100% SAF Ready by 2030
What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel?
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a renewable energy source derived from non-petroleum feedstocks such as biomass, used cooking oil, municipal waste, agricultural residue, and other sustainable sources. Its importance in aviation sustainability lies in its ability to significantly reduce carbon emissions compared to traditional jet fuels. Drop-in SAF can be seamlessly integrated into existing aircraft and infrastructure, offering a tangible and immediate way to mitigate the environmental impact of air travel. Its use addresses the aviation industry’s commitment to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, promoting low-carbon energy alternatives, and advancing the overall goal of sustainable aviation practices. Today, our turboprops are the most efficient and lowest emitting regional aircraft worldwide.
Our road towards 100% SAF capability
*Waiting for international fuel standard validation by ASTM
Driving the decarbonisation of regional aviation
Today, our turboprops are the most efficient and lowest emission regional aircraft worldwide, and they are already 50% SAF compatible.
Yet, we want to further drive the decarbonisation of air transport and strongly believe that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will play a critical role to this end both in the short and long term.
With 80%* emissions reduction over its lifecycle versus conventional jet fuel, SAF powers aviation’s flightpath to a reduced carbon footprint. SAF-powered aircraft provide additional non-CO2 benefits thanks to significantly reduced particulate emissions.
In 2022, ATR made history as the first manufacturer to successfully complete a test flight with 100% SAF in both engines of a commercial aircraft. We are waiting for the international fuel standard validation by ASTM, in the second half of the decade, to achieve the 100% SAF compatibility of our entire aircraft family.
Contributing to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
Along with other key players in aviation, we are committed to contributing to the Paris Agreement targets, by adopting a clear roadmap to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
Since August 2023, all our production test flights are powered with 30% SAF, which represents a saving of almost four tonnes of CO2 per flight.
In the future, we plan to extend the use of SAF to all our test flights performed by our prototypes.
Supporting our customers in the use of SAF
Since 2021, we have been supporting our customers’ sustainability challenges by offering them to introduce 30% SAF blends on the first leg of delivery flights.
The first delivery of ATR aircraft using SAF was made to our Japanese customer, HAC, in September 2021.