Qatar Airways Partners with Gevo for Certified SAF

Qatar Airways and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer Gevo, Inc. have signed an offtake agreement, where the airline will purchase 25 million US gallons of neat SAF over the course of five years with deliveries expected to commence in 2028 at various airports in California.

Qatar Airways will be uplifting 5 million US gallons of neat SAF every year and will blend it with its existing supply of conventional jet fuel. The airline became the first airline in the Middle East and Africa region to announce its commitment to an international SAF offtake agreement.

This partnership is part of the airline’s earlier commitment, along with other oneworld® Alliance members to purchase up to 200 million US gallons of SAF from Gevo. SAF is one of the pillars in Qatar Airways and oneworld’s plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

In September 2020, oneworld became the first global airline alliance to unite behind a common target to achieve carbon neutrality with net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The alliance subsequently committed to a target of 10% sustainable aviation fuel use across the alliance by 2030.

Qatar Airways is very keen to ramp-up the use of SAF at a commercial level, noting that the SAF to be purchased will be certified under the sustainability criteria laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Compared with fossil-based jet fuel, SAF results in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions across its lifecycle. Today’s technology allows for CO2 reductions from the use of SAF to reach 85% when compared to conventional jet fuel.

Qatar Airways has made significant progress towards achieving environmental sustainability and decarbonisation. Qatar Airways is flying with one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the sky.

It is the first airline in the Middle East to secure accreditation to the highest level in the IATA Environmental Assessment Programme (IEnvA) and is the first carrier to join the IATA CO2NNECT platform offering a new voluntary carbon offsetting programme for air cargo shipments, continuing to advance an ambitious agenda to demonstrate environmental leadership across the global aviation industry.