NetJets has made a significant investment in WasteFuel, a next generation waste to fuel company that aims to transform landfill waste into SAF, making it the first private aviation company to buy a stake in the production of sustainable aviation fuel. NetJets will also purchase a minimum of 100 million gallons of WasteFuel's SAF over the next ten years.

NetJets and WasteFuel are in the early phases of developing a plant in Manila, Philippines, slated to be operational in 2025, in partnership with leading infrastructure developer Prime Infra. The fuel is anticipated to be imported into Los Angeles and distributed across the NetJets operations network.

“We are deeply invested in advancing sustainability across the industry,” comments NetJets executive VP of administrative services Brad Ferrell. “After launching our expanded Global Sustainability Program last year, the opportunity to invest in the production of SAF with WasteFuel was a natural next step. The biorefinery tackles the dual environmental problems of the global waste crisis and sustainable fuel; and we're excited to take this step toward improving accessibility to SAF in the aviation industry.”

At full capacity, the biorefinery will convert one million tons of municipal waste into 30 million gallons of SAF annually. Utilising the latest technologies, WasteFuel will produce fuels that burn at least an 80 per cent reduction in carbon compared to fossil-fuel based aviation fuels. WasteFuel's SAF has a carbon intensity of 0 compared to an average CI of 41 for alternative SAFs and a baseline of 89.4 for non-renewable aviation fuel.

Globally, landfills are the third largest source of methane produced by human activity, accounting for approximately 11 per cent of estimated global methane emissions. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, about 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth, on a 100-year timescale and more than 80 times more powerful over 20 years.

“Our waste can be our fuel,” remarks Trevor Neilson, chairman and CEO of WasteFuel. “Our partnership with NetJets and Prime Infra marks the beginning of a bold new era in travel, the beginning of the hard work of making aviation truly sustainable.”

Prime Infra's core investment strategy focuses on infrastructure that is socially relevant and sustainable, working hand in hand with host communities. Prime Infra president Guillaume Lucci state: “Solid waste management remains a major problem in the Philippines, especially in urban areas like Metro Manila, which generates around 10,000 tons of garbage per day. A biorefinery that will convert solid waste into SAF will make a big impact in reducing solid waste and ensuing environmental and health hazards, landfill emissions and fossil fuel use. An added bonus, it will create jobs for the local community.”

Looking beyond Manila, NetJets and WasteFuel also have plans to develop four more biorefineries in the coming years. This partnership comes on the tails of the launch of NetJets' expanded Global Sustainability Program in October 2020, which prioritised a commitment to sustainable fuel, corporate responsibility and consumer participation.