Vinci Airports inks e-SAF agreement

Vinci signs strategic partnership to study and implement a synthetic sustainable aviation fuels supply chain with H2V and Hy2gen.

E-SAF (electro sustainable aviation fuels) produced from low-carbon hydrogen will be distributed in three sites owned by private airport operator Vinci by 2030, which is headquartered in France.

Vinci announced it signed an agreement with H2V and Hy2gen at trade show Hyvolution 2025, to study the methods of production and supply of e-SAF intended for commercial airlines based at Lyon-Saint Exupéry, Lyon Bron and Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airports.

In its second phase, the study will be extended to Vinci’s Alpine airports in Grenoble, Annecy, and Chambéry.

Guillaume Dubois, Technical Director of Vinci Airports, said: “We are pleased with this progress and remain committed to contribute, alongside industrial players, to developing less carbon-intensive aviation.”

The use of e-SAF does not require any modification of airport facilities or of the aircrafts’ propulsion systems, and offers a 90%+ carbon footprint reduction on lifecycle basis, compared to conventional jet fuel.

Vinci says it has set itself the objective of achieving zero net emissions on its direct emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by 2030 in the European Union, as well as in London Gatwick and Edinburgh.

For the longer term, the airport operator has launched several structuring hydrogen projects. This includes the contributions to the initiation of the Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund operated by Hy24 – the world’s leading private asset manager dedicated to the deployment of the hydrogen economy – with the support of TotalEnergies and Air Liquide.