Airbus will deliver aircraft from its United States-based manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama using sustainable aviation fuel, by the end of 2021.
“Delivering our Mobile-produced aircraft with SAF is an important, iterative step toward solving the carbon challenge,” said Jeff Knittel, Chairman, and CEO of Airbus America.
Airbus has inked an agreement with Signature Flight Support for the supply of SAF to its facility in Mobile. Airbus is aiming for all aircraft delivered to customers from November 2021 to be powered by a blend of SAF and conventional jet fuel.
“SAF is a positive contributor to enhanced sustainability in aviation since it enables up to an 80% reduction of CO2 across the fuel lifecycle,” added Knittel.
SAF is seen as a way for the aviation industry to work towards reducing CO2 emissions while advances are made in other types of propulsion. The challenge is to ensure the availability of supplies for the fuel-hungry industry
The Airbus facility in Alabama delivers the A220 and A320 family aircraft to customers in the United States, and has delivered more than 260 aircraft from the facility since 2016.