Alongside fleet renewal, SAF is one of the most effective measures for substantially reducing our CO₂ emissions. And while SAF emits a similar amount of CO₂ during flight as conventional fuel, its overall lifecycle CO₂ impact, from production to combustion, is at least 65% lower than that of kerosene.

Marjan Rintel, CEO KLM
“We are proud of our partnership with SkyNRG, where, both as co-founder and investor, we have laid the foundation for the first dedicated SAF factory in the Netherlands. We are committed to purchasing 75,000 tons of SAF per year, which is roughly 2% of our total fuel consumption. With this factory, we are taking a concrete step towards accelerating SAF production in the Netherlands, reinforcing our leading international position in this field.

Securing the necessary permits and financing for the factory was a lengthy and challenging process. This highlights the need for an active government that invests and collaborates with the sector, so we can collectively achieve the national ambition of reaching 14% SAF blending by 2030.”

Maarten van Dijk, CEO SkyNRG
“KLM’s partnership has been at the core of this project. What we’re achieving here demonstrates that airlines and industry can jointly take responsibility for making aviation more sustainable. With the start of construction, we are proving that investments in SAF can be realized in Europe.”

This factory is an important step forward, but more is needed to rapidly scale up SAF production, making it more widely available and affordable. It is therefore encouraging that the new coalition agreement focuses on expanding alternative aviation fuels and stimulating SAF production in the Netherlands. KLM calls on the government to invest together in the acceleration and scaling up of SAF, for example, through a national SAF fund as recommended in the Wennink report ‘The Route to Future Prosperity.’ This project shows it’s possible, but it also underscores the need for more such initiatives to actually achieve the 14% blending target.

Market research conducted by Markteffect on behalf of KLM shows broad public support for an active role by the government: 87% of Dutch respondents believe that air travel tax revenue should be used to make flying cleaner. Only by working together can the government and industry truly accelerate aviation’s sustainability transition and ensure sufficient, affordable SAF is available for the entire sector.

Watch the video about the production of the kerosene and how the flight was operated.

500 liters delivered, refueled and used

As announced during the conference, the first commercial passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Madrid last month, was carried out on an admixture of 500 liters of sustainable synthetic kerosene. Shell produced the synthetic kerosene in its research center in Amsterdam based on CO₂, water and renewable energy from sun and wind from Dutch soil.

New initiatives and startups

During the conference, the stage was set for various new initiatives and startups. For example, the start-up Synkero announced that it is collaborating with Port of Amsterdam, Schiphol, KLM and SkyNRG on the realization of a commercial synthetic sustainable kerosene factory in the Amsterdam port. The project seeks to link with sustainable initiatives in the North Sea Canal area, such as the establishment of a 100 megawatt hydrogen plant where up to 15,000 tons of green hydrogen can be produced with sustainable electricity.

Another initiative is the construction of a demonstration factory for sustainable kerosene using captured CO₂ from the air as a raw material in Rotterdam. The Zenid initiative, in which Uniper, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Climeworks, SkyNRG and Rotterdam The Hague Innovation Airport are participating, uses a combination of innovative technologies to focus on CO₂-neutral aviation with sustainable synthetic kerosene.

Several European politicians, including Commissioner Timmermans, the German transport minister Scheuer and his French colleague Djebbari, underlined the importance of developing sustainably produced aviation fuels to reduce CO₂ emissions and give aviation a good future.

Various European member states have indicated during the conference that they want to work on this. In a joint statement, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Luxembourg and Spain indicate that recovery from the current crisis due to the pandemic must go hand in hand with accelerating the sustainability of the aviation sector in order to achieve climate goals and call on the European Commission to come up with a European blending obligation. The Member States view the development of sustainable synthetic kerosene in addition to sustainable biokerosene as one of the most promising and effective ways to reduce aviation emissions in the coming decades.

On photo: Jeroen Kok, captain and engineering pilot B737 (left), Pieter Elbers (middle) and Roland Spelt, Shell fuel operator

CO₂ reduction of 85%

The feedstocks used for production will be waste and residue streams, such as used cooking oil, coming predominantly from regional industries. The facility will run on sustainable hydrogen, which is produced using water and wind energy. Thanks to these choices, this sustainable aviation fuel delivers a CO₂ reduction of at least 85%, compared to fossil fuel. The use of SAF will also contribute to a significant decrease in ultra-fine particles and sulphur emissions. The construction of this facility is very much in line with KLM’s sustainability objectives and is an important step towards implementing the industry action plan “Smart & Sustainable”, which was drafted by twenty leading transport organisations and knowledge centres. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will also be investing in the development of this facility.

Fuel meets the highest sustainability standards

SkyNRG’s independent Sustainability Board advises on whether the fuel meets the highest sustainability standards, thereby ensuring that the fuel (produced from waste streams) will not have a negative impact on the food supply and environment. There will be absolutely no use of food crops, such as soya oil and palm oil (or by-products such as PFAD and POME), for production. The board includes representatives from WWF International, the European Climate Foundation, Solidaridad Network and the University of Groningen. Furthermore, the sustainability of the chain and related products are ensured through certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the highest possible certification standard for sustainable fuels.

Partners

In addition to KLM and SHV Energy, SkyNRG has joined hands with various other partners in the Netherlands and beyond, on the DSL-1 project: EIT Climate-KIC, Royal Schiphol Group, GROEIfonds, NV NOM, Groningen Seaports, Nouryon, Gasunie, Arcadis, TechnipFMC, Haldor Topsoe, Desmet Ballestra, Susteen Technologies, and MBP Solutions. These partners will be involved in various phases of the project.