Finnair has signed a new fuel sales agreement with Colorado-based renewable fuels producer Gevo, Inc. The agreement outlines the details for the purchase of 7 million gallons per year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for five years starting from 2027. The expected value for the agreement is $192 million over the five-year period, including associated environmental benefits. This agreement is part of oneworld® Alliance’s plan to purchase up to 200 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel per year from Gevo.

Finnair uses an extensive toolkit to achieve emission reductions – using sustainable aviation fuels,  reducing the weight of aircraft, developing fuel-efficient flight methods, offsetting, and engaging customers in reducing aviation emissions. Finnair is also actively exploring the possibilities of introducing new technologies into its operations.

“Finnair has ambitious emissions reduction targets: by the end of 2025, we intend to halve the level of net emissions from 2019 and achieve carbon neutrality latest by the end of 2045. SAF plays an important role for reaching these targets,” says Eveliina Huurre, SVP Sustainability at Finnair.  

“Gevo was founded on the principle of building sustainability into every step of our process,” said Dr. Patrick R. Gruber, Gevo’s Chief Executive Officer. “But it is not static—it’s always improving: We’re constantly incorporating new developments at every stage of our business system to reduce our carbon intensity. This is expected to make the renewable energy carried in our advanced renewable fuels even more impactful as they help to lower our customers’ carbon scores.”

Gevo’s sustainable aviation fuel is produced using inedible corn products that are processed to create ethanol that is then converted into sustainable aviation fuel. The fuel is used with book and claim principle on Finnair’s flights from Los Angeles.

Finnair has also made a purchase agreement with Aemetis for a total of 17.5 million gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel to be delivered during 2025-2032. Finnair has earlier partnered with Neste in Finland to increase to use of SAF and hence reduce carbon emissions of flying.