Neste delivers CORSIA-certified SAF to SFO airport

In Texas, for the first time in aviation history, a CORSIA-certified batch of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was delivered to a commercial airline. American Airlines took possession of a batch of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation FuelTM at San Francisco International Airport. Neste is the world’s leading SAF producer and delivered the batch as a part of a pilot program to certify SAF as a CORSIA eligible fuel that can be used by an airline to meet its emissions obligation under CORSIA.

CORSIA, or Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, is a carbon offset and carbon reduction scheme to lower CO2 emissions for international flights, helping to curb the aviation impact on climate change. It was developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Until now, no airline in the world has taken delivery of CORSIA-certified SAF.

Neste has been working closely with aviation stakeholders to accelerate the use of SAF and has a long-standing partnership with American, the world’s largest airline. Both companies support CORSIA’s emissions reduction goals, but as the SAF certification process under CORSIA is new, they decided to set up a pilot project to certify a batch of SAF and use that process to understand its challenges.