Wizz Air and Cepsa agree Spanish SAF partnership

Wizz Air has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cepsa, with the Spanish fuel producer to supply Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to the airline from 2025.

The MoU gives Wizz Air the ability to purchase SAF from Cepsa for the airline’s route network across Spain. Cepsa’s SAF will be produced from used cooking oils, agricultural waste and other organic feedstocks.

According to the European airline, Wizz Air has continuously replaced older aircraft in its fleet with Airbus A321neos, which can fly using a 50% blend of SAF.  With the A321neos now accounting for more than half of its total fleet, Ian Malin, executive vice president and group chief financial officer, Wizz Air said he looked forward to establishing a SAF supply chain in the region to supply these aircraft.

“In addition to flying the world’s most sustainable fleet, we are making biofuel a key element to maintaining our leadership in sustainability and exceeding our commitment to reducing carbon intensity by 25% by 2030,” said Malin. In 2022, the airline achieved its lowest ever annual carbon output, which amounted to 55.2g per passenger/km., 15% lower than in 2021.

The partnership follows Cepsa’s SAF test initiative at Seville Airport in November last year. Wizz Air was amongst the airlines operating 220 flights over the course of a week from the airport using SAF produced at Cepsa’s La Rábida Energy Park in Huelva, southwestern Spain.

Tobi Pardo, director of Aviation, Cepsa said that the company aspires to be the leading biofuel producer in Spain and Portugal by 2030, with an annual SAF production capacity of 800,000t. “We are committed to creating solutions that make air transport more sustainable and partnerships like the one with Wizz Air to develop SAF are absolutely fundamental in our joint decarbonisation journey with our clients,” added Pardo.