VINCI Airports and TotalEnergies announce the arrival of sustainable aviation fuel at Saint-Nazaire Montoir Airport

Produced from used cooking oil, the biofuel (before blending) reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90% over its entire life cycle, compared with fossil paraffin.  

Airbus, Saint-Nazaire Montoir airport's main customer, will use this alternative fuel to refuel its Belugas (cargo aircraft) and the shuttle between Toulouse and Saint-Nazaire.

VINCI Airports, operator of Saint-Nazaire Montoir airport, and TotalEnergies have joined forces to make sustainable aviation fuel available at the airport. 

The biofuel (before blending) is produced in France by TotalEnergies from waste and residues from the circular economy, such as used cooking oil. In its pure state, this biofuel reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90% over its entire life cycle, compared with its fossil equivalent. It is then blended up to 30% with conventional fuel. 

The resulting sustainable aviation fuel reduces CO2 emissions by up to 27% overall. It has the same technical specifications and certifications as conventional paraffin, and can therefore be used directly in aircraft, without modifying engines or infrastructure. 

Airbus will use this sustainable aviation fuel to refuel the Belugas used for the daily transport of fuselage sections between its production plant in Saint-Nazaire and the assembly lines in Toulouse. This fuel will also be used by the Airbus shuttle operated by Air Corsica, which transports the manufacturer's employees and subcontractors between Saint-Nazaire and Toulouse every day.

A forerunner in this field, VINCI Airports is continuing to deploy sustainable aviation fuel on its network.  By offering it in several of its airports (Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble and Toulon), VINCI Airports is helping to limit the carbon impact of air travel on its network (scope 3), in parallel with the actions carried out within the scope of its own airport activities (scopes 1 and 2).

"We are delighted to be working with VINCI Airports and Airbus on this new sustainable aviation fuel distribution facility. We are doing everything we can to help our customers meet the challenges of the energy transition. After Le Bourget, Clermont-Ferrand and Bordeaux, this agreement is another step forward for TotalEnergies, in line with our ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, together with society", explains Joël Navaron, Chairman of TotalEnergies Aviation. 

"At Saint-Nazaire Montoir, we have reduced the airport's CO2 emissions by 28% over the last 3 years. This new sustainable aviation fuel offer continues VINCI Airports' commitment to decarbonising air transport, as it enables us to take action across the entire value chain," adds Xavier Lortat-Jacob, Director of Saint-Nazaire Montoir Airport - VINCI Airports.