Lufthansa Cargo powers freighters with sustainable aviation fuel

Lufthansa Cargo has operated its first freighter flight entirely powered by s ustainable aviation fuel (SAF) . [caption id="attachment_415064" align="alignright" width="500"] Lufthansa Cargo has applied a decal to unit 66089. (Photo: Lufthansa Cargo)[/caption] According to the carrier, the Nov. 29 flight was carried out in collaboration with freight forwarder DB Schenker, and transported goods including health care produc ts by Siemens Healthineers from Frankfurt (FRA) to Shanghai (PVG). U nit 41678 , one of Lufthansa Cargo’s nine 777Fs , was utilized for the flight . Beginning with the carrier’s summer schedule, the carrier-forwarder pair will operate regular flights using the SAF. While the regular flights are an opportunity to cater to sustainability-minded shippers , higher costs compared to traditional fuels will inhibi t a rapid shift to SAF-fueled freighters. “Sustainable aviation fuel is three to six times more expensive,” said Dorothea von Boxberg , COO of Lufthansa Cargo. “T hat means not everybody wil l have the ability or willingness to pay for it . ” Lufthansa Cargo has also applied a d ecal to another of its 777F s (66089 ) . SAF is produced from biological or nonbiological material , as opposed to conventional fossil -based sources . According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), using SAF can lead to reductions in overall carbon dioxide life-cycle emissions of up to 80% compared with conventional fossil fuels. As a ”drop -in fuel,” SAF can be integrated into existing aviation infrastructure without the need for a dditional adaptation to engines or fueling systems . Government support for decarbonizing aviation , either on a regional or global basis, could catalyze the shift to SAFs. In practice, this would likely include either requirements for “a certain share of SAF” on each flight, or subsidies or support for “refineries or some of the steps in the [SAF] value chain,” said v on Boxberg . This story originally appeared in the December 2020 Issue of Cargo Facts .

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