Lufthansa began regularly scheduled flights using Neste Oil’s renewable aviation fuel

Lufthansa began regularly scheduled flights using Neste Oil’s renewable aviation fuel

The pioneering cooperation between Neste Oil and Lufthansa in the area of aviation biofuels saw Lufthansa begin commercial flights using Neste Oil’s NExBTL renewable aviation fuel on Friday morning, July 15th.

Neste Oil’s NExBTL renewable aviation fuel will be used in Lufthansa-operated flights with an Airbus A321 between Hamburg and Frankfurt in both directions four times a day. One of the engines of the aircraft operating these regularly scheduled services will use a blend of 50% NExBTL renewable aviation fuel and 50% fossil fuel; the other will run on regular fossil-based jet fuel. The use of Neste Oil’s NExBTL aviation fuel became possible on 1 July as ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, approved the use of renewable aviation fuel produced through hydrotreating vegetable oils and animal fats.

“We are naturally very proud to be global pioneers with Neste Oil in using renewable fuel on regularly scheduled flights,” says Christoph Franz, the Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the Lufthansa Group.

“Lufthansa has been our customer for a long time, and we are now very pleased to be leading together the adoption of renewable fuels in aviation,” says Neste Oil’s President & CEO, Matti Lievonen. “Neste Oil’s NExBTL technology is very well-suited to producing aviation fuel. All our NExBTL plants are capable of yielding fuel that meets the aviation industry’s toughest quality standards. This is an area in which Neste Oil will look for growth in the future.”

Fuel quality is a critical issue in aviation. Aviation fuels need to have high energy content and be capable of operating at very low temperatures. As a pure hydrocarbon comparable to fossil aviation fuel, Neste Oil’s NExBTL renewable aviation fuel meets these criteria. It also offers a lower level of environmental impact, thanks to its significantly smaller carbon footprint and lower levels of other airborne pollutants, such as nitrogen oxide (NOx). Neste Oil refines the fuel from vegetable oils and waste fats that are fully traceable back to their source and comply with the EU’s stringent sustainability criteria. Camelina oil, jatropha oil, and waste animal fat are used to produce Lufthansa’s batch of renewable aviation fuel.

NExBTL renewable aviation fuel is fully compatible with all current aircraft engines and no aircraft-related investments or modifications are needed before it can be used. Neste Oil is currently one of the only companies in the world capable of producing renewable aviation fuel at commercial scale.


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Neste Oil in brief

Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company concentrating on low-emission, high-quality traffic fuels. The company produces a comprehensive range of major petroleum products and is the world’s leading supplier of renewable diesel. The company had net sales of EUR 11.9 billion in 2010 and employs around 5,000 people. Neste Oil’s share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

Neste Oil has been selected into the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and is also featured in the Ethibel Excellence investment register. The company is included in The Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable corporations. Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) has ranked Neste Oil as the best performer in the oil & gas sector. Further information: www.nesteoil.com.