Brussels Airport kicked off the new year with a new resolution towards sustainable aviation by taking the delivery of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel for the first time using the NATO Central European Pipeline System (CEPS). The CEPS will be supplying aviation fuel along with SAF to airports in Europe effective January 1, 2022.
Advocating strongly for using alternate fuels to fossil fuels, Peter Gerber, CEO of Brussels Airlines, said: “Together with the Lufthansa Group, we have already invested in the production and use of SAF for several years. The fact that sustainable aviation fuel can now be transported from the blending facility all the way to our aircraft in a fast and environmentally friendly way is an important step to increase the use of this type of fuel in the near future.”
Jonathan Wood, Vice President Europe, Renewable Aviation at Neste, said: “Neste is working with partners like Brussel Airlines and the Lufthansa Group, airports and logistics providers to make SAF available across Europe and globally. Following permission by NATO to transport SAF on the CEPS system, we are proud to be the first to deliver SAF into the pipeline to Brussels airport. We look forward to using the largest pipeline system in Europe to supply other airports in the near future. Pipelines are the most efficient way to supply as Neste is scaling up SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tons annually in 2023.”
The first batch of Neste’s SAF for Brussels Airlines was loaded into the pipeline system as a ready-to-use blend with conventional jet fuel at Neste’s blending facilities in Belgium. From there, the fuel was transported by Brussels Airlines via the pipeline to the general fuel storage at Brussels Airport, making SAF available for use by Brussels Airlines.
Brussels Airlines has ambitious sustainability goals including an aim to emit 50% less CO2 by 2030 compared to 2019, become carbon neutral by 2050, and operate its first flight using SAF by 2023.