Air France-KLM and TotalEnergies on December 5 signed a deal for TotalEnergies to deliver 800,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Air France-KLM Group airlines from 2023-33.
Air France-KLM said it has "a strict sourcing policy" that limits it to SAF fuels that are certified as sustainable, do not undermine food production or use palm oil.
So-called biofuels have come under scrutiny in recent months, in part due to rising food price inflation and tight supplies of some food commodities, such as oils, as they are sometimes made using land or crops that could otherwise be used for food production. There have been moves in the European Union to curb the use of palm oil due to allegations it is produced on deforested land in Indonesia and Malaysia, which together account for over 80% of global supply of what is the world's most-used vegetable oil.
The deal, the two signatories claimed, would help with developing "a more responsible aviation sector" and comes after almost a decade of collaboration on SAF research and development.
With the signing of this MoU, Air France-KLM and TotalEnergies confirm their collaboration and their goal of furthering the development of a more responsible aviation sector.
The airline group's chief executive Benjamin Smith said the deal "marks a fundamental milestone in the successful decarbonisation of our business".