VINCI Airports signs a strategic partnership with H2V and Hy2gen to study and implement a supply chain for e-SAF

H2V, Hy2gen and VINCI Airports have signed an agreement to study ways of producing and supplying sustainable synthetic aviation fuels, or e-SAF, by 2030, for commercial aviation companies operating out of Lyon-Saint Exupéry, Lyon Bron and Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airports. In a second phase, this study will be extended to the Alpine airports operated by VINCI Airports (Grenoble, Annecy and Chambéry).

Guillaume DUBOIS, Technical Director of VINCI Airports, commented: "This partnership demonstrates once again VINCI Airports' commitment to the decarbonization of air transport, which we are fully implementing here on several platforms operated in France. We are delighted with this step forward and remain mobilized to contribute, alongside industry players, to the development of less carbon-intensive aviation."

Made from low-carbon hydrogen, these e-SAFs will be produced at the H2V and Hy2gen consortium site under development at Fos-sur-Mer. e-SAFs allow greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 86% compared with kerosene. Their use does not require any modification of airport installations or airliner propulsion systems. This project is in line with VINCI Airports' policy of acting on the CO2 emissions of its users and partners (scope 3). At the same time, VINCI Airports has set itself the target of achieving “zero net emissions” on its direct emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by 2030 in the European Union as well as at London Gatwick and Edinburgh.

Sustainable aviation fuels represent a short-term solution for decarbonizing aviation and are an integral part of the ambitious environmental strategy pursued by VINCI Airports since 2016 to reduce its carbon footprint and involve its stakeholders in the same movement.

Anticipating the European regulation ReFuelEU Aviation, which requires the progressive use of SAF, VINCI Airports was a forerunner in the distribution of SAF in France and Europe from 2021, and offers them today in its platforms in Toulon, Saint Nazaire, Clermont-Ferrand, Budapest and soon Annecy.

In addition to encouraging the use of SAF, VINCI Airports' main actions to decarbonize the value chain in collaboration with its stakeholders are:

• Carbon modulation of landing fees: VINCI Airports was the first airport operator to introduce a modulation of landing fees according to airlines' carbon emissions. Airlines using SAFs benefit from a bonus under this scheme.
• Reducing emissions linked to airport operations: VINCI Airports implements measures to reduce emissions linked to airport operations, such as the use of electricity from renewable sources, electrification of vehicle fleets, APU-off solutions (limiting the use of auxiliary power units), etc.
• Promoting sustainable modes of transport: VINCI Airports encourages the use of sustainable modes of transport to access airports, notably public transport and electric vehicles. More than 700 charging stations for electric vehicles and equipment have already been deployed across its global network.
• Raising passenger awareness: VINCI Airports raises passenger awareness of sustainable development issues and encourages them to adopt responsible behavior, for example by proposing a voluntary contribution to reforestation projects.
• For the longer term, VINCI Airports has launched a number of structuring hydrogen projects, contributing in particular to the initiation of the Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund operated by Hy24, the world's leading private asset manager dedicated to the deployment of the hydrogen economy, with the support of TotalEnergies and Air Liquide. In particular, this fund participated in raising capital for Hy2Gen, a member of the consortium that will produce the e-SAF.