QANTAS has linked up with airlines, an aircraft manufacturer, and energy and financing companies to help fast-track the global production of aviation biofuel.
The carrier joins anchor-investor Airbus, as well as Air France-KLM, Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc., BNP Paribas, Associated Energy Group, and Burnham Sterling Asset Management (as fund manager), in committing a total US$200 million to the SAFFA fund.
Through SAFFA, the partners will invest in SAF technology development and production projects, at first honing in on opportunities that repurpose existing infrastructure. Investments will be initially focused in the United States, but in time are expected to expand to various sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production pathways and regions.
Qantas and the SAFFA partners will also have opportunities to enter into priority offtake contracts for the supply of SAF produced through the supported projects.
“Aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise and it’s going to take partnerships across industries like this to help close the gap between supply and demand,” Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said.
“The current imbalance is one of the reasons SAF comes at a significant premium compared to jet kerosene, so it’s critical for the industry to invest now in scaling production.
“Through our Climate Fund and our SAF partnership with Airbus, we continue to have a strong focus on Australian projects to accelerate the establishment of a domestic industry, however most of the new SAF investment opportunities here have long development lead times.”
She added that the SAFFA fund will allow Qantas to gain priority access to SAF sooner in key international markets, while helping drive the development of the overall industry.
The airline is also mulling over a number of additional domestic opportunities for investment from its A$400 million Climate Fund, which it launched in 2023 alongside a SAF partnership with Airbus.
Qantas expects to finalise these opportunities in the coming months, after already investing in a Queensland biofuel production facility being developed by Jet Zero Australia in partnership with leading SAF technology company LanzaJet.
