Google, American Airlines sign SAF agreement for 35 million gallons

American Airlines and Google have signed a sustainable aviation fuel certificate agreement covering 35 million gallons over three years and targeting nearly 300,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions reductions.

Under the agreement, American will purchase and take physical delivery of SAF at Chicago O'Hare International Airport through existing infrastructure, with the fuel produced from waste feedstocks, including used cooking oil, according to a June 9 announcement. Google will receive the associated environmental benefits through the SAFc Registry to offset emissions from employee business travel, using a book-and-claim mechanism that separates physical fuel delivery from carbon accounting.

The companies described the deal as the largest publicly announced SAF certificate agreement between an airline and a single corporate customer.

The structure has enabled American to secure a new long-term SAF offtake agreement with Valero Marketing and Supply Company, the airline said.

Policy support drives Chicago deployment

The deal was made possible by a SAF tax credit enacted by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and the state legislature, American said.

"Thanks to collaboration between industry and lawmakers, American will be able to bring significant volumes of SAF to ORD," the airline said in a statement.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said the agreement demonstrates how the state's SAF tax credit can bring industry leaders together while strengthening Illinois' position as a global aviation hub.

The Chicago deployment adds to a growing list of US airports receiving SAF volumes, although supply remains concentrated at a handful of major hubs where blending infrastructure and policy incentives have converged.

Industry participants have pointed to the need for broader geographic distribution to match corporate demand with physical delivery capabilities.

Corporate buyers scale SAF demand

Google Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt said the long-term commitment sends a vital demand signal to catalyze investment and bring more SAF to market, echoing a strategy the company has pursued through previous agreements.

In March, Google extended a separate SAF deal with Shell Aviation and American Express Global Business Travel using the Avelia registry, a blockchain-enabled book-and-claim platform. That agreement highlighted the growing role of corporate buyers in scaling SAF through mechanisms that allow companies to purchase emissions reductions without requiring physical fuel delivery at specific locations.

American Airlines Chief Sustainability Officer Jill Blickstein said the Google partnership represents a critical step in reducing operational emissions while helping grow demand for SAF and supporting market development.

SAF can reduce life cycle emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel, but production remains a small fraction of total aviation fuel consumption. The global aviation industry accounts for about 2%-3% of global CO2 emissions while generating more than $4 trillion in economic activity annually and supporting 86.5 million jobs, according to industry data.

Market barriers persist

Despite rapid growth in announced SAF agreements, the industry has not yet attracted the investment needed to scale production at competitive prices aligned with market needs, American said. The airline and its Oneworld alliance partners are focused on supporting technologies that can scale cost-competitive SAF availability while minimizing other environmental impacts.

The book-and-claim model used in the American-Google agreement addresses one of SAF's biggest barriers -- limited physical availability -- by connecting concentrated supply with dispersed global demand, the companies said.

However, the approach has drawn scrutiny from some environmental groups that have questioned whether separating physical fuel delivery from carbon accounting undermines the credibility of corporate emissions claims.

American said it continues to invest in modern aircraft, engines and operational efficiencies alongside SAF initiatives. The airline also partnered with Google, Contrails.org and Flightkeys on a 16-week trial in 2025 that integrated contrail avoidance into flight-planning processes, resulting in a 62% reduction in contrail formation.

The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the SAF certificate agreement or the pricing structure for the Valero offtake deal.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed SAF prices in California at 1,035.10 cents/gallon and assessed SAF prices basis (H-S) in California (credits det) at 541.24 cents/gal on June 9, based on a spread of neat SAF to jet kerosene Los Angeles, California, pipeline prices of 190.06 cents/gal.