TotalEnergies And Air France-KLM Sign Memorandum Of Understanding To Supply Sustainable Aviation Fuel For 10 Years

TotalEnergies and Air France-KLM have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the delivery of more than one million cubic metres/800,000 tonnes of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) by TotalEnergies to Air France-KLM Group airlines over the 10-year period from 2023. 

This sustainable aviation fuel will be produced by TotalEnergies at its biorefineries. It will be made available to Air France-KLM Group’s airlines, mainly for flights departing from France (in accordance with French legislation) and the Netherlands. 

The sustainable aviation fuels produced by TotalEnergies reduce CO₂ emissions by at least 80% on average over the entire lifecycle, compared with their fossil equivalent.

Air France-KLM has implemented a strict sourcing policy and is committed to purchasing only SAFs that do not compete with human food or animal feed, that are RSB* or ISCC** certified for sustainability, and that are not derived from palm oil.

With the signing of this MoU, Air France-KLM and TotalEnergies confirm their collaboration and their goal of furthering the development of a more responsible aviation sector.

A long-standing partnership in support of aviation sector decarbonization 

Air France-KLM Group and TotalEnergies have been collaborating on the use of sustainable aviation fuel for nearly 10 years. Their partnership began with “Lab Line for the Future” in 2014, a two-year experiment during which 78 flights between Paris-Orly and Toulouse and between Paris-Orly and Nice were powered by 10% SAF supplied by TotalEnergies. 

In January 2020, Air France and TotalEnergies participated, alongside Safran and Suez, in the Call for Expression of Interest launched by the French government aimed at developing sustainable aviation fuel production in France.

Over the last two years, TotalEnergies has also supplied SAF for a number of Air France-KLM Group commercial flights:

• In May 2021, Air France’s first long-haul flight, between Paris and Montreal, powered by 16 % SAF produced in France;
• In October 2021, an Air France flight between Paris and Nice powered by 30% SAF;
• In May 2022, an Air France flight operated as part of the SkyTeam Sustainable Flight Challenge, between Paris and Montreal, powered by 16% SAF;
• In June 2022, several flights operated by all of the Air France-KLM Group’s airlines as part of the Connecting Europe Days, powered by 30% SAF.

“Biofuel development is one of our Company’s strategic priorities. This new partnership with Air France-KLM exemplifies the excellence of industry and French aerospace in committing to a more sustainable aviation sector. By directly reducing the carbon intensity of the energy products used by our air transport customers, we are actively working with them to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, together with society,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.

“Air France-KLM is fully committed to advancing SAF production in Europe and around the world. This Memorandum of Understanding with TotalEnergies is another building block in the development of French production that can meet the airlines’ needs, marking a milestone in the successful decarbonization of our business. We continue to step up our efforts to reduce the impact of our operations as quickly as possible, and we look forward to working with TotalEnergies to accelerate our efforts to reduce the impact of our operations as quickly as possible,” said Benjamin Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Air France-KLM.

TotalEnergies is developing sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). These are biofuels made from waste and residue sourced from the circular economy (animal fat, used cooking oil, etc.) and “e-jets”, synthetic fuels for aviation. These sustainable aviation fuels will significantly reduce CO₂ emissions from air transport. TotalEnergies aims to produce 1.5 million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.