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Aegean and ELPE put Greece on the map of ‘green’ air transport

The strategic agreement AEGEAN – Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) for the use of sustainable SAF aviation fuel puts Greece on the green aviation map.

In particular, Hellenic Petroleum Group, through its subsidiary EKO, undertook to ensure the supply of SAF in Greece, specifically at the airport “Macedonia” with AEGEAN using SAF on its flights departing from its base in Thessaloniki, being the first Greek airline and one of the few in Europe, which operates flights on a regular basis with sustainable fuels.

The above agreement was presented today by the president of AEGEAN, Eutychios Vassilakis, and the managing director of the ELPE Group, Andreas Siamisii, to the competent ministers of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skrekas, and of Infrastructure & Transport, Kostas Karamanlis, in a joint meeting at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.

With this agreement, the two organizations pave the way for the timely adaptation of our country to the objectives of the forthcoming European legislation for the mandatory use of 2% SAF in 2025 in all flights from EU airports and lay the foundations to create the necessary conditions that will include the country on the map of sustainable aviation.

During the meeting, AEGEAN and ELPE highlighted the need to include SAFs in the national energy and climate planning and submitted specific proposals to support their development and use in Greece, in view of the upcoming European commitments starting in 2025 and beyond.

The costs are borne by the two companies, while the plans are for flights departing from Athens airport to be able to be supplied with SAF fuel.

Government support – Establishment of an inter-ministerial committee

The initiative of the two companies was welcomed by the co-competent ministers of Environment K. Skrekas and Transport & Infrastructure K. Karamanlis.

In fact, it was agreed to set up an inter-ministerial committee in which the general secretaries of the Ministries of Infrastructure and Transport, Environment and Energy as well as Finance will participate with the purpose of further investigating issues related to the country’s proposals for:

– the emerging European regulations around green aviation fuels

– the supply chain for green fuels and airport facilities, and

– the opportunities for the production of green aviation fuel within Greece.

What are sustainable fuels and what are they made from?

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are one of the key drivers of aviation decarbonisation as they are produced from sustainable raw materials such as biomass, used oils, animal fats.

They help reduce emissions by around 80% compared to conventional fuels, their technology is readily available and can be used from today with existing aircraft.

At the moment in Europe, SAFs are mainly produced in units in Germany, Finland, Holland, France, Italy, Spain, etc. -but not in Greece- with the total amount of SAF produced being estimated at <1% in relation to the total demand for aviation fuel and its disposal price being 2 to 4 times higher than the price of conventional aviation fuel.

According to EU estimates and targets, the total amount of SAF is not expected to exceed 8-10% by 2030. That is why today in Europe SAF have started to be made available on a regular basis in only 7 airports (Frankfurt, Paris CDG , Amsterdam, Helsinki, Stockholm, Hamburg, Munich) with Greece being the 8th country.

It is recalled that in Greece the first flight with a mixture of sustainable aviation fuels was carried out by AEGEAN in July 2021 during the delivery flight of another A321neo type aircraft from Hamburg.

The Minister of Infrastructure & Transport, Costas Karamanlis, after congratulating the two companies for their joint effort in a period of intense international energy crisis, pointed out that green transport is a central goal of both the European Union and the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“We all understand how critical green transport is, especially when we talk about air transport. This initiative puts our country in the international vanguard and is part of a logic that we in the Mitsotakis government also believe we must advance. Yes let’s join forces together, the private sector together with the cooperation of the two co-competent ministries, so that we can achieve the results we want” he added, assuring “from our side, the Minister of Environment & Energy and I will do everything possible to contribute to the achievement of this goal”, he emphasized.

The Minister of Environment & Energy, Kostas Skrekas, also congratulated the two companies, pointing out that tackling the causes of climate change is a big challenge for all of us.

“Our government has shown that it can be a pioneer, as Greece is included in the countries with the largest percentage of energy production from RES, worldwide. The cooperation of the two large companies, ELPE and AEGEAN, proves that the private sector can also participate in the effort to deal with the climate crisis and the green transition,” he added.

“AEGEAN uses large amounts of sustainable fuels and this is one factor why the government supports this effort. Already nowadays the debate in Europe on aviation fuel is coming to an end, but we are leading the way as today’s initiative even precedes that of the European directive that is expected,” said Minister K. Skrekas.

Euthychios Vassilakis, president of AEGEAN said:

“At AEGEAN we have been working systematically in recent years for more green and environmentally sustainable transport, both through our fleet renewal program and through the implementation of sustainable and innovative solutions, such as the expanded use of sustainable fuels in our flights. Our cooperation with the HELLENIC PETROLEUM Group for the use of SAF blend on our flights from the Thessaloniki base, despite the unfavorable situation and the effects on fuel costs, it fulfills our commitment to continuously increase our financial footprint while our environmental footprint will decrease. While we are optimistic that we will soon be able to refuel our flights departing from Athens airport with SAF fuel, as technological solutions that will reduce the environmental footprint of air transport to zero are not yet applicable on a large scale, we must seek practical solutions and through cooperation to form together the appropriate policies that will speed up their implementation”.

Finally, for his part, the managing director of the HELLENIC PETROLEUM Group, Andreas Siamisii, noted:

“As a pioneer Group that innovates and is at the cutting edge of developments, we constantly invest in modern technology and look for innovative solutions for the production of energy products with a limited or even zero footprint. Today, together with AEGEAN, we are taking a first but important step for our country to ensure environmentally sustainable air transport and I am confident, after today’s meeting with the relevant ministers, that the State will also respond to the challenges ahead of us. The use of SAF is a feasible and effective solution for the short-term reduction of carbon footprint of the global aviation industry, without requiring engine modifications, or major changes in airport infrastructure. However, the cost of this new fuel is four times higher and international production very small. The inclusion of SAFs in the national energy planning, can offer the necessary supporting and institutional framework and provide additional incentives for the significant investment that will be required to produce them on a large scale”.

Source: AMPE

Source: Capital

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