Brussels Airlines, part of the Lufthansa Group, has received the first delivery of sustainable aviation fuel to go through the NATO Central European Pipeline System, amid growing infrastructure for the renewable fuel in Europe.

The first batch of SAF, from Neste, was loaded into the pipeline system as a ready-to-use blend with conventional jet fuel at Neste's blending facilities in Ghent, Belgium, at the start of 2023. From there, the fuel was transported by Brussels Airlines via the pipeline to the general fuel storage at Brussels Airport, making SAF available for use by Brussels Airlines.

"Pipelines are the most efficient way to supply as Neste is scaling up SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tons annually in 2023," Jonathan Wood, vice-president Europe, renewable aviation at Neste, said in a statement Jan. 3. The refiner is looking forward to using CEPS, the largest pipeline system in Europe, to supply SAF to other airports in the near future, Wood said.

CEPS is a multi-product petroleum pipeline that extends through five NATO nations: Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg and the Netherlands.

SAF is a costly option. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Northwest Europe SAF at $2,123.55/mt on Jan. 3, 125% higher than NWE jet fuel cargoes.

However, European infrastructure accommodating SAF is poised to grow in the coming decades as the aviation and energy sectors collaborate more to reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions. The construction by Compagnie Industrielle Maritime of four dedicated tanks to blend SAF with jet fuel at France's Le Havre terminal is a recent example.

France's TotalEnergies aims to produce 1.5 million mt of SAF by 2030.

Also, in late October, Air France-KLM signed a deal with Finnish refiner and clean fuels producer Neste for the delivery of more than 1 million mt of SAF, over a period of eight years starting in 2023.

The SAF market remains tiny in comparison with the amount of jet fuel traded globally, and accounts for only 0.02% of global jet fuel use, according to estimates by S&P Global.

Only three countries in the world are currently applying a mandate for a minimum amount of SAF to be blended with fossil jet fuel: Sweden, Norway and France, with a minimum 1% of SAF in aviation fuel since Jan. 1, 2022.

The EU's blending mandate will kick in in 2025, with a minimum 2% SAF, to be increased to 5% in 2030 and 63% in 2050. In the summer of 2021, SAF accounted for only 0.01% of total aviation fuel demand in Europe.