SkyNRG, Shell Aviation developing Europe’s first sustainable aviation fuel plant

With the aviation industry still eyeing a 50% slash of its 2005 emission levels by 2050, Shell and SKYNRG’s projected 2022 commissioning of the DSL-01 production plant, in Delfzijl, Netherlands, represents a timely response to the mounting pressure on Europe to further its lead in creating more sustainable flight. According to the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), an industry-wide body working to promote the aviation industry’s sustainable growth, worldwide flights produced 895 million tonnes of CO2 in 2018, accounting for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This month, at a gathering of aviation stakeholders in Berlin, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments in Europe to prioritize environmental protection in aviation.

A recent Union Bank of Switzerland survey of U.S. and European fliers found that one in five travelers had reduced the number of flights they took in the past year — in line with a growing “flight shaming” movement. Last week at the Fortune Global Forum in Paris, Air France CEO Anne Rigail acknowledged that the flight shaming movement, being led by Europe’s youth and environmental activists like 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, was the industry’s biggest challenge, being embraced even by members of her own household, according to Vox.

Maarten van Dijk, SkyNRG’s Managing Director, said of the SAF production plant project, “the shared ambitions and collaborative approach of the companies involved sends a strong signal to the rest of our industry of the actions required to deliver a sustainable future for aviation.

With the aviation industry still eyeing a 50% slash of its 2005 emission levels by 2050, Shell and SKYNRG’s projected 2022 commissioning of the DSL-01 production plant, in Delfzijl, Netherlands, represents a timely response to the mounting pressure on Europe to further its lead in creating more sustainable flight. According to the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), an industry-wide body working to promote the aviation industry’s sustainable growth, worldwide flights produced 895 million tonnes of CO2 in 2018, accounting for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This month, at a gathering of aviation stakeholders in Berlin, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments in Europe to prioritize environmental protection in aviation.

A recent Union Bank of Switzerland survey of U.S. and European fliers found that one in five travelers had reduced the number of flights they took in the past year — in line with a growing “flight shaming” movement. Last week at the Fortune Global Forum in Paris, Air France CEO Anne Rigail acknowledged that the flight shaming movement, being led by Europe’s youth and environmental activists like 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, was the industry’s biggest challenge, being embraced even by members of her own household, according to Vox.

Maarten van Dijk, SkyNRG’s Managing Director, said of the SAF production plant project, “the shared ambitions and collaborative approach of the companies involved sends a strong signal to the rest of our industry of the actions required to deliver a sustainable future for aviation.