Ryanair signs deal with Shell on sustainable fuel

Ryanair on Thursday said it had signed a sustainable aviation fuel supply agreement with Shell as it looked to hit its ambitious target of powering 12.5% of flights with the fuel by 2030.

The low-cost carrier said the memorandum of understanding could give it potential access to 360,000 tonnes of SAF from 2025 to 2030.

"I'm not sure we'll get there (12.5%) but by signing up more partnership agreements with Shell, with Neste and with the other fuel suppliers, I think that gives us our best chance of maybe getting to 8, maybe 10, maybe 11," chief executive Michael O'Leary told a sustainability conference.

"Who knows, hopefully we will get to 12.5% by 2030. But that will not happen unless we have a dramatic revolution in supply of production of SAFs and availability at our airports."

Ryanair has struck similar deals with Finnish biofuel producer Neste and Austrian oil and gas group OMV.

Sustainable jet fuel generally produces up to 70% less carbon than fossil fuels, offering airlines a way to become greener while continuing to fly, before less carbon-intensive hybrid, electric or hydrogen aeroplane options become available.

Ryanair has committed to cutting its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and said the Shell agreement could save 900,000 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to over 70,000 flights from Dublin to Milan.