The Avelia sustainable aviation fuel program is expanding to a multi-supplier model beyond SAF provided by Shell Aviation, which the companies behind the program said will boost participation and scale.
American Express Global Business Travel partnered with Shell and professional services company Accenture in 2022 to launch Avelia, a blockchain-powered "book-and-claim" platform through which travelers could pay for SAF even if it was not available at their departure airport.
As of the end of the first quarter of this year, more than 57 companies were participating in the program, and it had executed more than 900 "retirements," the permanent assignment of benefits of a SAF purchase to a specific user. That represents more than 33 million gallons of SAF at 17 airport locations, which reduced carbon by more than 300,000 tons, according to the companies.
To date, all the SAF managed through Avelia has been supplied by Shell, but the companies now are opening it up to participation from other SAF suppliers as well. Both corporations and airlines, as well as freight intermediaries, will be able to manage SAF purchases from other suppliers in the program.
That will include a "bring your own SAF" model, in which airlines can manage their SAF portfolio in Avelia, bringing in purchases that otherwise would have been tracked offline, according to the companies. Avelia also is setting up a governance structure to enable that multi-party involvement.
"Avelia’s evolution from a single-supplier platform to a multi-supplier industry solution is a powerful demonstration of how collaboration, technology and innovation can accelerate the scaling of SAF," Shell Aviation president Raman Ojha said in a statement. "We are proud to help enable broader participation and transparency in the sector’s efforts to reduce life cycle [greenhouse gas] emissions while supporting our customers in reaching their climate goals."
SAF can cut life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions up to 80 percent compared with conventional jet fuel, but the International Air Transport Association estimates that SAF production this year will account for only 0.7 percent of total jet fuel production.
Accenture now hosts and handles all data in Avelia, which Accenture global travel and aviation sustainability lead Jesko-Philipp Neuenburg said "builds the secure, scalable foundation needed for a flexible industry program."