dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, and ExxonMobil, a leading energy and petrochemical company, have started a six-month trial to fuel 12 of dnata’s airside vehicles and generator sets with renewable diesel.
The trial uses Esso Renewable Diesel R20 (R20), which is a high-quality fuel with an estimated 15.4 percent lower lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional diesel. Made with a minimum of 20 percent renewable content, R20 can be used in existing diesel engines and is available at selected Esso service stations and through bulk delivery to commercial customers.
dnata is the first ground handler at Changi Airport to use renewable diesel, with partial funding provided by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) as part of its Aviation Sustainability Program.
If successful, the trial could be rolled out to 200 airside vehicles and generator sets across dnata’s ground handling and cargo operations. This would mark a further step towards the dnata Group’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2030 as part of its eight-year strategy.
As a result of its significant investment in electric and hybrid airside vehicles, dnata Singapore currently operates over 65 such vehicles, with 90 percent of its forklift fleet electrified. In addition, dnata Singapore’s facilities have recently installed innovative cooling technology, providing chilled water and air conditioning.
Charles Galloway, dnata’s regional CEO, airport operations – Asia Pacific, said: “We are delighted to partner with ExxonMobil for this significant trial. dnata remains at the forefront of ground handling services in Singapore, with ongoing investments in cleaner-energy equipment and infrastructure. We look forward to working with ExxonMobil and CAAS to further reduce our carbon footprint throughout this trial, and beyond.”
Asia Pacific fuels sales director, ExxonMobil, Mabel Leung said: “We are excited to collaborate with dnata to provide Esso Renewable Diesel R20 in support of dnata’s sustainability goals. Renewable diesel is an engine-ready GHG emission-reduction solution that leverages our existing supply capabilities to customers. The partnership reflects our ability to offer lower-GHG emission solutions for the transportation sector, in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region.”
The estimated reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, also referred to as Carbon Intensity (CI), is based on a comparison of Esso Renewable Diesel R20 to conventional diesel using the United States GREET 2023 Model estimates to compare the life cycle emissions of each fuel. Actual results may vary. For further details of the calculation including assumptions and emission factors, please visit bit.ly/essorenewablediesel.
dnata currently serves more than 50 airlines at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) with a team of 1,500 aviation professionals, who handle over 15,000 flights, provide over 3.75 million meals, and move over 250,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
dnata is a leading global air and travel services provider. Established in 1959, the company offers quality and safe ground handling, cargo, travel, catering and retail services in over 30 countries across six continents. In the financial year 2023-24, dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled over 778,000 aircraft turns, moved over 2.9 million tonnes of cargo, uplifted 123 million meals, and recorded a total transaction value (TTV) of travel services of US$ 2.4 billion.
