In a Spanish airport first, Iberia Airport Services and Repsol introduce 100% renewable fuel for handling activities at Bilbao.
Over the next month, the companies will begin using sustainable fuel for all aircraft and customer service operations at Bilbao Airport.
Iberia Airport Services will supply almost all of its handling teams with 5,000 litres of 100% renewable Repsol fuel each month. The fuel will be treated at the Petronor refinery in Muskiz, just 30km from the airport’s Loiu campus. Iberia will use the fuel for its conveyor belts, ladders, electrical and pneumatic equipment, planters, tractors, platforms, and pushback trailers, leading to a reduction of some 12.5 tonnes of CO2 over the next month.
Iberia Airport Services serves nine companies in Loiu, including Vueling and Iberia. All of them will benefit from the new initiative.
“At Iberia Airport Services we are committed to achieving the goal of net zero emissions in our airport services throughout the network by 2025. To do this, we are going to invest more than €100m in some 30 initiatives, including the electrification of more than 80% of our equipment, and the use of alternative energies, such as HVO [hydrotreated vegetable oil], a fuel that allows us to reduce equipment emissions by 100%,” said José Luis de Luna, director of Iberia Airport Services.
Iván Grande, director of Bilbao Airport, added: “Aena supports this initiative in line with its role as promoter and facilitator of the sector in terms of decarbonisation of air transport. At Aena we are working on multiple projects that completely revolutionise our energy consumption model. We believe in new fuels as the best tool to fight climate change. The development of new clean energy sources will be crucial for the sustainability of the aviation sector and transport in general.”
Repsol has manufactured and marketed biofuels for more than two decades, and since 2019, it has incorporated organic waste in its manufacture. In 2025, Repsol will have a production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes of renewable fuels and will reach more than two million tonnes in 2030.
Image: Iberia Airport Services
