Boeing has entered a partnership with Norwegian green energy company, Norsk e-Fuel aimed at advancing the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and reducing aviation emissions.
The relatively slow production and lack of producers is currently viewed as being the main hurdle for a meaningful ramp up of SAF usage amongst global airlines.
Boeing will invest in Norsk’s new Power-to-Liquids (PtL) facilities – one of Europe’s first – helping to accelerate the production of SAF and its availability; first in the Nordic region and later worldwide.
Norsk e-Fuel will produce jet fuel known as electro-SAF, or e-SAF. This involves the PtL process: using fossil-free power to generate green hydrogen and combining it with recycled CO₂ from biogenic sources. This fuel can reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of air trave by over 90% compared to conventional jet fuel.
“Our support of and collaboration with Norsk e-Fuel underscores the importance of using fossil-free energy to accelerate SAF production, which is key to reducing aviation’s carbon emissions towards 2050,” said Steve Gillard, Boeing’s regional sustainability director for Europe, Middle East, Türkiye, Africa and Central Asia. “Our partnership to advance e-fuels will help mobilize the commercialisation of SAF in the Nordics and across the world, increasing accessibility and availability for our customers as we help build a robust SAF ecosystem.”
Boeing’s investment will contribute to achieving the SAF volumes needed by the EU commitments and strengthen national energy security across the Nordics. The partnership will also inform policies that enable the economic viability of the global SAF industry, while supporting long-term competitiveness of the aviation industry in the region.
“Our goal is to make e-fuels competitive with and eventually replace fossil fuels in critical infrastructures as SAF needs to become readily accessible and affordable for advancing aviation’s decarbonization,” said Lars Bjørn Larsen, CCO of Norsk e-Fuel. “Boeing’s investment will further accelerate our project pipeline and will facilitate the broader aviation industry’s transition to net-zero emissions.”
It is estimated that SAF accounted for only 0.53% of the global commercial fuel use in 2024. In Europe, the RefuelEU SAF initiative’s proposed mandate aims to gradually increase the share of SAF, reaching a target of 6% by 2030, and 70% by 2050. There are also sub-mandates for e-SAF, such as that produced by Norsk e-Fuel, with targets of 1.2% in 2030 increasing to 35% in 2050.