Airbus backs sustainable aviation fuel financing fund
July 23, 2024
With sustainability a key talking point among exhibitors at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow, Airbus has joined other partners, including Air-France-KLM Group , Associated Energy Group, BNP Paribas, Burnham Sterling, Mitsubishi and Qantas Airways, to co-invest in a financing fund to accelerate the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
With SAF key to decarbonising aviation and meeting the industry’s net zero goals, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Financing Fund (SAFFA) will be used to accelerate the availability of SAF by investing in technologically mature SAF-producing projects, including waste-based feedstocks. SAFFA is focusing on SAF that is eligible for RefuelEU Aviation or Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) certification.
The commitment from all partners amounts to an aggregate of approximately US$200 million with investments diversified by region and across different SAF production pathways.
Crysalis Biosciences, a tech company dedicated to renewing US chemical manufacturing infrastructure with innovative fuel and chemical production technologies, is the first company SAFFA has invested in. Crysalis’ recent accomplishments include the acquisition and renovation of the Monarch facility, an ethanol plant in Illinois. The plant has already received the required environmental authorisation to resume operations with the aim to produce low carbon intensity SAF and biochemicals.
