Taking Flight: How Canada’s First Homegrown SAF Signals a New Era for Clean Fuels
In December 2024, Parkland’s Burnaby Refinery made Canadian energy history by producing the country’s first batch of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) — a cleaner, drop-in alternative to conventional jet fuel. This milestone was recognized with a nomination for the Canadian Fuels Association’s 2025 Innovation Award, celebrating the ingenuity and leadership behind this Canadian first.
More than a technical breakthrough, the pilot marks a critical step forward in decarbonizing aviation — one of the hardest sectors to abate.
“SAF is the only realistic option in the short-to medium-term for reducing emissions from air travel,” says Robert Pinchuk, Director at Parkland Corporation. “Producing it here at home is essential if Canada wants to chart a credible path to net-zero.”
Parkland’s SAF was produced through co-processing, a technique that blends renewable feedstocks like canola oil with crude oil using existing refinery infrastructure. While co-processing has long enabled the Burnaby refinery to produce lower-carbon diesel and gasoline, adapting it for SAF brought new challenges.
Unlike other fuels, SAF is not just regulated by performance specs, but also by how it’s made.
“Even if it meets every quality standard, SAF can’t be sold unless the production method is approved,” explains Robert. “Co-processing isn’t yet fully recognized under global standards governed by the American Society for Testing and Materials or ASTM, creating a regulatory barrier to scaling up.”
Despite these hurdles, Parkland successfully delivered a commercial batch of SAF to Air Canada, using existing pipelines to transport it directly to Vancouver International Airport. That seamless integration highlights a major advantage of co-processing: it requires no new infrastructure.
The pilot was also enabled by British Columbia’s Initiative Agreements Program, part of the province’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Unlike most Canadian funding programs, which stop at research and development, BC’s approach supports full-scale deployment. “It was a decisive factor,” says Robert. “We need more programs like it if Canada wants to compete globally.”
As demand for SAF accelerates worldwide, Robert believes Canada has the feedstock, technical capability, and infrastructure to build a self-sufficient SAF industry. But success will depend on regulatory clarity and national-level policy support.
“There’s no single path to net-zero,” Robert says. “We need every solution available — and SAF is one of them. This pilot proves Canada has what it takes to lead.”
With co-processing at the center of its low-carbon strategy, Parkland’s nomination for the 2025 Innovation Award reflects both a pioneering achievement and a bold vision for the future of clean fuels in Canada.
Follow the links below for more info on co-processing and SAF:
