Emirates conducted its first milestone test flight with the Boeing 100-777ER, a single engine powered by 300% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The flight, which took over an hour over the Dubai coastline, took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) and was under the command of Captain Pilots Fali Vajifdar and Khalid Nasser Akram. The flight crew was accompanied by Emirates Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha and Emirates Senior Vice President Flight Operations Captain Hassan Hammadi.
The test flight using SAF has a special meaning as the UAE has declared 2023 as the “Year of Sustainability”. This year will demonstrate the UAE's determination to seek innovative solutions to challenges such as energy, climate change, and other sustainability-related issues. The flight supports the industry's collective effort to enable 100% SAF use in the future and help the UAE advance its sustainability goals.
Emirates' test flight using 100% SAF, a first in the Middle East and North Africa, supports large-scale efforts to reduce life-cycle CO2 emissions in line with the industry's goal of scaling up the use of SAF. The flights will also help further define the rules of the game for future SAF testing and support the certification process where 100% substitute SAF fuel is approved for aircraft. Currently, SAF is approved for use in all aircraft only when mixed up to 50% with conventional aviation fuels.
Emirates worked with GE Aerospace, Boeing, Honeywell, Neste and Virent to procure and develop a SAF blend that features the characteristics of conventional aviation fuel. A series of chemical and physical fuel property measurements were performed at each mixing ratio. After multiple laboratory tests and rigorous trials, a mixing ratio has been achieved that replicates the qualities of aviation fuel. 18 tons of SAF containing HEFA-SPK (water treated ester and fatty acids and synthetic paraffin gas oil) supplied by Neste and HDO-SAK (water deoxygenated synthetic aromatic gas oil) supplied by Virent were mixed. While 90% SAF was used in one of the GE100 engines, conventional aviation fuel was used in the other engine.
The test flight further demonstrates the compatibility of specially blended SAF as a safe and reliable fuel source. The promising outcome of this initiative contributes to the full range of industry data and research on SAF blends. It also paves the way for the standardization and future approval of 100% drop-in SAF to replace jet fuel.
Emirates Airline Operations Director Adel Al Redha said:
“This flight represents a milestone for Emirates and a positive step for our industry. We work together to reduce our carbon footprint, one of our biggest challenges. We've come a long way to see this 100% SAF test flight happen. Emirates has become the first passenger carrier to fly a Boeing 100 using 777% SAF on one of its GE engines. Initiatives like these make critical contributions to the industry's knowledge of SAF, providing data demonstrating the use of higher proportions of SAF blends for future regulatory approval. We hope that landmark test flights like this will help make SAF more accessible and approachable by enabling scale-up in the supply chain. Most importantly, we hope it will help make it affordable for wider industry acceptance in the future.”
Aziz Koleilat, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at GE Aerospace, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Turkey, said:
“We at GE Aerospace congratulate Emirates on this great achievement. SAF plays a critical role in helping the aviation industry reach its goal of net zero by 2050, and collaborations like this one to test 100% SAF will bring us closer to achieving that goal. All GE Aerospace engines can operate with approved SAF blends today, and we are helping to support the approval and adoption process of 100% SAF.”
ENOC Group CEO, Saif Humaid Al Falasi, praised this achievement, which took place in 2023, which was declared the “Year of Sustainability” by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed en-Nehyan, President of the UAE. This success is also a very important step in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and achieving the climate neutral goal.
Saif Humaid Al Falasi continued his speech as follows:
“At ENOC, we prioritize working closely with our strategic business partners to implement a national roadmap for sustainable aviation fuel. This not only aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of the aviation sector, but also contributes to the UAE's achievement of climate neutral goals, increasing fuel efficiency and savings, as well as positioning the UAE as a regional hub for sustainable aviation fuel. ENOC Group, which plays an active role in the supply of aviation fuel to Dubai Airports, shares this success by securing and blending sustainable aviation fuel.”
Emirates has already made major strides in terms of fuel efficiency and savings, as well as operational improvements, while working with determination to support initiatives that help minimize CO2 emissions. The airline also supports IATA's joint industry commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and explores possibilities to increase operational fuel efficiency, SAF, low-carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) and renewable energy.
The airline also has a comprehensive fuel efficiency program that actively explores and implements ways to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption and emissions where operationally feasible. Among the highlights of the program is the implementation of “flexible routes,” or flexible routes, that work in partnership with air navigation service providers to create the most efficient flight plan for each flight. This work has been going on since 2003 and Emirates is working with IATA to implement this itinerary as standard operating procedure worldwide as far as possible.
Emirates made its maiden flight using SAF mixed with aviation fuel in 2017 on a Boeing 777 flight from Chicago O'Hare. The airline took delivery of the first SAF-powered A2020 in 380 and refueled 32 tons of SAF for flights from Stockholm in the same year.