American Airlines has received the aviation industry's first-ever CORSIA-certified batch of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Neste.

CORSIA, or Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, is a carbon offset and carbon reduction scheme to lower CO2 emissions for international flights, helping to curb the aviation impact on climate change.

It was developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Until now, no airline in the world has taken delivery of CORSIA-certified SAF.

"American is proud to partner with Neste to demonstrate how SAF can meet the robust sustainability standards that ICAO has established for CORSIA," said Jill Blickstein, head of ESG at American. "Our work together will also help demonstrate to American's customers that SAF can meet these high standards."

Neste is a leading SAF producer and delivered the batch as a part of a pilot program to certify SAF as a CORSIA eligible fuel that can be used by an airline to meet its emissions obligation under CORSIA.

Neste noted that it has been working closely with aviation stakeholders to accelerate the use of SAF and has a long-standing partnership with American, the world's largest airline.

The SAF-producer noted that both companies support CORSIA's emissions reduction goals, but as the SAF certification process under CORSIA is new, they decided to set up a pilot project to certify a batch of SAF and use that process to understand its challenges.

SAF use to push sustainable aviation goals

"Sustainable aviation fuel is widely acknowledged as a key element in achieving the aviation industry's goals of carbon neutral growth from 2020 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050," said Thorsten Lange, Neste's executive vice president, Renewable Aviation.

"The pilot with American Airlines was a perfect opportunity for proving the feasibility of delivering CORSIA certified SAF and gaining useful insights into setting up the process and the challenges we need to overcome to enable the implementation of CORSIA," Lange added.

Compliance with the CORSIA sustainability criteria requires an independent attestation by an ICAO-approved Sustainability Certification Scheme (SCS). Neste noted that it decided to pursue this certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system.

Neste said its  MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is a "today solution" for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of flying by up to 80% over the fuel's life cycle compared to fossil jet fuel.

Neste-produced SAF is made from sustainably sourced, 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials. As a drop-in fuel, it can be used with existing aircraft engines and airport fuel infrastructure, requiring no extra investment to them.