LONDON – European LCC Ryanair have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OMV to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the airports across Austria, Germany and Romania where Ryanair operates.
While many solutions, such as electrified aviation, are still in early stages of development, the industry needs solutions to cut the direct carbon emissions of flying. Sustainable Aviation Fuel is a today solution, commercially available and in use worldwide.
SAF is a cleaner, direct replacement for fossil jet fuel and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil jet fuel.
SAF plays a key role in our Pathway to Net Zero decarbonisation strategy in which we have committed to increasing our use of SAF over the coming years – a commitment that this deal with OMV will help move further forward.
OMV is a key partner for Ryanair in Austria, Germany and Romania and we look forward to growing this partnership as Europe’s largest airline Group – said Thomas Fowler, Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability.
Limited production of SAF remains a global aviation issue from few years. Signed MoU agreement gives Irish airline unique access to purchase up to 160,000 tons (53 million gallons) of SAF from OMV over the next 8 years starting in 2023.
This deal can help to reduce over 400,000 tons of CO2, which is equivalent for approx. 25,000 Ryanair flights on Dublin – Vienna route.
OMV sustainability goals
OMV is implementing numerous measures to achieve its ambitious strategic sustainability goals, and SAF makes an essential contribution in this transformation. Based on the strategic outlook for the aviation sector, OMV sees sustainable aviation fuel as an important addition to its future jet fuel range.
“We are committed to reducing our own carbon footprint as well as supporting our customers in reducing theirs. This Memorandum of Understanding is a great opportunity to accelerate both companies’ sustainability efforts.”
“Sustainable aviation fuel significantly reduces CO2 emissions, and we are delighted to collaborate with a strong partner like Ryanair and to provide solutions for the sustainable development of the aviation industry,” said Nina Marczell, OMV Vice President Aviation, Fuels Distributors & Public Sector.
This portfolio upgrade is in line with OMV’s commitment to becoming a net-zero company by no later than 2050 (for Scope 1,2 and 3). Clear medium and long-term emission reduction targets have been defined for this purpose as part of the OMV Strategy 2030.
The planned scale up of SAF production to 700,000 tons in 2030 will play an important role in achieving these goals.
Fly more sustainably
Aviation accounts for approximately 2 to 3% of global CO2 emissions. It’s not a big numbers comparing to other business. But when air travel is expected to double in the next 15 years, these numbers will grow double.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has already taken steps in the right direction by committing to achieving carbon neutral growth from 2020 onwards and net-zero carbon emissions from the global air transport industry operations by 2050.
SAF fuel
SAF production uses recycled materials like used cooking oil. Over the lifecycle, SAF reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil jet fuel. SAF can be used as a direct replacement (drop-in) for fossil jet fuel as it is chemically similar.
It is fully compatible with existing jet engines and fuelling infrastructure, requiring zero additional investment into them.
Replacing crude oil with renewable raw materials in the production of fuels helps combat climate change through preventing significant amounts of fossil-based greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.
More than 370,000 commercial flights have used SAF since 2016; more than 40 airlines and 13 major airports already use and supply SAF and their number is growing rapidly. The demand for SAF is growing, too.
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