Cathay inks deal to buy 38 million gallons of aviation fuel from Aemetis

The fuel will be delivered over a period of seven years starting in 2025.

Cathay Pacific has announced that it has signed an agreement with renewable fuel and biochemicals firm Aemetis to buy 38 million US gallons of blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to be delivered over a period of seven years starting 2025 from San Francisco International Airport.

The blended SAF to be supplied under this agreement is 40% SAF and 60% Petroleum Jet A-1 fuel to meet international blending standards. The SAF will be produced at the Aemetis Carbon Zero plant currently under development in Riverbank, California. The facility will use waste wood to produce cellulosic hydrogen and combine it with wastes and non-edible sustainable oils. It will then be converted into SAF using carbon-neutral hydroelectricity.

ALSO READ: Travelling to Hong Kong? Make sure you have been vaccinated twice

The purchase of the SAF will reduce Cathay’s carbon emissions by 80,000 tonnes. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 1.3 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years. The agreement is also part of the joint procurement initiative for SAF by the oneworld alliance, of which Cathay Pacific is a founding member.

According to Cathay CEO, Augustus Tang, the purchase reaffirms Cathay’s commitment to its carbon net-zero pledge by 2050 target and its goal of achieving 1% use of SAF by 2030.

“In doing this, we have built a robust SAF procurement strategy to help meet our goals. We are pleased that this agreement with Aemetis will contribute to that effort, and we hope it will also send the right signal to the SAF industry to encourage the much-needed investment and scaling up of its supply chain,” Tang said.