Cepsa teams up with Iberia airlines to develop SAF

Spanish integrated Cepsa has signed a strategic alliance with airline Iberia and its low-cost brand Iberia Express for development and large-scale production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The agreement contemplates SAF production from waste, recycled oils and second-generation plant-based bio feedstocks and will allow for exploration into other potential methods for sustainable mobility in aircraft and ground fleets, such as renewable hydrogen and electricity.

It marks the first public commitment by Cepsa, a major supplier of jet fuel in southern Spain, to developing, testing and producing SAF on a large scale, and comes on the heels of similar moves by competing Spanish refiners Repsol and BP and trading firm Guvnor.

Cepsa will become a strategic supplier to Iberia and Iberia Express — which are part of International Consolidated Airlines — and will provide Spain's flag carrier with preferential access to biojet when large-scale production comes on stream. In turn, Iberia will be directly involved with research and testing SAF on its flights.

Iberia and Iberia Express have committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and to operating a minimum of 10pc of their flights with sustainably sourced fuels by 2030.

The alliance with Cepsa is in line with the EU's 'Fit for 55' climate package and its RefuelEU Aviation initiative, which is targeting for SAF to account for 2pc of aviation fuel consumed in the region in 2025, 5pc in 2030 and 63pc by 2050.

Cepsa is owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala with a 63pc stake and US private equity fund Carlyle with 37pc.

By Jonathan Gleave