Energy major Shell has teamed up with American Express Global Business Travel and Accenture to launch a new platform called Avelia that will help corporate travellers tap into the potential of using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to mitigate the carbon footprint of their journeys.
Around a third of the aviation sector’s carbon emissions result from business-related travel, but decarbonising aviation is challenging due to the current lack of zero-carbon technologies for aircraft. Shell, which makes gear oil and other industrial lubricants, sees SAF as a feasible alternative to traditional aviation fuel in the near-to-mid-term, as it can reduce lifetime emissions by up to 80% without requiring a huge technology shift. Unfortunately, the demand for SAF needs to be there before companies can invest in making it at a larger scale.
Shell Aviation President Jan Toschka said that while SAF is available today:
“…it’s currently scarce and costs more than conventional jet fuel. Avelia will help trigger demand for SAF at scale, providing confidence to suppliers like us to further increase investment in production, and in turn helping to lower the price point for these fuels.”
Avelia will make it possible for corporate customers to purchase SAF for their air travel through a “book and claim” model. This means that, even though a flight boarded by an executive may not be fuelled by SAF, the purchased SAF will be used to fuel a plane at an airport where the SAF supply chain is already established, so the net impact on the environment will be the same.
