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Emirates has conducted its first landmark demonstration flight on a Boeing 777-300ER, with one engine running on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
The flight took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) and was commanded by Captains Fali Vajifdar and Khalid Nasser Akram, flying over the Dubai coastline for just over an hour.
Emirates’ demonstration flight is the first in the MENA region to be powered by 100% SAF, supporting wider efforts to reduce life-cycle CO2 emissions as the industry looks to expand its use of SAF. These flights will also help refine the playbook for future SAF demonstrations and support future certification in which 100% drop-in SAF fuel is approved for use in aircraft. Currently, SAF is approved for use in all aircraft, but only in blends with conventional jet fuel, up to 50%.
Working with partners GE Aerospace, Boeing, Honeywell, Neste and Virent, Emirates has sourced and developed a SAF blend that closely resembles the properties of conventional jet fuel. At each mixing ratio, a number of chemical and physical fuel property measurements were performed. After many laboratory tests and rigorous trials, they arrived at a mixture ratio that reflects the quality of jet fuel.
Eighteen tonnes of SAF were blended, consisting of HEFA-SPK (hydrotreated esters and fatty acids and synthetic paraffinic kerosene) from Neste and HDO-SAK (hydrodeoxygenated synthetic aromatic kerosene) from Virent. 100% SAF supplies one GE90 engine and conventional jet fuel supplies the other engine.
The test flight further demonstrated the compatibility of the specially blended SAF as a safe and reliable fuel source. The promising outcome of this initiative has also increased the body of industry data and research surrounding SAF blends to a much higher proportion, paving the way for standardization and future approval of 100% drop-in SAF as an alternative to jet fuel, much higher than currently 50 % mixing limit.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates Chief Operating Officer, said: “This flight is a milestone moment for Emirates and a positive step for our industry as we work together to tackle one of our greatest challenges – reducing our carbon footprint. Footsteps. The long-awaited journey to finally see this demonstration of 100% SAF flight take off.
“Emirates is the first passenger airline in the world to operate a Boeing 777 powered by GE engines at 100% SAF. These initiatives are important contributors to SAF industry knowledge and provide data to justify the use of higher blend SAF for future regulatory approval. We hope that a landmark demonstration flight like this one will help open the door to expand the SAF supply chain and make it more accessible and usable in different regions, most importantly , making it affordable for wider industry adoption in the future.”
“GE Aerospace congratulates Emirates on this major achievement. SAF is critical to helping the aviation industry achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2050, and collaborations like this to test 100% SAF globally will help us get closer to that target,” said Aziz Koleilat, GE Aerospace’s vice president of global sales and marketing for the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Turkey.
“Today, all GE Aerospace engines can operate with approved SAF blends, and we are helping support the approval and adoption of 100% SAF.”
The airline has implemented a comprehensive fuel efficiency program which actively investigates and implements, where operationally feasible, ways to reduce unnecessary fuel burn and emissions.
Some of the program’s most significant initiatives include the operation of “flexible tracks” or flexible routes – working with air navigation service providers to create the most efficient flight plan for each flight. These efforts have been ongoing since 2003 and Emirates has been working with IATA to extend this routing system globally as standard operating procedure wherever possible.
Emirates was the first to use a hybrid jet-fueled SAF in 2017, operating a Boeing 777 from Chicago O’Hare Airport. It received its first SAF-powered A380 in 2020 and added 32 tons of SAF to its flights from Chicago O’Hare. Stockholm in the same year. – trade arab news agency
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