BP will supply Australia's Qantas Airways with 10mn litres (7,600t) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for flights from London Heathrow airport in 2022.
Under the agreement, Qantas will have an option to purchase up to another 10mn l in 2023 and 2024. This represents up to 15pc of Qantas' annual fuel use out of London, according to the airline.
The biojet will be produced with certified bio-feedstocks including used cooking oil (UCO) and other wastes, and will be blended with fossil jet.
"The technology is already tried and tested and it can be used in the aircraft we have now, which is why government and industry overseas are investing heavily to build their own SAF industries," Qantas' chief sustainability office Andrew Parker said. "Given the importance of aviation to Australia, and the distances we travel, there is a huge opportunity to build a local SAF industry here. The Qantas Group would be its biggest customer and we have already committed $50mn in seed funding."
There is no SAF market in Australia, but Qantas operated the first commercial biofuel-powered flight between the US and Australia in January 2018. It is discussing access to SAF at its other overseas airports, such as Los Angeles, and recently joined other Oneworld airlines in signing an agreement to use SAF for flights from San Francisco from 2024.
