Moeve, Air Nostrum pioneer use of SAF at Melilla Airport

Moeve announced in mid-December that it continues to move forward with its commitment to the decarbonization of the aviation sector with the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Air Nostrum at Melilla Airport—located in an exclave of Spain in Morocco—becoming the first energy company to offer this biofuel in the autonomous city.

Specifically, all flights departing from this airport during October and November, all of which were operated by Air Nostrum, carried 30 percent SAF supplied by Moeve.

The amount of SAF is 15 times more than what European regulation will require as of 2025 under ReFuelEU aviation, which establishes a minimum of 2 percent.

Air Nostrum has refueled with 60,000 liters (15,850 gallons) of SAF in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Exolum, the storage operator at Melilla Airport, carried out the supply, ensuring an essential logistical component of supplying sustainable fuels to airlines.

SAF, produced from used cooking oil by Moeve at its La Rábida Energy Park in Huelva, Spain, is a second-generation biofuel that can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90 percent throughout its lifecycle compared to traditional kerosene.

“It is a source of pride for us to be the first company to supply SAF in Melilla,” said Marta Cencillo, Moeve’s head of sustainable aviation. “This new milestone reinforces our commitment to the decarbonization of the aviation sector, especially in regions like Melilla that are difficult to access from the peninsula, increasing the need for flight connections. This push is essential for getting SAF to airports across Spain. We are one of the main SAF producers and suppliers in Spain and already supply it on a permanent basis at the main airports of the country.”

José Sanz Miguel, the director of quality, environment and emergencies for Air Nostrum, added, “At Air Nostrum, we firmly believe in SAF as a lever for decarbonizing the aviation sector. This is why our commitment for 2030 is to use 10 percent of this sustainable fuel, a percentage that almost doubles the requirement set by the European ReFuelEU aviation mandate. To advance with this commitment, we have chosen Melilla for this environmental initiative, also as a demonstration of our responsibility towards the people of Melilla. The aircraft that refueled in October and November at Melilla airport loaded 30 percent certified sustainable fuel, which significantly reduces their carbon footprint due to the emission savings enabled by SAF.”

To ensure the supply of SAF to its clients, Moeve and its partners are developing the largest second-generation biofuel production complex in Southern Europe, which will have a production capacity of 1 million tons of SAF and renewable diesel.

With this project, the company is making further progress towards its objective of becoming the top producer of second-generation biofuels in Spain and Portugal, with an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tons of biofuels by 2030—including 800,000 tons of SAF.