Rotterdam airport accelerates SAF deployment with Shell Aviation

Shell and Rotterdam the Hague Airport (RTHA) have signed a long-term agreement to blend sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on all aircraft fuelled at the airport from next year.
On top of the European blending mandate of 6%, the airport will accelerate its efforts by setting itself a minimum extra target of 8% to meet the more ambitious goal of the Dutch aviation sector of 14% by 2030.
Using SAF is among the few measures currently available to reduce emissions from international aviation.
“Sustainable fuel is essential for the future of aviation,” said RTHA’s CEO Wilma van Dijk. “This long-term agreement makes it possible for Shell to invest in production facilities while allowing airlines to gradually adapt to a new reality.”
“It’s fantastic to support Rotterdam The Hague Airport on decarbonising flights through the use of SAF,” added Jan Toschka, president of Shell Aviation.
“It is particularly encouraging to see an airport committing to long-term SAF agreements, for volumes above the levels required under EU mandates. This type of ambition helps play an important role in providing strong, stable demand that is necessary for scaling up the supply and use of SAF.”
The added part sustainable fuel can lead to a CO₂ reduction of on average 80% across the chain compared to regular jet fuel. Besides this, sustainable fuel leads to a reduction of soot and ultrafine particle emissions, which at higher percentages of blending, improves air quality.
Shell is building an 820,000-tonnes-a-year biofuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam, which will produce SAF and renewable diesel made from waste, oils and fats.
As a result of the European blending mandate, the aviation sector must blend in 2% SAF across the board by 2025. The target for 2030 is 6%.
However, this is not enough to meet the Dutch aviation sector’s more ambitious target of 14% SAF by 2030, as set out in the Sustainable Aviation Agreement.
RTHA therefore wants to speed things up by raising the target for 2024 by an additional 2 percentage points.