Gazprom Neft has launched an alliance with aviation industry leaders to help ensure the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at Russian airports in accordance with international standards.

The Eurasian SAF Alliance is the first Russian sustainable aviation fuel manufacturers and developers association and plans to carry out the first flight on biofuel no later than 2024.

Gazprom Neft has teamed up with Airbus and Aeroflot, as well as S7 Group and Volga-Dnepr airlines, the National Research Centre named after N. Ye. Zhukovsky and the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation to form the Eurasian SAF Alliance.

Experimental batches of SAF will be produced at Gazprom Neft refineries in Moscow and Omsk and the key research will be carried out by the Gazprom Neft Industrial Innovation Technology Centre in St. Petersburg with the aim of developing SAF as well as technology for industrial production.

Anatoly Cherner, deputy chairman of the management board, Gazprom Neft said: “Decarbonisation and new international environmental regulations require innovative technological solutions for the production of fuels with a low carbon footprint. Thanks to scientific expertise, large-scale modernisation and refinery development, Gazprom Neft is actively developing the segment of environmentally friendly products for all types of transport. Now, together with airlines, aircraft manufacturers and scientific institutes, we are ready to start new research and develop green aviation fuel, unique for the Russian industry. The creation of the SAF-alliance will bring together the expertise of all the participants of the air transportation market to make the process of Russian aviation biofuel development more efficient.”

Andrey Chikhanchin, deputy general director for commerce and finance, Aeroflot added: “Environmental friendliness is becoming one of the most important topics in aviation. Aeroflot Group has already made a significant contribution to improving environmental efficiency reducing specific CO2 emissions by 30% over the past decade. Signing the declaration on the Eurasian SAF Alliance means Aeroflot is taking a step towards the future and reaffirming its commitment to the environmental priorities of the industry. The concerted efforts we make together with industry leaders will add to increasing the sustainability and gradual decarbonisation of aviation.”