SMBC Aviation Capital and Trinity College Dublin have announced the Trinity College Dublin SAF Research Facility at SMBC Aviation Capital. The Research facility will be located at SMBC Aviation Capital’s new Landmark offices in Dublin and will provide a dedicated facility for the research, development, and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels.
The deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) is essential for the decarbonisation of the aviation sector. Produced from sustainable waste plant matter or renewable electricity, these fuels must be chemically identical to fossil aviation fuels, but as they contain little fossil carbon, they emit considerably less carbon over their life cycle.
The EU has mandated that 70% of all aviation fuel in Europe be SAF by 2050. Achieving this will require approximately 300 new SAF manufacturing plants to be built across Europe and for the fuel produced to be proven to be safe for operation within existing and future aircraft. Acquiring this proof requires exhaustive testing of SAF candidates.
The Research Facility will play a crucial role in identifying and validating potential new fuels and in ensuring their sustainability. The Research Facility will host Trinity’s contribution to the soon-to-be-announced EU SAF Clearing House. A large battery of data must be presented to aircraft and engine manufacturers to prove the airworthiness of each SAF type. The EU SAF Clearing House coordinates this process for SAFs produced in the EU. A key role of the Research Facility is to measure the fuel properties of EU SAFs, to research how their chemical composition influences airworthiness, and to make assessments of the true sustainability of each SAF type. This information is used with the knowledge of experts to provide a “pre-screening” service to SAF producers.
Commenting on the announcement, the Chief Operations & Sustainability Officer at SMBC Aviation Capital, David Swan said, “Sustainable Aviation Fuels will play a crucial role in the industry’s decarbonisation journey and SMBC Aviation Capital is proud to partner with Trinity College Dublin to support the important research they will carry out in this facility. This research will play a key role in helping to scale up production and increase supply of SAF over the coming years. By providing this facility in our award-winning new office building we continue to play a leading role in not only providing tangible decarbonisation solutions for our airline customers worldwide but also in addressing the sustainability challenges that our industry faces. We strongly believe in being the leader in this area and this partnership which builds on the support from Ryanair and Science Foundation Ireland, is a great opportunity for us and our shareholders to work with Trinity College Dublin and play a positive role in the future of this industry.”
Also commenting was Associate Professor of Energy Science, School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dr. Stephen Dooley added, “The SAF Research Facility is another example of Trinity’s focus on research of Sustainable Aviation and of our strategy to collaborate with industry for the betterment of the environment, society, and the economy. It is supported by SMBC Aviation Capital, Ryanair, and Science Foundation Ireland, who philanthropically support our research providing world class research space, excellent researchers, and state of the art equipment”. It is the result of several years of genuine collaboration between Trinity and SMBC Aviation Capital, whom we are really proud to be associated with. The Research Facility also focuses on the SAF supply chain for careful sustainability assessment, so that all actors can have confidence that the SAFs produced are displacing maximum quantities of fossil carbon, and not inadvertently creating other negative environmental effects.”
