SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) — GS Caltex Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest refiner by sales, announced on Tuesday that it has provided Finnish refiner Neste’s renewable aviation fuel to a Korean Air Co. cargo plane bound for Los Angeles. This marks the first time a domestic aircraft has been fuelled with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from overseas.
GS Caltex obtained the SAF from Neste, a Finnish oil company and the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and jet fuel derived from waste and residues. The Korean Air cargo plane, with 2 percent of its tank filled with SAF, is scheduled to depart Incheon International Airport at 5:45 p.m.
“This is the first time our SAF has been delivered to South Korea, and we look forward to further developing our cooperation with both Korean Air and GS Caltex in the future,” said Sami Jauhiainen, acting executive vice president from the renewable aviation business unit at Neste, in a statement.
GS Caltex revealed its plans to expand collaborations with Neste and search for opportunities to provide renewable jet fuel to other airlines in Korea. Korean Air has announced six demonstration flights to LA on cargo planes powered by SAF by November.
The government is expected to establish criteria for the quality, safety, fuel efficiency, and other aspects of the renewable aviation fuel based on the demonstration flights. Korean Air has used SAF on its passenger jets from Paris to Incheon since February 2020 in an effort to join the global initiative to reduce carbon emissions. However, SAF is not used on passenger jets from Incheon to Paris.
SAF is a renewable aviation fuel that provides a more eco-friendly alternative to traditional, fossil-based jet fuel. It is widely recognized as a key solution for achieving the aviation sector’s emission reduction goals.
This undated file photo provided by Korean Air shows a B777F taking off from a local airport. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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