Neste and United have announced that the airline’s departing flights from San Francisco International Airport (SFO), US, will be fuelled by a blend of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation FuelTM. Neste will supply 1.5 million gal. (4500 t) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to United in the US, building on the announcement last year of providing 2.5 million gal. (7500 t) of SAF to the airline at Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands.
The SAF deliveries commenced at SFO in April 2023. United is also planning to use SAF later this year at London Heathrow Airport, UK, which could put the airline on track to use almost 10 million gal. (30 000 t) of SAF in 2023, nearly three times more than in 2022 and close to 10 times more than in 2019.
“In just a little over a year, our collaboration with Neste has already helped United significantly increase our SAF usage at airports from San Francisco to Amsterdam,” said United Chief Sustainability Officer, Lauren Riley. “As the global aviation leader in SAF production investments, United remains committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions, without relying on traditional carbon offsets by 2050.”
“We are committed to increasing the availability of SAF globally, and this is enabled by bold partnerships like the one Neste established with United. Together, we are showing the importance of collaboration across the entire aviation ecosystem in helping the industry reduce greenhouse gas emissions effectively,” said Michael Sargeant, Vice President Americas from the Renewable Aviation business unit at Neste.
The increased supply of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is enabled by Neste’s ambitious growth strategy as well as the partnership between Neste, different airlines and airport agencies to establish the supply network to deliver large volumes of SAF at San Francisco International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the US. Neste delivered the first batch of SAF to SFO in 2020, and more than 8 million gal. (24 000 t) of Neste’s SAF have been supplied to SFO to date. Neste’s global SAF production capability will grow to 515 million gal. (1.5 million t) per annum by the end of 2023, and to 750 million gal. (2.2 million t) in 2026.