Poland

New major customer for carbon-neutral air freight link between Europe and China

Author:
2021/11/01 at 10:15 AM

DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo have succeeded to continue carbon-neutral air freight service between Frankfurt and Shanghai for the aviation winter season. This has largely become possible due to a new major customer. It is Nokia that will move the 5G equipment between its facilities in China and the Netherlands by using the joint connection of the two German companies.

Starting from November 2021 and until at least the end of March 2022, Nokia, the Finnish communication giant, will transport a weekly 10-tonne freight volume of its 5G equipment from Shanghai to Tilburg, the Netherlands, via the joint carbon-neutral service of Lufthansa Cargo and DB Schenker. The first partner will deliver freight from Shanghai to Frankfurt with its freighters fuelled with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), while the second one will provide land transport for the Frankfurt – Tilburg section by using another advanced type of biofuel, hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO).

“Together with Lufthansa Cargo, we extend our unique offer of a regular carbon-neutral flight connection. The SAF full charter flight rotation is a game-changer as it goes beyond a pay-per-use scheme. We are pleased to have Nokia on board as a new major customer for our westbound flights. Together, we can avoid CO2 and take another step towards a more sustainable future,” said Thorsten Meincke, global board member for air & ocean freight at DB Schenker.

Lufthansa Cargo aircraft filled with Sustainable Aviation Fuel, source: Lufthansa Cargo/Oliver Rösler

First results

In April of the current year, Lufthansa Cargo and DB Schenker together launched a regular air freight link between Frankfurt and Shanghai with zero carbon footprint since the freighters flying between the points are fuelled with SAF, which was made by Neste, the world’s leading provider of sustainable fuel. The innovative type of fuel is completely produced from waste and residue raw materials such as used cooking oils.

The utilisation of SAF allows the partners to save up to around 174 tonnes of conventional kerosene every week on the Frankfurt-Shanghai flights. During the summer flight schedule 2021, the initiative successfully achieved a net reduction of 20,250 tonnes of CO2. In the upcoming winter flight schedule, from the end of October 2021 to the end of March 2022, Lufthansa Cargo and DB Schenker plan to reduce carbon emissions by 14,175 tonnes.

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