British Airways Parent IAG Signs Deal for Nearly 1 Billion Liters of Sustainable Aviation Fuel – ESG Today

International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of airlines including Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and LEVEL, announced today its largest Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) purchase agreement to date for nearly 1 billion liters of SAF, with Twelve, a company that produces a synthetic aviation fuel made from CO2, water, and renewable energy known as e-SAF. 

Founded in 2015, California-based Twelve produces chemicals, materials, and fuels from carbon, instead of fossil fuels through a carbon transformation technology that converts captured CO2 into products with water and renewable energy as inputs and producing only water and oxygen outputs. It uses an electrochemical reactor that takes in carbon dioxide from waste or captured directly from the air and uses a metal catalyst and electricity to split the CO2 and water and recombine the elements into different chemicals.

According to Twelve, the company’s SAF reduces lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 90% relative to conventional jet fuel.

Nicholas Flanders, Twelve’s Co-Founder and CEO said:

“Our power-to-liquid E-Jet fuel offers industry-leading emissions reduction potential with the added benefits of an abundant feedstock supply and significantly smaller land and water footprints compared to alternative SAF pathways.”

Under the new agreement, Twelve will supply 785,000 tons, or 984 million liters, of e-SAF over 14 years to support IAG’s five European airlines. Initial deliveries will begin as early as 2025, from Twelve’s demonstration plant in Moses Lake, Washington, currently under construction.

According to IAG, the announcement marks a major step towards its goal to reach its target to fly with 10% SAF and use 1 million tonnes of SAF per year by 2030, with the deal enabling the company to reach one third of its target.

The two companies first began partnering in 2020, when Twelve joined IAG’s Hangar 51 start-up accelerator program to commercialize Twelve’s technology.

Luis Gallego, IAG’s CEO said:

“We have a roadmap to achieve net zero by 2050 including a target to fly with 10% Sustainable Aviation Fuel by 2030. The shortage of sustainable fuel globally continues to be a problem for our industry although innovative companies like Twelve are an important part of the solution.”