Back in 2013, the Kallo site took a major step to help the aviation industry minimize their carbon footprint. It was a move that paralleled the growing sustainability initiatives sweeping industries around the world. But now, as European governments put increasing pressure on airlines through environmental-driven mandates, the services the Monument Kallo team provides have become vital to their survival. But like with many new ventures, it came with some growing pains — and more opportunities for Kallo to shine. 

Almost a decade ago, Kallo became a producer of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which meant distilling Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to be used as aviation fuel. Just like the name suggests, this oil is the same oil used by any restaurant and household kitchen to cook the foods we consume every day. But instead of being discarded, the excess is recycled, hydrotreated, and generated into renewable diesel used in automobiles, or further distilled for aviation.

“When we launched the first trial in 2015, there was a big push for sustainability in the aviation industry,” Anna Hendrickx, Business Development Manager, explained. “By 2018, we had our first long-term contract with one major player in the industry until the pandemic grounded everyone, causing a big disruption to the production of this SAF. But along with the government funding that kept many of these airlines alive in 2020 came the disclaimer that a certain percentage of all fuel consumption had to be sustainable — 2% by 2025 and 5% by 2030. That’s a big adjustment for these airlines — but one they have to make. So as early as 2021, we were starting trials with two other companies.”

While these evolving government mandates throughout Europe only fueled the growth of Kallo’s SAF production, the process comes at a premium — for producers and consumers alike. “It’s a very complicated process, which has a significant cost impact compared to fossil fuels,” Anna shared. “In addition, there's a ton of quality follow up; We work closely with our quality teams to protect and monitor the sustainable aviation fuel through every step from our tanks to our customers’ barges.”

As demand soared, Kallo’s partnership with a variety of key players in the industry paired with the team’s agile way of working allowed them to overcome unexpected changes and disruptions to meet their capacity goals. “We have been working to ensure that the unit remains completely booked out on SAF,” Anna added. “We’ve produced approx. 50,000 metric tons in 2022, while remaining a flexible, reliable and partner to our customers; one they can trust. It’s resulted in a win-win situation for everyone.”

As the Kallo team is full speed ahead with HVO, they also have their eyes set on new alternatives.

“We know HVO is the right route for now, but eventually, it will become limited as more transportation takes advantage of it,” Anna shared. “The use of cooking oil won’t continue to increase like the demand for SAF will, so we’re already investigating other process routes, like for example alcohol to jet. As a small plant producing about 50-60,000 metric tons of SAF a year, we're in a great position to support customers in the startup phases, but we don’t want to stop there. We’re committed to being a reliable and trusted partner for SAF, so we’ll continue to watch how the market evolves and be as agile as we need to be to keep the momentum going.”