United flights from San Francisco to be fuelled by Neste SAF
United’s flights departing from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) will be fuelled by Neste’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), following a recent partnership between the two firms. The Finnish renewable fuels producer will supply 1.5m gallons (4,500 tons) of SAF to United’s base in SFO.
The SAF deliveries to United have already begun. According to Neste, the increased supply of SAF to the Californian airport is part of its partnerships with a number of airlines and airport agencies. One of the busiest airports in North America, SFO has received more than 8m gallons of Neste SAF since 2020.
“We are committed to increasing the availability of SAF globally, and this is enabled by bold partnerships like the one Neste established with United,” said Michael Sargeant, vice president, America Renewable Aviation, Neste. “Together, we are showing the importance of collaboration across the entire aviation ecosystem in helping the industry reduce greenhouse gas emissions effectively.”
The new deal builds on a previous contract signed last year, with Neste supplying 2.5m gallons (7,500 tons) of SAF to United at Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands.
“In just a little over a year, our collaboration with Neste has already helped United significantly increase our SAF usage at airports from San Francisco to Amsterdam,” said Laura Riley, chief sustainability officer,” United.
United is also planning to use SAF later this year at London Heathrow Airport, UK which could potentially see the airline use around 10m gallons of SAF in 2023, nearly three times more than last year and around 10 times 2019 volumes.
“As the global aviation leader in SAF production investments, United remains committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions, without relying on traditional carbon offsets by 2050,” added Riley.
Neste has been prolific in recent weeks too, with two new partnership agreements with Viva Aerobus and Air Canada, as well as moving forward with the engineering of its120MW electrolyser project to produce renewable hydrogen at its refinery in Porvoo, Finland.
It has also claimed to have delivered 23 kilotons SAF in the first quarter of 2023 too.
