As the first country in Europe, Denmark will have a domestic flight route with 40 percent of the so-called SAF - sustainable fuel - in the tank. On Wednesday at 3:25 p.m., the first flight from Norwegian will take off from Aalborg to Copenhagen.
- We are reducing CO2 emissions by 3,000 tons per year, so it is a step in the right direction, says Sara Neergaard, country manager for Norwegian in Denmark.
The route from Aalborg to Copenhagen has been created as part of the government's plan "Green aviation in Denmark". But Norwegian does not call the new route "green".
- As long as we still have fossil fuel in the tank, it is de facto not green. It is clearly more sustainable than it was before. But when it is not possible to fly on 100 percent SAF, we as a commercial airline cannot market it as green, says Sara Neergaard.
The price of a ticket is the same as what passengers are used to, even though the fuel is approximately seven to eight times more expensive than fossil fuel, she says. Up to and including 2029, 800 million Danish kroner has been set aside as a subsidy for sustainable domestic flights. The money comes from a passenger tax on airline tickets.
It is only at Aalborg Airport that you can refuel with 40 percent sustainable fuel, so the trip from Copenhagen to Aalborg is not included. The raw material - typically used cooking oil - comes from European cities and is converted into fuel in Gothenburg, after which it is shipped to Aalborg Airport.
The Council for Green Transition calls for other types of SAF
At the environmental organization The Council for Green Transition, advisor for green transport Alexander Bjørn Hansen says that they support all initiatives that can reduce CO2 emissions from aviation.
- But the money could perhaps have been spent more sensibly on the Danish side. The fuel that is now coming into the tanks primarily comes from used cooking oil. And there is a limited amount of that. So we need to have some other types of fuel on the road, he says.
SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) can also be created using green electricity and hydrogen - the so-called eFuels. And it would be better to spend the money on developing this in Denmark, according to the Council for Green Transition and the rest of the Climate Partnership for Aviation, which, among other things, consists of a number of companies within aviation and green energy.
- There are no other countries that can do it on the scale and with the knowledge that we have in Denmark. So it is obvious to prioritize the development of eFuels, because it will benefit the entire sector. And we will be some of the first in the world to really succeed with an alternative fuel, says Alexander Bjørn Hansen.
The EU has adopted requirements for how much sustainable fuel must be mixed in aircraft tanks. Currently it is at least two percent, but it will increase to six percent in 2030. Of this, two percent must be synthetic fuels, eFuels.
The percentage will increase to a total of 70 percent sustainable fuels in 2050.
Danish Aviation: Flight route will resonate in most of the world
According to Mathias Milling, secretariat manager of Danish Aviation under the Confederation of Danish Industry, the new route will resonate in most of the world.
- So now is a good time to look forward to the next ambition, which is set for 2030.
International regulations currently allow flying with a maximum of 50 percent green fuel for safety reasons. The government has an ambition that all Danish domestic flights will be operated with 100 percent sustainable fuel in the tank by 2030, if possible by then.
- It will be extremely difficult to ensure that all domestic aviation has the same setup as we now have in Aalborg. That is why we believe that we should use the funds from the passenger tax to support the production of this sustainable fuel in Denmark, says Mathias Milling.
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