On the morning of 28th November 2023, Virgin Atlantic’s VS100 took off from London’s
Heathrow Airport, bound for New York’s John F Kennedy, with a special flight number,
VIR100. This flight was a significant step towards reducing the carbon footprint emitted by air
travel, through the usage of 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) which is estimated by
some sources to be around 2.5% of today’s carbon emissions.

This flight is one of the many initiatives undertaken by Airlines, Manufacturers and even governmental organisations in a bid towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)?

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is generally made from non-petroleum feedstock and does
not use food crops or fresh water. The chemical structure of SAF is similar to that of
traditional jet fuels, but results in a significantly lower carbon emission compared to that of
traditional jet fuels, enabling SAF to combust at the same conditions as traditional jet fuels,
yet having a lower carbon emission.

This has been touted to be the best near-term opportunity to help the aviation sector reduce carbon emissions. With the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 94% depending on feedstock and technology pathway, this would enable the aviation industry in its bid to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
A brief history
The first flight utilizing blended biofuel (A form of SAF) took place in 2008 with Virgin Atlantic,
flying from London to Amsterdam. The biofuel was derived from a mix of babassu and
coconut oils. This paved the way for an increase in the usage of SAF in aviation, with multiple
test flights including United’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 utilizing Sustainable Aviation Fuel to power
one of its engines on a flight from Chicago to Washington.

Up till November 2023, Sustainable Aviation Fuel has never been used to fully power a
commercial airplane. This is due to international standards which follow processes by
American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), airlines are permitted to only use up to
50% SAF on commercial flights. However, many small steps have been made in this
direction. This includes Virgin Australia, having flown more than 700 domestic and
international flights powered by a blend of SAF in partnership with US-based biofuel
producer, Gevo.
Meanwhile, member states of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation
have agreed to a long-term aspirational goal of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions from
aviation by 2050. Some regional blocs have even begun taking steps to reduce carbon
emissions caused by aviation, such as in the European Union, where there has been a new
law passed to cut aviation emissions by putting increasing amounts of SAF (2% in 2025 to
70% in 2050) used across the EU.
Current Efforts
With the rise of the environmentalism movement together with the agreements in the Paris
The agreement, major organizations and aviation companies have started making progress in
ensuring a greener travel experience. These can range from the development of methods to
create SAF from different ingredients to even negating the usage of non-renewable fuels to
power modern-day aircraft. Let’s take a look at how major aerospace companies are
stepping up to the challenge of ensuring air travel becomes a greener mode of transport!

Airbus’ Current Effort
Airbus has adopted a rather unique strategy, choosing to research using renewable sources
of fuels to power aircraft. With the ongoing ZEROe research, Airbus aims to develop the
world’s first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035. Attached to the first A380
ever built, MSN 1, Airbus aims to use it for in-flight testing of the ZEROe prototype engine
from 2026.
Apart from the ZEROe program, Airbus has also designed and manufactured more fuel-
efficient aircraft such as the Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, which reduces fuel consumption by
25% when compared to previous-generation aircraft. Improvements such as this ensures
that fewer emissions would be produced, which would in turn, reduce the impacts flights
have on the climate through lower carbon emissions. Furthermore, From July 2023, all
delivery flights taking off from Toulouse and Hamburg are offered 5% pure SAF free of
charge to customers. This further shows Airbus’ commitment in reducing carbon emissions.
Boeing’s Current Effort
Boeing, meanwhile, has developed a strategy based on utilizing data analytics and
modeling tools to enable the user to visualize various decarbonization strategies on the
pathway to net zero emissions. The Cascade Climate impact model is a data modeling tool that provides actionable insights into how different strategies can reduce emissions and enable the aviation industry to decarbonize by 2050.

As a free tool accessible to the public, Cascade can aid organizations in measuring the impact of various decarbonization strategies as the global aviation industry strives to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This further exemplifies Boeing’s commitment to helping the aviation industry achieve its net zero carbon goal by providing data and insights on the potential impacts of various sustainability solutions.

Furthermore, Boeing’s subsidiary Wisk will also display its eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off
and Landing) solution, which is the world’s first all-electric, autonomous, four-seat air taxi.
With the world’s first public demonstration of an autonomous eVTOL fixed-wing aircraft at
Oshkosh 2023, Wisk successfully demonstrated how safe and quiet an autonomous, all-
electric air taxis are for the general public. This is after a rigorous flight test program
spanning over a decade, with over 1700 flights over 5 generations of aircraft, and on two
continents. Wisk’s eVTOL solution is one project that we foresee making a
difference in the future of air travel!

Other Notable Efforts
Embraer aims to be carbon neutral by 2040 and achieve carbon neutral growth from 2022. It
plans to implement 25% SAF use in its operations by 2040 and 100% renewable energy
sources by 2030. The usage of SAF is an essential part of Embraer’s sustainability
commitment., having also tested the Phenom and Predator with 100% SAF. Furthermore,
Embraer’s Commercial E-Jets E2 family can fly on both engines with blends of up 100%
SAF without any compromise to safety or performance. Embraer is joining an increasing
number of companies who are ensuring that their aircraft would be able to run on SAF, an
increasing trend within the aviation industry.