Sustainable Aviation Fuel
How does SAF help to decarbonise air travel?
Title: SAF Animation
Duration: 2:54 minutes
Description:
An animated explanation of what Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is, how it is produced, and why it is a scalable solution to reduce aviation emissions.
SAF Animation Transcript
[Background music plays]
Bright, uplifting music
[Animation]
A three dimensional model of Earth rotates then fades to the background at the bottom. On the bottom left side of the screen, the Shell™ pecten logo appears.
[Text displays]
Flightpath: Navigating the Route to Sustainable Aviation
[Text displays]
This episode
How does SAF help to decarbonise air travel?
[Animation]
On right side of the screen, an image of an airplane taking off from a runway.
[Voice over]
Aviation is at the heart of our connected world. As the industry charts a growth path for the
future, it must also reduce its contribution to climate change.
[Animation]
A spinning globe with red, yellow and blue lines connecting different cities around the globe. Fade to an image of an airport with an airplane landing on the right side of the screen.
On the left side of the screen one larger circle with CO2 in it at the top with a downward arrow pointing to a smaller circle with CO2 in it.
[Voice over]
With game-changing technologies like electric or hydrogen propulsion decades away, the aviation industry needs innovative solutions today.
[Animation]
Two futuristic-looking airplane appear then fade out.
[Text displays]
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
[Voice over]
Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF, is a safe, proven replacement for fossil jet fuel which has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel.
[Animation]
Image of a SAF fuel tank with a yellow pipe coming out of it and a forklift transporting a jet fuel tank from the SAF fuel tank.
[Voice over]
SAF is a “drop-in” fuel, meaning it can be used in today’s aircraft without changes to existing storage, delivery, and fueling systems.
[Text displays]
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel.
Footnote: Reduction in full lifecycle emissions. https://iata.org/contentassets/d13875e9ed784f75bac90f0007603998/saf-what-is-saf.pdf
[Animation]
Three images across the screen: SAF fuel tank on the left, jet fuel refinery tanks with yellow transmission pipes in front of them in the middle and a fuel truck with Shell logo on the right.
[Voice over]
When blended with conventional jet fuel up to 50/50 ratio as per A.S.T.M. guidance, SAF can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions - as well as sulfur oxides and particulate matter - by as much as 40%. This lifecycle CO2 reduction is possible because the renewable biomass used to make SAF today absorbs carbon from the atmosphere.
[Animation]
Grounded airplane with a Shell fuel truck pumping fuel into the wing through a yellow hose.
[Text displays]
50% conventional, 50% SAF and three circles: CO2, SO2, PM with -40% below.
Footnote: Reduction in full lifecycle emissions. https://icao.int/environmental-protection/Documents/ICAO-ENV-Report2019-F1-WEB%20(1).pdf
[Animation]
CO2 at the top with bubbles dropping below being absorbed by trees. A few seconds later an airplane with “SAF” on its fuselage appears on the right with bubbles coming from it being absorbed by CO2 on the left. Below the airplane is an image of a fuel refinery.
Dotted yellow line arrows point from CO2 to trees to fuel refinery to airplane to CO2.
[Voice over]
When SAF combusts in an aircraft engine, the resulting CO2 emissions are simply returning this carbon to the atmosphere. From a life-cycle perspective, there is no net addition of CO2 to the atmosphere from SAF combustion.
[Text displays]
Footnote: Some additional emissions are generated during SAF production.
[Animation]
Square cross-section image of the earth with a yellow dotted line arrow pointing to a land oil rig and oil refinery and another yellow dotted line arrow pointing to an airplane and another yellow dotted line arrow to CO2.
[Voice over]
When fossil fuels are used to provide energy, however, they release carbon from the past, resulting in a net increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.
[Animation]
A building/roadside café with a fuel hose pumping fats and oils into a Shell fuel truck.
[Text displays]
Roadside cafe
[Voice over]
Most SAF today is made by processing biomass consisting of inedible waste fats and oils. In the future other promising methods could make SAF from additional and sustainable non-food feedstocks like biomass, agricultural, municipal, and industrial wastes – and even recycled or captured CO2.
[Animation]
Images of different fuel sources: biomass, agricultural, municipal, industrial and recycled or captured CO2.
[Voice over]
Unlike conventional jet fuel, SAF’s journey from refinery-to-wing is complex due to the additional steps required. Rigorous testing and certification by experts ensure the final product meets strict A.S.T.M. jet-fuel specifications.
[Animation]
Four fuel processing tanks that collect, separate, refine and blend fuel. The words “collect, separate, refine, blend” below tanks fade out to three people checking and inspecting the tank on the far right.
[Text displays]
Collect
Separate
Refine
Blend
[Animation]
Airport with airplanes in the air and on the ground, a bus and four fuel tanks in the foreground.
[Voice over]
Finally, it’s transported and injected into airport fuel tanks, ready for use by all aircraft serviced
from those tanks.
[Animation]
Airplane on a runway taking off.
[Voice over]
Shell is working to bring more sustainable aviation fuel to more airports, so that we can all fly, and emit less.
[Text displays]
Fly and emit less.
[Animation]
Shell pecten
[Text displays]
Shell Aviation
[Voice over]
Find out more about SAF and what it will take to scale at www.shell.com/saf, or submit a query to SAV-Flightpath@Shell.com
[Text displays]
sav-flightpath@shell.com
The effective application of low carbon technologies, such as electric and hydrogen propulsion are unlikely to be in widespread use until 2040 or later. This means that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) provides the only viable way to reduce aviation emissions significantly in the short to medium-term.
SAF can be made from renewable sources such as used cooking oil, municipal waste and woody biomass. It is a safe, proven fuel, which has the potential to reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 80%, compared with conventional aviation fuel.1 SAF is also a drop-in fuel, which can be blended in a ratio of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel for use in aircraft operating today.2
First used by the industry in 2008, SAF has powered over 250,000 flights around the world.3 However, volumes currently remain low, with SAF accounting for less than 0.1% of the aviation fuel market.4
This is due to a range of factors, including high production costs and the fact that SAF technology is still in its infancy. As a result, investment in new SAF production capacity remains limited. Stronger demand signals are needed if production volume is to be increased.
Shell Aviation is working with a range of partners to supply increasing amounts of SAF from current production technologies today. We are also exploring a number of new technology pathways for SAF production.
Some of our collaborations include:
Amazon Air
Working with World Energy, Shell Aviation secured an agreement to supply up to six million gallons of SAF to Amazon Air in July 2020.
World Energy
Shell Aviation and World Energy are working together to develop a scalable supply of SAF in the United States. This includes an agreement to supply SAF to Lufthansa at San Francisco Airport.
Neste
In October 2020 Shell Aviation signed a collaboration agreement with SAF producer Neste that aims to significantly increase availability and supply for the aviation industry.
SkyNRG
In 2018 Shell Aviation signed a long-term strategic collaboration with SkyNRG to promote and develop the use of SAF in aviation supply chains.
Red Rock
In October 2020 Shell Aviation signed a deal to distribute SAF to airline customers from Red Rock’s new plant, currently under construction in Lakeview, Oregon.
Rolls-Royce
Shell Aviation is working alongside World Energy and SkyNRG to supply SAF to Rolls-Royce for the first engine ground tests to use 100% SAF.
Further evidence of Shell’s collaborative spirit and commitment to increase SAF supply can be seen in its membership of the UK government's Jet Zero Council and the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition.
Navigating the pathway to sustainable aviation
The aviation industry is on its way to returning to the skies, and part of that return must include reducing its contribution to climate change. The current options are limited and complex, but with urgent action and collaboration from multiple stakeholders and consumer demand for sustainable aviation still strong, significant reductions in aviation emissions are possible.
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1 https://www.iata.org/en/programs/environment/sustainable-aviation-fuels/
2 https://www.iata.org/en/programs/environment/sustainable-aviation-fuels/
3 https://www.iata.org/en/programs/environment/sustainable-aviation-fuels/
4 https://www.iata.org/en/programs/environment/sustainable-aviation-fuels/