American Airlines and Infinium Complete First Commercial eSAF Refuelling in the United States

First commercial eSAF refuelling in the United States

American Airlines and Infinium have announced the first refuelling of a commercial aircraft in the United States using electro-synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF), made without biological feedstocks. The flight is a milestone in aviation decarbonisation, demonstrating the real-world use of a new generation of sustainable fuels that works with existing infrastructure.

The fuel was used on an American Airlines service from Corpus Christi International Airport in Texas to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The American Eagle-operated Embraer E175-E1 completed the flight, confirming that eSAF can be used in a commercial aircraft without altering its engines or refuelling systems.

Infinium Pathfinder eSAF production

The eSAF used for the flight came from a batch produced and blended at Infinium's Pathfinder facility in Corpus Christi. Opened in 2023, the site is regarded as the world's first commercial-scale industrial power-to-liquids (PtL) eFuels production facility.

Before American Airlines used it, the fuel was blended with conventional aviation kerosene and tested to meet international ASTM specifications for Jet A. Once certified, it was supplied to the shared refuelling tanks at Corpus Christi airport before being allocated to the airline's flight.

According to Infinium, eSAF is manufactured using residual carbon dioxide (CO₂) and renewable electricity. Compared with conventional petroleum-derived aviation fuel, it can cut lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 90%.

American Airlines' Roadrunner Project agreement

American Airlines has agreed to purchase future commercial volumes of eSAF from the Roadrunner Project, an Infinium development now under construction that is expected to begin production and deliveries in 2027. The project has received funding from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and Brookfield Asset Management, alongside non-recourse debt financing from HSBC.

At full capacity, the Roadrunner Project is expected to produce more than 18.9 million litres of eSAF annually (5 million gallons). The initiative forms part of American Airlines' efforts to increase sustainable fuel use and speed up adoption of low-carbon solutions throughout the aviation supply chain.

Commercial aviation currently uses around 378.5 billion litres of fuel worldwide each year (100 billion gallons), while sustainable aviation fuels account for less than 1% of global aviation kerosene consumption. Scaling up alternatives such as eSAF is seen as one of the short- and medium-term ways to reduce the sector's emissions, while also diversifying the energy sources used by the industry.

The American Airlines and Infinium flight signals a move from technological development towards the commercial deployment of sustainable fuels made from renewable electricity and recycled carbon, reinforcing efforts to establish lower-environmental-impact alternatives for aviation.