Cathay Pacific plans to use a blend of alternative jet fuel to fly its new fleet of Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to Hong Kong, underlining a key part of its strategy to achieve carbon neutral growth from 2020.

The airline has 20 A350-1000s on order for delivery over the next four years, the first of which is due to depart Airbus headquarters in Toulouse on 19 June. A further seven aircraft are due for delivery by the end of 2018.

Cathay Pacific operated the longest biofuel delivery flight at the time when taking delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft in 2016. Twenty-two aircraft of this type have so far been delivered with a 10% blend of alternative jet fuel in their tanks.

Compared to traditional jet fuel, biofuel can reduce life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%.

Cathay Pacific is the world’s first airline to invest in an aviation biofuel company. In 2014, it became an equity investor in US-based Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc., which focuses on turning municipal solid waste into sustainable aviation fuel.

In May 2018, Fulcrum broke ground on its first commercial-scale plant in Nevada. When the plant begins operations in 2020, it will produce over 10 million gallons of fuel per year.  Cathay Pacific will be one of the first airlines to fly on fuel produced from this facility.