Heathrow Airport’s Perfectionists’ Café has launched The Fly Up breakfast, which is cooked with oil that is then cleaned and recycled into renewable biofuels.
Clean energy transition
The Heathrow Fly Up has been created in partnership with chef Heston Blumenthal to create awareness of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Heathrow works with waste management service Quatra to collect, clean and recycle the used cooking oils from the Fly Up breakfast. Following collection, the cooking oils and fats undergo treatment and purification to remove organic impurities and water. The processed used oil is then forwarded to Quatra’s partners and transformed into biofuels including SAF and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).
The launch of the Fly Up comes as new research reveals only one quarter (27%) of the UK believes SAF will make the aviation industry more sustainable. Additionally, the data revealed that only 14% of travelers had heard of SAF before the survey. Heathrow is actively encouraging passengers to join its efforts to address aviation’s carbon emissions by using climate tech company Choose. The platform gives passengers the option to support SAF or certified reforestation projects regardless of their airline or end destination.
It is hoped that this will become more commonplace as people learn about the benefits of SAF. Currently, 63% would choose to travel more sustainably if they could, yet nine in 10 flyers are unaware of the purpose of SAF.
Renewable biofuels
On the ground, Heathrow has made the switch to HVO biodiesel, with over 95% of its operational diesel fleet now running on the fuel. Its goal is for 11% of the jet fuel used at Heathrow to be SAF by 2030. Heathrow’s SAF scheme incentivizes the use of this fuel at the airport, approximately halving the price gap between conventional jet fuel and SAF and making it more affordable to airlines. Thanks in part to this scheme, approximately 10% of the world’s SAF was used at Heathrow in 2022.
The scheme aims for 2.5% of all fuel used at Heathrow to be SAF in 2024. If achieved, this will amount to up to 155,000 tons of fuel. To help reach net zero by 2050, the airport’s shorter-term goal is to cut carbon from the air by up to 15%, and on the ground at the airport by at least 45% by the end of this decade. These goals have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative as consistent with a 1.5° carbon reduction trajectory – Heathrow was the first airport to achieve this validated status with the updated 1.5° standard.
Energy transition
Matt Gorman, director of carbon at Heathrow, said, “We are delighted to partner with Heston Blumenthal’s The Perfectionists’ Café to introduce The Fly Up, a breakfast that not only gives passengers a delicious start to the day but will also raise awareness about SAF and its potential to transform this industry. By demonstrating how cooking oils can be converted into biofuels, we want people to understand how SAF is a real solution to decarbonize aviation and show how we’re continuing our mission to get to net zero by 2050. We know that having the right government policies in place is crucial to making this shift happen. We need a mandate for SAF use, as well as a price support mechanism to de-risk and incentivize investment in UK SAF facilities.”
Carlos Santos, head chef at The Perfectionists’ Café, said, “This is an exciting partnership that we are thrilled to be part of. The Fly Up is made up of the best of British ingredients – a breakfast we’re proud of, and even more so as it signifies a positive step toward a more sustainable future for air travel.”
Karolien De Hertogh, director of sales UK and Ireland at United Airlines, said, “At United, we are committed to our goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and believe SAF is the nearest-term and most promising solution to decarbonize aviation. United became the first airline globally to use a SAF blend in regular operations and we endeavor to increase its availability and usage by looking beyond existing solutions and investing in future potential research, production and technology solutions associated with SAF. We are an airline that recognizes the responsibility we have to help solve climate change, and welcome Heathrow’s Fly Up to raise awareness of SAF.”
In related news, the world’s first fully electric refueling vehicle with a 40m³ capacity has been put into operation at Stuttgart Airport (STR) in Germany by refueling service provider Skytanking. Click here to read the full story.