Aer Lingus owner IAG has today announced a new Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) purchase deal with e-SAF producer Infinium, which plans to supply power-to-liquid e-SAF from late 2026.
Under the terms of the 10 year deal, Infinium will supply IAG with e-SAF to support any of its five airlines, Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling.
Last year, IAG airlines used approximately 12% of the world's supply of Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Produced from water, waste CO2 and renewable energy, e-SAF is expected to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by about 90% compared to today’s conventional jet fuel.
IAG said today's deal supports the scale-up of e-SAF, which is manufactured through a process that converts water, waste CO2 and renewable power into fuel.
It said this new class of fuel is not encumbered by feedstock limitations, has a higher degree of emissions reduction versus conventional jet fuel and has a relatively low land and water-use footprint.
It is also a "drop-in" replacement for aviation fuel that requires no changes to existing aircraft engine designs.
Jonathon Counsell, IAG’s Group Sustainability Officer, said the airline group is on track to deliver its 10% 2030 SAF goal and agreements with innovators like Infinium, are key to reaching this target.
"Aviation as an industry is working hard to decarbonise and policy should focus on solutions such as SAF, rather than only increasing costs which risk affecting the competitiveness of the European aviation industry," he said.
"What the industry needs is additional policy support to attract funds to construct SAF plants and reduce aviation's reliance on fossil fuels," he added.
The e-SAF will be produced at Infinium's Project Roadrunner facility in West Texas.
Project Roadrunner is set to be the largest global producer of e-SAF once fully operational and has received funding commitments from Brookfield Asset Management and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst.
