On the way to sustainable air freight

Fortunately, our efforts are shared by the whole industry, and we see progress when it comes to replacing traditional kerosene with fuels from renewable sources. At present, there are three main fuel alternatives: SAF, ATJ and Power-to-Liquid.

• SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) or HEFA is fuel derived from biological residual products such as forest waste, household waste or cooking oil. 
• ATJ (Alcohol-to-Jet) is another biofuel, derived from sugarcane, maize, and switchgrass converted into alcohol. 
• PtL (power-to-liquid) is a synthetic fuel manufactured from liquid hydrocarbon. It is produced using electricity, water, and carbon dioxide.

The prerequisites for switching to the various types of renewable fuel vary in terms of availability, infrastructure and costs. During 2023 we have seen many large investments into production of SAF, both in the US, in Europe and in APAC. In the Nordics, new production is seen in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Even though fuel from renewable sources are more expensive than traditional aviation fuel, the gap will decrease when the economy of scale lowers the price of SAF, and when the cost of emitting Green House Gases (GHG) increases. During 2023, DB Schenker has bought approximately 12 000 tons of SAF from our partners Lufthansa Cargo, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. This has helped us avoid more than 40 000 tons of CO2.

We offer the option to buy SAF fuel for their flights. This is the case for all our air transport throughout the world, regardless of the type of aircraft or airline used. Even though the SAF fuel you have paid for as a customer may be used for other flights, the climate benefits, as total emissions are reduced. This is what’s known as virtual application, or the green mass balance principle and the process is audited by an independent third party.