Boeing is making its biggest buy yet of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for its 2024 U.S. commercial flights.

This purchase of 9.4 million gallons (35.6 million litres) is over 60% more than what they bought in 2023. This blended fuel, made from 30% recycled materials like cooking oil and regular jet fuel, will be used for Boeing's ecoDemonstrator programme and regular commercial flights.

"As our focus remains on safety and quality, sustainability continues to be a priority," said Ryan Faucett, vice president of environmental sustainability at Boeing. "Sustainable aviation fuel is essential to decarbonize aviation. About 20% of our fuel usage is a SAF blend, and we continue to increase our use of this fuel to encourage growth in the SAF industry. We are also working to make SAF more available and affordable to our commercial airline customers through collaboration, investment, research and policy development."

Unblended SAF, also called "neat" SAF, can cut carbon emissions by up to 85% over its lifetime and is seen as the best way for commercial aviation to reduce its climate impact in the coming decades.

Boeing will take delivery of 4 million gallons of the blended fuel for its storage facilities in the Pacific Northwest. The remaining 5.4 million gallons will be purchased through a process called book-and-claim, where Boeing buys certificates representing the emissions reduction from using SAF. This fuel will be delivered directly to airports by suppliers for airlines and other carriers to use.

EPIC Fuels, a Signature Aviation company, will provide 2.5 million gallons of Neste-produced blended SAF to Boeing's storage facilities, while Avfuel will supply another 1.5 million gallons of Neste's blend. Through the book-and-claim programme, EPIC Fuels will supply another 3.5 million gallons of Neste SAF, and World Fuel Services, a World Kinect company, will deliver 1.9 million gallons from World Energy.

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Source: Boeing