Alsie Express to be first domestic route in Denmark to use new, more sustainable jet fuel
As of 6 May, flights between the Danish cities Sonderborg and Copenhagen will be using more sustainable jet fuel. Alsie Express is thereby the first operator of a domestic route to use fuel made from organic matter such as the food industry’s waste cooking oil, which reduces the carbon footprint of its jet fuel consumption.
When flight no. 6I101 takes off from Sonderborg Airport at 7am on 6 May, with Copenhagen Airport as its destination, its passengers and crew will all be taking part in the launch of sustainable flying in Denmark. As first-mover in the domestic flights market and in collaboration with Sonderborg Airport and DCC & Shell Aviation, the airline Alsie Express will be using bio-based jet fuel for its flights.
The Denmark premiere at Sonderborg Airport is the first step towards a future in which domestic flights will gradually reduce their climate footprint. Alsie Express expects a reduced carbon footprint from the new sustainable jet fuel corresponding to approx. 4% of the annual CO2 emissions from domestic flights on the route between Sonderborg and Copenhagen.
“So far, when taking action against CO2 emissions, air carriers in Denmark have primarily compensated by means of EU ETS allowances and carbon credit purchases. With the introduction of more sustainable jet fuel, we are now able to target our efforts on reducing flight emissions. This initiative – admittedly a small one – is nonetheless an important step towards the reduction of CO2 emissions from our domestic flights. Our aircrafts, the ATR 72, already constitute one of the most climate-friendly regional aeroplanes in the market,” says Dennis Rybasch, CEO of Alsie Express.
Michael Svane, Industry Director in the Confederation of Danish Industry, is pleased with the initiative launched by the South Jutland airline.
”With its voluntary initiative, Alsie Express supports the intentions behind the airlines’ climate partnerships. Precisely fuel is the most significant and rewarding area in which to take action in terms of reducing CO2 emissions and making the airline industry more sustainable in the long term,” he says.
Sonderborg Airport serves leisure passengers and, to a great extent, business passengers from the South Jutland business sector. The local businesses are ambitious in terms of the green transition, and according to Per Have, CEO of Bitten & Mads Clausens Fond and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonderborg Airport, customers expect the airport to contribute as much as possible to reducing the carbon footprint of flights.
”Bitten & Mads Clausens Fond has become co-owner of Sonderborg Airport for the purpose of strengthening local sustainability. This is for example achieved by infrastructure such as the airport, facilitating journeys to Sonderborg. The next step is incorporating sustainability in aviation by reducing its climate impact. That’s why we support Alsie Express’ use of bio-based jet fuel 100 per cent. It’s a vital step in the right direction and it makes Sonderborg the first domestic airport in Denmark to actively reduce its climate footprint of jet fuel. That makes us proud”, he says.
First step towards net-zero emission
The new fuel is delivered by DCC & Shell Aviation, the current supplier of jet fuel to Danish airports. According to CEO Ulrik V. Brendstrup, the Sonderborg Airport initiative is a fine example of how air traffic in Denmark will start using more sustainably produced jet fuel in the years to come.
“In cooperation with Alsie Express and Sonderborg Airport, we are in fact taking the first steps towards more sustainable air transport in future. These are important steps, placing more sustainable jet fuel on the agenda in Denmark. Domestic flights using net-zero emission fuel made from, for example, wind and hydrogen have yet to come. However, we are on the verge of an increased use of bio-based jet fuel as a method to immediately reducing the climate footprint of air traffic,” he explains.
In future, DCC & Shell Aviation also expects to provide Danish airports and airlines with sustainable jet fuel made from waste products from Danish sewage works through the HTL project in Aalborg*. Ulrik V. Brendstrup furthermore expects jet fuel made solely from hydrogen to be available for air traffic by 2030.
Sonderborg Airport’s more sustainable jet fuel is produced by the Finnish company Neste, which is a global leader in the development of biofuel. Officially known as Neste My Renewable Jet Fuel, the fuel is sustainably certified in accordance with ISCC and reduces its carbon footprint by up to 80% compared to fossil fuels. Shell Aviation is currently supplying Amazon, DHL Express and Lufthansa with the same type of sustainable jet fuel as that being introduced on the domestic flight between Sonderborg and Copenhagen.