Tech giant Google and American Airlines have announced the largest publicly declared corporate agreement for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to date, a multi-year partnership designed to curb emissions and stimulate production within the alternative fuel sector.
The landmark deal secures 35 million gallons of SAF, a volume projected to mitigate nearly 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions. The long-term demand signal generated by Google’s commitment has subsequently enabled American Airlines to finalise a procurement agreement with Texas-based fuel producer Valero.
Under the framework of the agreement, American Airlines will utilise the physical fuel within its fleet operations, whilst Google will acquire the associated SAF certificates to address the scope 3 environmental impact stemming from its corporate employee travel.
Derived from waste feedstocks such as recycled cooking oil, sustainable aviation fuel is capable of reducing lifecycle air travel emissions by up to 80% when compared to conventional petroleum-based jet fuel.
The aviation sector remains one of the most challenging industries to decarbonise, with commercial alternatives to liquid hydrocarbon fuels still in their infancy. Industry analysts suggest that sustained, multi-year purchasing agreements from corporate buyers are essential to de-risking infrastructure investments for fuel producers and scaling global manufacturing capacity.
The agreement expands Google’s existing portfolio of aviation initiatives, which includes projects to accelerate the SAF market in Singapore, foundational long-term fuel agreements, and financial support for clean-tech startups researching next-generation aviation technology.
