Paving the way for greener air travel

The last few months have been one milestone after another for SARIA’s sustainable aviation project. After the partnership with TotalEnergies was announced in September 2022, the wheels never stopped turning, and it shows:

On August 30, 2023, the two companies were able to break ground on the future biofuel production site in Grandpuits (France), which is planned to start mid-2025. A couple of weeks later, the EU approved the amended version of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). As part of the EU Fit for 55 package, which is the European Union’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, the updated RED increases the required percentage of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and regulates which feedstocks are eligible for the production of SAF. In addition to used cooking oils and category 1 and 2 fats, those now also include certain category 3 fats of animal origin.

A decision that further increases the leverage of working together for SARIA and TotalEnergies but had been highly debated across industries in the run-up to the new legislation. October 16 finally marked the successful completion of the transaction with TotalEnergies, the final dotting of the i’s and crossing of the t’s: the course is set for the next phase of this exciting venture to make aviation green.