Shell launches blockchain platform for low-carbon jet fuel trading

Shell Oil Corporation, together with the consulting company Accenture and the travel agency Amex GMT, launched the Avelia platform based on the blockchain for the sale of “environmentally friendly fuel”.

Through the Avelia platform, airlines will be able to sell surplus aviation fuel (SAF) carbon credits. Rachel Barton, head of strategic development Accenture in Europe, assured that the platform will unite airlines, SAF suppliers and cargo carriers into one ecosystem. Blockchain technology will ensure data integrity and transparent traceability, and demonstrate the environmental benefits of SAF to customers.

Shell Aviation President Jan Toschka said that the platform operates on a book and claim basis: airlines can buy SAF and environmental certificates without physically interacting with the fuel supplier. The sale of carbon credits through Avelia should, he says, “help decarbonize the industry” and give airlines a new financial incentive to switch to SAF, which is now in short supply and much more expensive than conventional jet fuel. The use of a blockchain platform will increase investment in the production of eco-fuels and reduce its price, Toshka believes.

Given that Shell, Amex GBT and Accenture took part in the development of the platform, they will become its first customers. Shell has committed to procure 100,000 gallons of SAF during the pilot project, while Amex GMT is committed to promoting the solution to business travelers around the world. During the pilot phase, it is planned to sell credits for approximately 1 million gallons of low-carbon fuels through the Avelia platform.

Shell started using blockchain for energy trading back in 2017, together with oil and gas companies BP and Statoil. In 2019, Shell took part in the development of a blockchain-based platform for Sinochem Energy Technology to conduct crude oil transactions.