Gazprom Neft, Aeroflot join forces to develop SAF in Russia

Gazprom Neft has entered into an agreement with Aeroflot on cooperating in producing Russia’s first ever minimum-carbon-footprint sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), under a document signed by Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov and Aeroflot CEO Mikhail Poluboyarinov at this year’s Eastern Economic Forum.

This partnership between Gazprom Neft and Aeroflot envisages the companies developing effective aviation-fuel formulations fully compliant with international requirements on limiting greenhouse gas emissions and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s CORSIA environmental program. The new aviation fuel will be adapted for use on various types of aircraft, and will be certified under Russian and international aviation safety standards. A working group on developing Russian SAF is also expected to include Russian and international aircraft manufacturers.

“Gazprom Neft’s technological and R&D competencies mean the company can get actively involved in developing a product of this kind,” Dyukov said. “The key research facility for this will be Gazprom Neft’s Industrial Innovation Technology Center in St. Petersburg. And partnering with Russia’s leading airline can only make the process of developing a low-hydrocarbon-footprint aviation fuel even more efficient.”

Poluboyarinov added, “Ecology is fast becoming one of the most important issues in aviation—and the pandemic has only served to make this still more relevant. Environmental friendliness has always been front of mind for the Aeroflot Group. Upgrading the fleet and using modern airliners has made it possible for us to cut our carbon footprint by 30 percent over the past 10 years. The agreement signed with Gazprom Neft on developing sustainable aviation fuel marks a major step forward in improving environmental friendliness. Many international air carriers are starting to use SAF on a test basis, and plan to increase their proportional usage of this fuel over the next 10 to 20 years. We are happy to reaffirm our commitment to the environmental priorities of the aviation industry, but it is, at the same time, very important for the Aeroflot Group that using SAF makes sense not just environmentally, but economically, too.”