Air Canada and Airbus will invest up to CA$13.7 million ($10 million) to help build Canada's sustainable aviation fuel industry and cut corporate travel emissions, Airbus said Monday.
The companies plan to create a jointly funded Sustainability Co-Investment Platform to support commercial-scale SAF production in Canada, with the investment designed to accelerate the country's aviation decarbonization efforts.
Air Canada and Airbus will use the platform to advance a jointly selected Canadian SAF project toward a final investment decision while continuing to work with governments on policies that encourage large-scale domestic fuel production, they said.
The partners will continue advocating with the Canadian Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition for federal and provincial measures that improve renewable fuel availability, strengthen price competitiveness and keep air travel affordable, they said.
The initiative also expands Air Canada's Leave Less Travel Program, giving corporate customers a way to stimulate Canadian SAF demand by purchasing verified environmental attributes, Airbus said.
Airbus has signed a five-year agreement under the program and will buy SAF environmental attributes linked to more than 60,000 liters of fuel in its initial allocation.
Air Canada will measure greenhouse gas emissions from Airbus employees' business travel and retire the corresponding verified SAF environmental attributes, helping lower the trips' life-cycle emissions.
The company said SAF complements Air Canada's fleet renewal program, which includes the Airbus A321XLR and the Canadian-built Airbus A220.
Air Canada and Airbus also backed the aviation industry's goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a target set by the International Air Transport Association, the Air Transport Action Group and the International Civil Aviation Organization, the company said.
Airbus and ICF also released a study showing Canada could become a major aviation biofuels producer by expanding its domestic SAF industry, the companies said.
The study found that meeting 40% of Canada's aviation fuel demand with domestic sustainable aviation fuel by 2040 could add CA$32 billion to gross domestic product and create about 140,000 jobs, the company added.
"Through this joint initiative with Airbus, we are taking meaningful steps toward supporting domestic SAF production," said Valerie Durand, Vice President, Airport Affairs, Corporate Real Estate and Sustainability at Air Canada.
"The country has a vast feedstock potential. When combined with a supportive policy framework, it can contribute to the sector's decarbonization ambitions and create significant economic growth and job creation," said Julie Kitcher, Airbus Chief Sustainability Officer and Communications.
SAF uses renewable feedstocks instead of fossil sources to produce aviation fuel with lower life-cycle emissions while remaining chemically similar to conventional jet fuel, the companies said.