Hawaiian Airlines has reached an offtake agreement to procure 50 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over five years from biofuel firm Gevo.
Under the agreement, Gevo will start the delivery of SAF from to Hawaiian Airlines’ gateway cities in California from 2029.
Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO Peter Ingram said: “This offtake agreement gets us one step closer to achieving our goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“We intend to continue to invest in SAF, which will be pivotal in reducing our impact on the environment.”
The SAF will be made from residual starch of inedible field corn, which will be grown through regenerative farming practices. It will be supplied from a Gevo facility that it intends to build in the Midwestern US region.
The biofuel company further noted that renewable electricity and renewable natural gas will be used during manufacturing.
Gevo CEO Dr Patrick Gruber said: “Gevo is pleased to welcome Hawaiian Airlines to our customer family of airlines that are working hard to achieve their net zero goals.
“By counting all of the carbon, analysed using Argonne’s GREET (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation) method, we are working to help airlines realize these goals.”
The SAF purchase agreement is subject to a certain conditions precedent, which includes Gevo developing, funding, and building the facility for SAF production.
In recent times, Hawaiian Airlines has been engaged in other green initiatives such as an alliance with energy products provider Par Hawaii to explore the commercial feasibility of SAF production in Hawaii.
