Airbus has delivered an Airbus A320neo to China Eastern Airlines from their Delivery Centre in Tianjin, powered for the first time by five percent SAF. The fuel is produced locally by SINOPEC Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company, China’s only certified SAF facility.
On Friday (October 14, 2022), Airbus announced the delivery of a new Airbus A320neo from their Delivery Centre in Tianjin, China, powered for the first time by five percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The fuel was locally produced from used cooking oil by SINOPEC Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company, a state-owned manufacturer in China, and was the first batch of Chinese SAF produced by the only certified Chinese Facility.
In Friday’s announcement, Airbus China’s EVP and CEO, George XU, said,
“The first SAF delivery flight of Airbus aircraft in Tianjin marks a historic milestone for Airbus and particularly for us in China. It is a great step towards our vision of contributing to sustainable aviation as a long-term reliable partner in China. Thanks to the joint effort and the consensus on sustainability between us and our partners, we will be able to offer such sustainable solutions to all customers taking delivery from our Tianjin facilities. Going forward, we also aim to partner with more Airbus operators in China to fly commercially with SAF to further support the green aviation strategy in China.”
All Airbus commercial aircraft are currently capable of flying on up to 50 percent SAF blended with kerosene, and are targeted for use of 100 percent SAF in flight by the end of the decade. Since March 2021, Airbus has successfully completed 100 percent SAF test flights on the A319neo, A350 and A380 aircraft.
Source: Airbus