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.”