TotalEnergies eyes 500,000 tonnes of SAF production by 2028

French energy major TotalEnergies said it is working on developing and expanding capacity to produce nearly half-a-million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2028 to ensure supply as EU mandate ramps up.

“TotalEnergies is taking action to meet the strong demand from the aviation industry to reduce its carbon footprint. Sustainable aviation fuels are essential to bring the air industry’s CO2 emissions down immediately,” said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.

The work to expand production is already in progress with a €500m investment to transform the Grandpuits biorefinery site into zero-crude platform including a biorefinery with a production capacity of 230,000 tonnes per annum in 2026.

Meanwhile, the company also expects to produce15,000 tonnes of SAF at the La Mede refinery in southern France. At the Normandy refiner, the company has already begun coprocessing SAF with nameplate capacity of 50,000 tonnes per annum.

Beyond France, the company earlier this year launched SAF coprocessing at the Antwerp refinery in Belgium. The company plans to increase annual production capacity to 80,000 tons a year. TotalEnergies is also planning to produce 50,000 tonnes per annum of SAF by 2026 through coprocessing at the Luena refinery in Germany.

Beyond production, the company has also partnered with Airbus and Safran to carry out joint research and development with the goal of understanding the impact of SAF on aircraft, especially for blends of over 50%.

In terms of supply, Air France-KLM has signed a major deal to deliver up to 1.5m tons of SAF over ten years. The SAF producer has also signed a SAF supply agreement with Volotea airline to supply the green molecules until 2029.