KLM commits to biofuel purchase

KLM has announced plans to buy an undisclosed quantity of used cooking oil-based sustainable aviation fuel from Finnish company Neste, which will supply flights from Amsterdam Schiphol on a drop-in basis. “This volume is additional to the existing supply from Los Angeles to bridge the period towards the opening of the SAF production plant which is to be built in Delfzijl, Netherlands in 2022. This plant, which is being developed by support of KLM and other industry partners, will supply 75,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel a year to KLM,” the Dutch carrier said. The Neste SAF will be used for flights out of KLM’s Amsterdam home base. It is a so-called “drop-in” fuel, which means it can be used without any modifications to aircraft engines, or fuel infrastructure at the airport, when blended with fossil fuel. “The sustainable fuel is produced from used cooking oil and will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil kerosene. This purchase is the next step in the use of sustainable fuel, as it is the first time the fuel will be supplied using the existing infrastructure at Schiphol,” KLM said. KLM president & CEO Pieter Elbers said the purchase was “largely” made possible by companies taking part in KLM’s Corporate BioFuel Program. Under this scheme, companies pay a surcharge that covers the difference in price between SAFs and regular kerosene.<br/>