Ryanair, Europe’s no. 1 airline, today (17 Oct) announced that the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has formally validated its near-term emission reduction target[1]. Ryanair’s near-term target conforms with the SBTi Aviation pathway and is classified in line with a 1.5^o trajectory. This sees the Group committing to reduce its carbon intensity by 27% by 2031.]

Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability and Finance, Thomas Fowler said:

“Ryanair’s ambitious decarbonisation targets are underpinned by our increasing use of sustainable aviation fuel and new fuel-efficient aircraft entering the fleet. Last year, we reset our decarbonisation target following the order for 300 Boeing MAX-10 aircraft (21% more seats, 20% less CO2). We’re delighted that SBTi have agreed that this target is in line with the levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

About the SBTi

The SBTi is a corporate climate action organization that enables companies and financial institutions worldwide to play their part in combating the climate crisis. SBTi develop standards, tools and guidance which allow companies to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions targets in line with what is needed to keep global heating below catastrophic levels and reach net-zero by 2050 at latest.

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[1] Ryanair Holdings plc commits to reduce Well-to-Wake scope 1 and 3 jet fuel GHG emissions 27% per RTK by 2031 from a 2023 base year. * **

* Non-CO₂ factors which may also contribute to aviation induced warming are not included in this target. Ryanair Holdings plc will publicly report its non-CO2 impacts.
** The target boundary includes land-related emissions and removals from bioenergy feedstock.”

RESEARCH SHOWS 43% EMISSION REDUCTION BY USING 50% SAF BLEND

Ryanair, Europe’s no. 1 airline, announced today (Thurs, 9^th May) the extension of its partnership with Trinity College Dublin (TCD) out to the end of the decade as the airline makes a further €2.5m donation (€4m total) to fund the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre.

Underpinned by an initial €1.5m donation from Ryanair, Research at the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre started in Sept 2021 addressing the complex challenge of progressing sustainable aviation. With Ryanair’s extended funding, the multi-disciplinary research team will continue to focus on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and zero carbon aircraft propulsion systems as well as expanding the scope of the research to examine aviation’s non-CO2 emissions.

Over the past 3 years, the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre has made significant research developments in the following core areas;

• examining the sustainability of different SAF types
• reducing the cost to certify new SAF candidates
• evaluating the operating impact of zero carbon aircraft propulsion and noise mapping

Results of this research, which have been presented at the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, show that the emission intensity of a passenger travelling on a Boeing 737-800 NG flight from Amsterdam to Dublin can be reduced by 43% by using a 50% SAF blend. This could be further reduced by using Ryanair’s ‘Gamechanger’ Boeing 737-8200, which is 16% more fuel efficient than the 737-800 NG.

Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability, Thomas Fowler, said: 

“Progressing towards our ambitious sustainability goals of Net Zero by 2050 and 12.5% SAF by 2030 will not be possible without continued support for the best-in-class research that is being done by the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin. Expanding out the research to better understand the non-CO2 impacts from aviation is an important next step to lead our industry towards more sustainable aviation.”

Dr Linda Doyle, Provost and President of Trinity College Dublin, said:

“Research must be central to combating climate change and promoting sustainable transport. Trinity is now recognised as the 14^th best university in the world in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and has become a go-to international destination for sustainable aviation research. I want to thank Ryanair for their support: It is good news for the researchers in the Centre and for the students who will benefit from the teaching arising from the research.” 

Professor Sinéad Ryan, Dean of Research at Trinity College Dublin, said:

“Advancing sustainable aviation presents a complex challenge, which requires the multidisciplinary approach we take here in Trinity. Ryanair’s continued support will help to ensure ongoing and new research projects deliver a number of improvements and innovations, as well as supporting interactions with regulators, policy makers and aircraft manufacturers in the pursuit of more economically and environmentally sustainable commercial aviation.”

Ryanair, Europe’s no. 1 airline, today (28 Mar) announced that it has purchased 1,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from global energy group, Shell, (enough SAF to fuel over 200 flights from Stansted to Madrid), which will be supplied to the airline at its Stansted Airport base. This purchase follows the MoU agreement made between the companies in 2022, providing Ryanair with unique access to purchase up to 360,000 tonnes of SAF from Shell between 2025 and 2030, which could save up to 900,000 tonnes in CO₂ emissions¹.

Today’s announcement, as part of an event showcasing the tools Ryanair is using to decarbonise, demonstrates Ryanair’s continued commitment to achieve net zero by 2050. Ryanair has already significantly advanced its decarbonisation commitments through its work with Trinity College Dublin in the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre, and by investing heavily in new technology aircraft, including a $22bn investment in its ‘Gamechanger’ fleet, which reduce CO₂ emissions by 16%, and a further $40bn investment for 300 Boeing 737 MAX-10 aircraft which reduce CO₂ emissions by 20% and noise by 50% while carrying 21% more passengers.  

Speaking at Stansted Airport, Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability and Finance, Thomas Fowler said:  

“Ryanair continues to lead the way in sustainable aviation. As demonstrated today at Stansted, by using SAF, the latest engine technologies and electric ground handling equipment, we are making significant investments to decarbonise our operations and achieve our commitments of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and 25% less CO₂ emissions per passenger/km by 2031. Our partners at Shell and MAG are key enablers of these goals, and today’s announcement of Ryanair’s purchase of 1,000 tonnes of SAF from Shell is testament to that. We will continue to work with our partners across the network to make every Ryanair flight as environmentally efficient as possible.”  

  Shell’s GM Aviation Europe and South Africa, Ashleigh McDougall said: 

“Shell is delighted to have started supplying sustainable aviation fuel to Ryanair at Stansted Airport, helping a valued customer reduce emissions on flights from a crucial UK transport hub. Having signed a Memorandum of Understanding to supply SAF to Ryanair in 2022, we’re pleased to see intentions converted into actions as we continue to support our customers on their decarbonisation journeys.”  

¹ based on the lifecycle CO₂ emissions reduction from using neat SAF versus conventional jet being up to 80%

Following Ryanair’s purchase of 500 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from OMV in October last, the airline has today (8^th Mar) announced that it will take an additional 500 tonnes of SAF from OMV in 2024. This agreement will save a further 1,250+ tonnes in CO₂ emissions (equivalent to c.100 Ryanair flights from Dublin to Vienna). 

Under Ryanair and OMV’s MOU agreement, Ryanair has unique access to purchase up to 160,000 metric tonnes of SAF from OMV up to 2030.

Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability, Tom Fowler, said:

“We’re delighted to be taking an additional 500 tonnes of SAF from OMV this year, in addition to the 500 tonnes we agreed in October last. SAF plays a key role in our Pathway to Net Zero decarbonisation strategy in which we have committed to increasing our use of over the coming years – a commitment that this deal with OMV will help move further forward. OMV is a key partner for Ryanair in Austria, Germany and Romania and we look forward to growing this partnership as Europe’s largest airline group.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, has today (6^th Feb) announced that it has been awarded an ‘A-’ rating on climate protection from the CDP – an international non-profit that helps organisations to disclose their environmental impact.  

Through 2023, Ryanair progressed its ambitious decarbonisation plans. The airline continued to take delivery of new B737-8200 “Gamechangers” (4% more seats, 16% less CO2) while working with fuel partners to accelerate SAF supply across Europe. Following its order of 300 Boeing MAX-10 aircraft (21% more seats, 20% less CO2), it reset the Group’s environmental goals, targeting 50 grams of CO2 per pax/km by 2031. Ryanair continues funding aviation decarbonisation research through the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre in Trinity College Dublin.                 

Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability, Thomas Fowler, said:

“We are delighted to be awarded an ‘A-’ rating by CDP. This rating reflects Ryanair’s industry leading CO2 emission intensity and our ambitious emission reduction strategy.”

Ryanair, Europe’s no.1 airline, and Enilive, a company directly controlled by Eni which holds 100% of its share capital, announced today (22 Jan) that they have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the long-term supply of Enilive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at selected Ryanair airports across Italy, further advancing the airline’s Pathway to Net Zero by 2050 decarbonization strategy. This agreement with Enilive would enable Ryanair to access to up to 100,000 tons (33m gallons) of SAF between 2025 and 2030 (equiv. to 20,000 flights from Milano Malpensa Airport to Dublin).

SAF is a concrete solution to contribute to the decarbonization of aviation in the coming decades, yet currently only accounts for a small fraction of the current fuel usage worldwide. In its biorefineries in Italy, Enilive processes mainly waste feedstock, such as used cooking oil, animal fats and agro-food industry residues, to produce Eni Biojet, a SAF that contains 100% biogenic component and is suitable to be blended with conventional jet fuel by up to 50%.

Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability, Thomas Fowler, said:

“Increasing the production of SAF is a key challenge that the industry faces over the coming years. Partnering with an industry leader like Eni will help Ryanair achieve our ambitious goal of using 12.5% SAF by 2030 and Net Zero emissions by 2050. Eni is a key supplier in our largest market, Italy, and their success in producing SAF will play a significant role as our Group grows to carry 300m passengers p.a. by 2034.”

Stefano Ballista, CEO of Enilive, added:

“We are glad to launch an agreement with such a relevant player as Ryanair right after European Union’s ReFuelEU regulations that aims to increase the adoption of SAFs by 2050. Enilive plans to boost its biorefining capacity to over 5 million tonnes/year by 2030 and it is focused in developing new projects to expand its biorefining capacity: biofuels can play a relevant role in decarbonizing mobility, including its hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation. The plants and the technologies we have developed over the last decade enable Enilive to produce the necessary amounts of SAF to meet the needs of companies as Ryanair and the requirements of the EU regulations.”

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has today (19th Oct) purchased 500 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from OMV, the international integrated oil, gas and chemicals company. This agreement will save over 1,250 tonnes in CO₂ emissions (equivalent to c.100 Ryanair flights from Dublin to Vienna). 

This purchase follows on from the MoU agreement made between the companies last year, providing Ryanair with unique access to purchase up to 160,000 metric tonnes of SAF from OMV up to 2030.

Today’s announcement demonstrates Ryanair’s continued commitment towards its 12.5% SAF use by 2030 target, as well as the airline and OMV’s ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Ryanair has already significantly advanced these commitments by partnering with Trinity College Dublin to open the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre, investing $22bn in its ‘Gamechanger’ fleet, which reduce CO₂ emissions by 16% and a further $40bn investment for 300 Boeing 737 MAX-10 aircraft which reduce CO₂ emissions by 20% while carrying 21% more passengers.

OMV is also implementing numerous measures to achieve its ambitious strategic sustainability goals with SAF an essential contributor to this transformation. It is OMV’s ambition to become a regional leader in the supply of SAF. 

Speaking from Vienna, Ryanair’s Head of Sustainability, Steven Fitzgerald said:

“SAF plays a key role in our Pathway to Net Zero decarbonisation strategy in which we have committed to increasing our use of SAF over the coming years – a commitment that this deal with OMV will help move further forward. OMV is a key partner for Ryanair in Austria, Germany and Romania and we look forward to growing this partnership as Europe’s largest airline Group.”

Martijn van Koten, OMV Executive Vice President Fuels & Feedstock, said:

“We are building a growth business for Sustainable Aviation Fuel to support the industry’s journey towards a more sustainable future. We are proud of our partnership with Ryanair that allows both companies to leverage their expertise in promoting the use of SAF. This facilitates the transition towards the application of more sustainable forms of energy and helps reduce the climate impact of aviation.”