Lufthansa CEO Encourages Automakers to Avoid Synthetic Aviation Fuels

The chief executive officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Carsten Spohr, has issued a warning to Germany’s automakers to keep their hands off synthetic aviation fuels, which he said are essential for reducing the carbon emissions of air travel. Spohr said that there is no alternative technology in sight to replace jet fuels, and that the supply of synthetic aviation fuels, also known as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), is already scarce.

Spohr made his remarks at Germany’s biggest auto industry gathering in Munich on September 5, 2023. He said that airlines will need all of the world’s SAF, which are made from renewable sources such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and that there will be none left for cars. He added that SAF offer the only workable path to decarbonizing air travel, which accounts for about 2.8 percent of global emissions.

Spohr also urged the government and the industry to invest more in scaling up the production and distribution of SAF, which currently make up only 1 percent of Lufthansa’s fuel consumption. He said that Lufthansa is the number one customer in Europe for SAF, but that the amount available is nowhere close to where it needs to be. He estimated that all the SAF in the world would last Lufthansa only five days, and all the SAF in Europe would last half a day.

Spohr’s comments came as Germany’s automotive sector, which employs about 800,000 workers in Europe’s biggest economy, has successfully lobbied for an exemption for e-fuels from the European Union’s 2035 combustion engine ban. E-fuels are a type of synthetic liquid fuels that can be used by conventional cars. Spohr said that he was not against e-fuels for cars, but that they should not compete with SAF for airplanes.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, msn.com, bloomberg.com, politico.com, theswedishtimes.se