Eni to Supply SAF to easyJet

Eni SpA has signed a deal to deliver sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for a few easyJet flights over the winter and secured a preliminary agreement that would make the Italian energy major a supplier for the pan-European carrier through 2030.

“The SAF purchased by easyJet, which has a purity of 20 percent and is blended with conventional jet [fuel], enables the airline to meet its requirements for flights on its two new routes to Norway (Malpensa-Oslo and Malpensa-Tromsø) over the winter season”, a joint statement said.

“Furthermore, the airline will benefit from [airport operator] SEA's SAF Support Program 2024, which has provided a contribution of €800/ton to carriers that use this fuel at Milan's airports during the year, with a total value of €500,000”, added the statement published on Eni’s website.

Government-controlled Eni, through its biofuel and sustainable mobility arm Enilive, also inked a letter of intent for the potential delivery of 30,000 tons of pure SAF to easyJet between 2025 and 2030. The potential supply is planned to be used at Italian airports where England-based easyJet operates.

“The agreement follows a series of recent commitments easyJet has made to help stimulate growth of the SAF market”, the statement said.

Earlier this month easyJet and Airbus agreed to “explore corporate partnerships to finance the use of SAF with the goal of minimizing their economic impact and thus making this solution more affordable”, the statement said.

easyJet also announced in the statement that at the end of October, it has joined Project SkyPower, a CEO-led initiative for the commercial scale-up of e-SAF.

Eni’s current SAF production, through biorefineries at home, can be blended with conventional jet fuel up to 50 percent, according to Eni.

However, next year, Eni expects to have unlocked pure SAF production of 400,000 tons per annum (MMtpa) through the Gela biorefinery. The project is expected to reach one MMtpa by 2026, with a plan for further capacity growth.

“In the future, following the implementation of the European Union's ReFuelEU regulation, which calls for a gradual increase of pure SAF input to 70 percent by 2050, there will be an increasingly more significant demand by operators such as easyJet, which is credited with being ahead of its time as it has already begun to use our SAF”, said Enilive chief executive Stefano Ballista.

The ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation requires airports in the European Union to gradually raise the share of SAFs in their fuel mix.

Each airport in member states must have at least two percent of SAF in their total consumption starting 2025. That must increase to six percent from 2030, to 20 percent from 2035, to 34 percent from 2040, to 42 percent from 2045 and to 70 percent from 2050, according to the regulation adopted October.

Considered SAF by the regulation are biofuels, recycled carbon fuels and synthetic fuels.

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