2026.
United is making the investment, which could rise to as much as $37.5 million depending on targets, through its United Airlines Ventures arm The new facility at full production could produce up to 50,000 barrels per day of SAF renewable diesel and other renewable fuels.
The move is United's fifth SAF-related technology investment and its first directly in a biorefinery. United's Eco-Skies Alliance programme, which has 30 corporate participants, has collectively purchased more than 7 million gallons of SAF so far.