For NESTE Safety and Sustainability are paramount, says Vice-President Jonathan Wood

Neste’s Vice President of Renewable Aviation, Jonathan Wood explained to us what a critical role Neste has to play in the world of sustainable aviation. “Safety and sustainability are paramount,” says Wood, setting the stage for our interview.  

When it comes to air travel, it is but natural that the idea of safe flying is what every passenger pays for. But what about the emissions - sustainable aviation fuel is a way to immediately reduce emissions and move towards our target to limit global warming to 1.5C. Wood is rather pleased with Neste’s recent achievement where a commercial flight has flown on 100% sustainable aviation fuel. 

While there is significant growth in demand for SAF, the current approvals required that it is blended up to a maximum of 50% with fossil jet fuel. In order to deliver up to 80% emission reduction it is therefore key to work with the aircraft and engine manufacturers to test neat or 100% SAF and secure its global approval for use in all aircraft.   “The flight in Sweden last month with a commercial airline was with 100% sustainable aviation fuel in all engines and was done in close collaboration with the aircraft and engine manufacturers,” focusing on the strong collaborative efforts that have made this project a resounding success.  

The idea of SAF has been debated for a long while – it is available and now is the time for action given the ever-increasing risk of global warming flying past the +1.5C Paris target. While Wood acknowledges the role of the IATA in setting the stage for the larger picture for the industry, according to him, “SAF is seen, regardless of which scenario you look at, as playing a really important role. Well over 50%, or 63% in the base case scenario, of all emission reduction will need to be achieved through the use of sustainable aviation fuel.” 

According to Wood, the dynamics of the Middle East are different from the EU. According to him, “In the case of the Middle East and the UAE, the policy discussion needs to progress as to what targets are achievable and how they can be achieved, from a policy point of view” and this he adds, could be in the form of mandates and/or, incentives.” We see policy developing rapidly in Europe, North America, and now also in other regions such as Singapore”.

Jonathan Wood believes that one of the key obstacles has been promoting demand to help drive massive supply side investments and raising the awareness and understanding of SAF.  

“Neste is investing significantly to increase its production by more than 15 times over the next year,” he says.  

Aware of the significant costs associated with SAF compared to fossil jet fuel, Wood puts into perspective the fact that flying with regular conventional fossil fuel is a part of the existing refinery system, but when it comes to SAF new investment is required. “The extra cost of the SAF needs to be funded so we need to support the airlines in making this an attractive value proposition for the end customer, , and we are now seeing offers enabling the end customer to choose to pay for lower emissions by using SAF.”  

This also means that the burden of saving the planet is not just on the airline industry’s shoulders, but we all have a part to play – governments need to put in place policies to drive demand which will help de-risk the huge investments required by renewable fuel producers, and airlines need to be bold in encouraging customers to pay to use SAF.  

On the question of whether the pandemic has had any significant impact on SAF and the investment in terms of human effort and finance, Wood is of the firm belief that this is not the case.  

“I would say that the commitment to the sustainable development goals and the challenge we've got as a global society to get back on track for the 1.5-degree Centigrade target, set in the Paris agreements, remains undiminished despite COVID. COVID has obviously impacted the aviation industry probably more than any other sector, but it is recovering and will recover for sure,” he says.  

Wood attributes the idea to the human desire for travel and business which is unending. Travel per se is not the problem, it is the carbon emissions and climate impacts which we need to address

“The carbon handprint is how, along with the products and services we offer, we can help reduce the emissions of our customers. Neste is sourcing waste and residue materials, recycling carbon already in our ecosystem to make a product that enables our customers to reduce their net emissions versus the alternative which is, of course, fossil fuel. So that's the handprint. And we've got this obviously audited and are already reducing the emissions of our customers by over 10 million tonnes per annum. And our target is to double that, so that our customers are reducing their emissions by over 20 million tonnes by 2030, by using our products like sustainable aviation fuel.y,” 

So, while the rest of the industry is still working on the more traditional and viable carbon footprint, Neste is ahead of its counterparts.  

Overall, the nexus between the need for constant innovation and accelerated growth will define the success of SAF. Talking about how the various airlines in the Middle East are opting for and acquiring new aircraft to reduce both fuel consumption and emissions, Wood further asserts, “We look forward to working with those airlines to grow the demand and help secure the funding to increase the usage of sustainable aviation fuel over the next year or two. And I'm sure that the Middle Eastern region will want to play a part in this as a leader in the aviation sector more generally.”  

With a practical grip on the present and an optimistic eye on the future, Wood looks back at the origins of his passion for the industry.  

“I have been in the energy business for my entire career, and prior to joining Neste had been looking at and investing in lower carbon solutions. It is great to be able to now contribute even more to addressing this global warming challenge.  

Wood became deeply invested in the ideas that Neste had for the world and found himself fit in like a pea in a pod. “It just felt like I had some knowledge and expertise that Neste was looking for, and that there was a company that I was very interested in.” 

“It's a challenge that we as a society need to step up to, but also personally it is a fantastic development, opportunity, and privilege,” Wood concludes.