On Tuesday, GS Caltex Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest refiner, announced that it had provided Finnish refiner Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Korean Air Co.’s cargo plane for a flight to Los Angeles. This is the first time a Korean refiner has brought renewable jet fuel from abroad to be used in a domestic aircraft.
GS Caltex received the SAF from Neste, a Finnish oil company and the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and jet fuel, for domestic supply. No information was given on the value or volume of the supply.
The Korean Air cargo plane, which has filled 2 percent of its fuel tank with SAF, is set to depart from Incheon International Airport at 5:45 p.m. Sami Jauhiainen, acting executive vice president of Neste’s renewable aviation business unit, commented, “This marks the first time that our SAF has been delivered to South Korea, and we look forward to further expanding our cooperation with both Korean Air and GS Caltex in the future.”
GS Caltex intends to expand its partnerships with Neste and explore opportunities to supply renewable jet fuel to other airlines in Korea. Korean Air has planned six demonstration flights to LA using SAF by November. The government will use the results of these flights to set standards for the quality, safety, fuel efficiency, and other aspects of renewable aviation fuel.
Since February of last year, Korean Air has been using SAF on its passenger jets from Paris to Incheon, as part of its effort 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 sustainable alternative to conventional, 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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