DHL Express has signed an agreement with Moeve to acquire approximately 6,000 metric tons of sustainable aviation fuel, known by its acronym SAF in English, at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. The contract will last for one year, from July 2026 to June 2027, and will allow covering around 50% of the company’s annual fuel consumption at its operations center in Madrid.
The contracted volume is equivalent to about two million U.S. gallons of SAF. The fuel will be incorporated into DHL Express’s air operations linked to Madrid-Barajas, one of the company’s main European nodes for urgent cargo transportation and the connection of domestic and international shipments.
The SAF included in the agreement will be produced from waste and raw materials considered in parts A and B of annex IX of the European Union directive on renewable energies. Among the materials used are waste such as used cooking oil, which can be transformed into aviation-appropriate fuel through specific industrial processes.
According to estimates provided by the companies, this type of fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 80% during its lifecycle compared to conventional kerosene. This calculation includes emissions generated from the extraction of raw materials to the production, distribution, and final use of the fuel.
The Vice President of Aviation of DHL Express Spain, Tomás Holgado, has pointed out that sustainable fuel currently constitutes one of the main available alternatives to reduce emissions associated with air freight transportation. The executive indicated that the agreement will allow expanding its use at the international hub in Madrid and cover with SAF an equivalent volume to about half of the fuel consumption of the facility.
The operation is framed within the objective of the DHL Group to raise the proportion of sustainable fuels used in its air transport above 30% by 2030. The company also maintains its commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Madrid-Barajas plays a relevant role within DHL Express’s European air network. From these facilities, the company coordinates urgent cargo connections with national and international destinations, both within and outside the continent. The use of SAF at this location will allow applying sustainable fuel to a significant part of the operations developed from the Spanish capital.
On behalf of Moeve, its Aviation Director, Álvaro Macarro, has placed the contract within the company’s strategy to expand the production and marketing of second-generation fuels aimed at sectors struggling to replace liquid fuels through direct electrification, such as aviation.
Moeve currently has a production capacity of second-generation biofuels of 1.1 million tons per year. The company plans to add another 500,000 tons with the commissioning of a new SAF plant in Huelva, scheduled for 2027.
The projected facility in Huelva is part of the company’s industrial plans to increase the supply of sustainable fuels intended for air transport. The availability of these products is one of the main constraints for their adoption by airlines and logistics operators, due to the fact that its production continues to be lower than the potential demand of the sector.
The agreement will also be integrated into DHL Express’s GoGreen Plus service, through which customers can reduce the emissions associated with transporting their goods by using sustainable fuels. The program applies a verified system called ‘book-and-claim’, which allows assigning the environmental attributes of SAF to specific shipments even if they are not transported directly on an aircraft fueled with this fuel.
Through this mechanism, DHL replaces a certain amount of fossil fuel within its network with SAF and distributes the corresponding environmental benefits among the customers who contract the service. This model responds to the existing logistical limitations to supply sustainable fuel at all airports and on each of the routes used by the company.
GoGreen Plus is primarily aimed at companies looking to reduce indirect Scope 3 emissions linked to their transport and distribution activities. These emissions correspond to operations developed along the value chain that are not directly controlled by the company contracting the service.
The allocation of environmental attributes through registration and verification systems also allows these reductions to be incorporated into the voluntary greenhouse gas reports of the clients, in accordance with the applicable criteria for this type of mechanisms.
The contract between DHL Express and Moeve adds to other agreements signed by the logistics group to ensure the supply of SAF in different markets. The company’s strategy involves combining fuel acquisition contracts, services based on environmental allocation systems, and agreements with producers to gradually increase the proportion of sustainable fuels used in its air network.
For Moeve, the operation means incorporating a new client from the logistics sector into its portfolio and channeling part of its biofuel production towards the air freight activities developed in Spain. The supply will take place during the twelve months between July 2026 and June 2027 at the Madrid-Barajas airport facilities.