Last week German companies DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo announced that they will extend their weekly CO2-free freighter flights between Frankfurt and Shanghai throughout the entire winter flight schedule until March 2022.
Coming on board is Finnish telecommunication network provider Nokia which has signed up to the initiative and pledged to reduce its emissions through the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in a bid to create a greener supply chain.
The fuel requirement for the flight rotation from Frankfurt (FRA) to Shanghai (PVG) and back is covered entirely by SAF and saves around 174 tonnes of conventional kerosene every week. The companies said the initiative successfully achieved a net reduction of 20,250 tonnes of greenhouse gases (CO2) during the summer flight schedule 2021. For the upcoming winter flight schedule, from end-October 2021 to end-March 2022, another 14,175 tonnes are expected to be reduced.
Also read: Lufthansa Cargo to bring in converted A321s next year
Over the next five months, Nokia will be using the carbon-neutral flight offer to ship a weekly freight volume of 10 tonnes of 5G equipment from a production facility in Shanghai to its European hub in Tilburg in the Netherlands. This shipment is entirely covered by SAF to reduce 100 percent of carbon emissions during the life cycle, avoiding any offsetting.
The end-to-end agreement with DB Schenker covers both the air and land transport of the goods from Shanghai to Tilburg. All land transport elements will be covered utilizing another advanced type of biofuel, hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO).
The announcement follows DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo’s launch of the world’s first CO2-neutral freighter rotation between Europe and Asia in November 2020, which saw a regular freighter line connection starting the summer flight schedule in April 2021.
The SAF used for the DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo flight connection is produced by Neste, the world’s leading provider of sustainable fuel. The Finnish producer is currently increasing its production to 1.5 million tonnes annually by the end of 2023.
Still the alternative fuel is around three times more expensive than conventional fossil kerosene.
