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The airline Emirates performed the first demonstration flight of a A380 with SAF sustainable aviation fuel al 100% during your flight.
Emirates has become the first airline in the world to operate a demonstration flight of a A380 using sustainable aviation fuel (PURE) al 100%. Today's flight, proudly commanded by Captain Khalid Binsultan and Captain Philippe Lombet, took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) with one of the four motors powered by PURE al 100%, helping to demonstrate its potential as a direct substitute that meets the technical and chemical requirements of jet fuel, at the same time it is a more sustainable alternative. The PURE can reduce carbon emissions by up to 85%* in the fuel life cycle compared to conventional jet fuel.
First A380 100% with SAF
Demonstration flights like the one today pave the way for future standardization, qualification and adoption of flight with PURE al 100%, as governments adopt broader strategies to support SAF production and scaling. The demonstration flight of A380 underlines the performance and compatibility of the SAF, making it a safe and reliable fuel source, and contributes to the growing body of research conducted by the industry to evaluate the beneficial effects of SAF on 100% in aircraft performance. Currently, the PURE has a mixing limit of 50% in commercial flight engines.
The demonstration flight of A380 from Emirates comes at a time when the aviation industry, international organizations, Regulators and senior policymakers gather in Dubai for Third International Civil Aviation Organization Conference (OACI) on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3). Dedicated Airbus employees, Engine Alliance, Pratt & Whitney, In this, Virent and ENOC have been working on the tests, technical evaluations and data analysis for today's flight.
El SAF 100% drop-in used in today's flight includes renewable aromatics and closely mimics the characteristics of conventional jet fuel. This is the first time SAF drop-in has been used on an aircraft Airbus A380, with the expectation of full compatibility across all existing aircraft systems. The flight carried four tons of SAF, composed of HEFA-SPK provided by Neste (synthetic paraffin from esters and hydroprocessed fatty acids) y HDO-SAK from Virent (deoxygenated synthetic aromatic kerosene). ENOC helped secure pure SAF composed of HEFA-SPK, and mixed it with Sustainable Aviation Kerosene (THING) at its facility at Dubai International Airport ahead of the demonstration, and also performed services on the plane.
El SAF al 100% was used in an Engine Alliance GP7200 engine, while conventional jet fuel was used in the other three engines. auxiliary power unit (APU) PW980 de Pratt & Whitney Canada also worked with SAF by 100%.
Last week, Extensive engine testing was carried out on one of the A380's Engine Alliance GP7200 engines using SAF at 100%, with the aim of validating the engine's ability to operate with the special SAF 100% drop-in without affecting performance or requiring modifications. Ground engine testing was carried out at the state-of-the-art Emirates Engineering Center in Dubai.
At the beginning of this year, Emirates successfully completed the first demonstration flight with SAF at 100% of the region on a Boeing 777-300ER powered by GE90.
Last month, First Emirates flights operating with SAF provided by Shell Aviation take off from Dubai International Airport (DXB). Shell supplied 315.000 gallons of SAF mixed for use at the airline's operations center in Dubai.
The airline recently expanded its partnership with Neste to supply more than 3 million gallons of PURE mixed in 2024 and 2025 for flights departing from Amsterdam-Schiphol and Singapore-Changi airports.
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