Belgium’s flag-carrying airline, Brussels Airlines, has got off to a sustainable start in 2023 by becoming the first airline to receive a delivery of Neste’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at Brussels Airport using the NATO Central European Pipeline System (CEPS).

The largest petroleum pipeline system in NATO, CEPS is used to deliver fuel for air and ground vehicles across Europe. Comprising some 5,300km of pipeline running through Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, it is one of the most complex and extensive networks of refined product pipelines in the world also connecting to civil airports.

Peter Gerber, CEO of Brussels Airlines, explained that to achieve the airline’s sustainability goals of aiming to emit 50% less CO2 by 2030 compared to 2019 and carbon neutrality by 2050, the airline will have to “drastically increase the use of alternatives to fossil fuels in the coming years.”

He added that “together with the Lufthansa Group, we have already invested in the production and use of SAF for several years. The fact that SAF can now be transported from the blending facility all the way to our aircraft in a fast and environmentally friendly way is an important step to increase the use of this type of fuel in the near future.”

Meanwhile, Neste’s Vice President Europe, Renewable Aviation, Jonathan Wood, said: “Following permission by NATO to transport SAF on the CEPs system, we are proud to be the first to deliver SAF into the pipeline to Brussels Airport. We look forward to using the largest pipeline system in Europe to supply other airports in the near future. Pipelines are the most efficient way to supply as Neste is scaling up SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tonnes annually in 2023.”

The first batch of Neste’s SAF for Brussels Airlines was loaded into the pipeline system as a ready-to-use blend with conventional jet fuel at the fuel supplier’s facility in Ghent, Belgium. From there, the fuel was transported by the airline via the pipeline to the general fuel storage at Brussels Airport, making SAF available for use by the Belgian carrier.

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