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Budget airline Wizz Air has teamed up with Cepsa to research and develop a new type of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that will be used on all of the carrier’s flights to and from Spain from 2025.

 

Tipped to reduce aircraft emissions by up to 80% compared to the commonly-used kerosene, the jet fuel will be repurposed from organic matter like used cooking oil and agricultural waste.

 

In Spain, Wizz Air operates flights in Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Castellón, Fuerteventura, Ibiza, Madrid, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Santander, Seville, Tenerife, Valencia and Zaragoza. As part of its ongoing SAF strategy, the airline has already signed several agreements to reduce its future carbon emissions per passenger kilometre by 25% by 2023. The ultimate goal, to become entirely carbon neutral, is set to be reached in 2050.

 

For its part, fuel giant Cepsa hopes to produce 2.5 million tonnes of sustainable biofuels by 2030, an ambitious schedule that will focus on reducing the emissions of air traffic. The company aspires to churn out 800,000 tonnes of SAF and shares Wizz Air’s objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

 

Last November, both companies collaborated in an impressive initiative at Seville Airport which saw 220 flights take off fuelled exclusively with SAF produced by Cepsa in its La Rábida Energy Park, in Huelva.

 

Ian Malin, Executive Vice President and Group Chief Financial Officer at Wizz Air, said: “We are excited to partner with Cepsa, a renowned energy company, to establish a SAF supply chain for Wizz Air in Spain. In addition to flying the world’s most sustainable fleet, we are making biofuel a key element to maintaining our leadership in sustainability and exceeding our commitment to reduce carbon intensity by 25% by 2030.”

 

 

Image: Wizz Air