EVA Air and AIT Worldwide Sign Deal to Promote Sustainable Aviation Fuel Partnership Targeting 15,000-Tonne Emissions Cut

EVA Airways and AIT Worldwide Logistics signed an agreement in Taipei to promote the airline's Green Transportation Program, part of a four-way partnership with Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPC) and Microsoft expected to help Microsoft cut about 15,000 tonnes of Scope 3 emissions in its first year. The sustainable aviation fuel used in the program is produced by FPC from used cooking oil, and the initiative aims to accelerate SAF adoption across the aviation, technology, transportation and energy sectors.

EVA Air president Clay Sun said the airline is committed to increasing SAF use toward its 2050 net-zero goal, while AIT Worldwide chief strategy officer Greg Weigel said the partnership lays groundwork for more airlines, fuel suppliers, freight forwarders and corporate customers to join across Asia-Pacific. FPC president Lin Ke-yen said SAF supply remains limited and costs relatively high, and that the deal helps convert corporate emissions-reduction needs into market demand supporting expanded production. Microsoft Taiwan's Vincent Shih said the partnership addresses the company's Scope 3 emissions at the logistics end, tied to its 2030 carbon-negative, water-positive and zero-waste goals.

Civil Aviation Administration Director-General Ho Shu-ping said Taiwan launched a SAF demonstration project last year and can currently produce 6,500 tonnes of SAF annually. American Institute in Taiwan commercial deputy chief Eric Crowley noted Taiwan is the fourth-largest US trading partner, was the 18th-largest source of international visitors to the US in the first five months of this year, up 15 percent year on year, with about 170 passenger flights weekly between Taiwan and the US. EVA Air said SAF currently makes up only 0.5 percent of its total fuel consumption, with about two-thirds procured from other countries, and that SAF costs three to five times more than conventional jet fuel.