The logistics company and the automotive group have agreed to procure 13,000 tons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, which will reduce the carmaker’s CO₂e* emissions by 40,000 tons. The SAF biofuel is produced from waste and will be used to power freighters flying Mercedes shipments from Frankfurt to Beijing. For Mercedes Benz, the sourcing of such a quantity of SAF is a new record and will make a meaningful impact on sustainability in air freight.
Neither of the two actors reveals which airlines will benefit from the green fuel deal to fly the Mercedes shipments to China. Allegedly, two of them are based in the EU with the third headquartered in the U.S.
It doesn’t take much imagination to deduce that one European candidate is Lufthansa Cargo. Lufthansa Cargo and DB Schenker had already agreed on SAF powered B777F flights between Frankfurt and Shanghai in 2021. The deal went to ashes a year later because of lacking financial support: too few freight forwarders and shippers were then willing to pay for SAF, which is three to four times more expensive than conventional kerosene. This reluctance torpedoed scaling effects which would lead to price reductions for sustainable fuels. The second reason that speaks for Lufthansa Cargo as part of the SAF trio: The carrier benefits from the fact that the Rhine-Main Airport is the home base for its long-haul freighter fleet. And that is from where Mercedes’ components are flown to China.
Lacking SAF supply keeps driving costs
DB Schenker and the automotive company have had a strong partnership for many decades. When the logistics arm of Deutsche Bahn launched the world’s first regular cargo flight 2021, partially powered by SAF, Mercedes-Benz was among the initial supporters, as were Nokia and Lenovo.
“Given the additional costs for SAF, we are pleased about the financial commitment of our long-standing customer, Mercedes-Benz,” commented Mario Arnold, Head of Global Public Relations, DB Schenker. He went on to say: “We have been investing in the procurement of SAF since 2020, and have seen a growing demand on the market. In total, our annual volume of SAF is currently in the five-digit ton range.” The fuel that limits CO2 emissions by roughly 80% compared to the traditional Jet A-1 kerosene, canbe booked via the Book & Claim tool for all DB Schenker air freight shipments worldwide, regardless of the airline or the air route.
SAF is a long-haul journey
At the presentation of the agreement with Mercedes, Thorsten Meincke, Member of the Management Board for Air and Ocean Freight at DB Schenker, pointed out that decarbonization is a long-haul journey. “The current partnership with our long-standing customer, Mercedes-Benz, sets a new benchmark in the area of sustainability. Together, we are directly reducing emissions in international supply chains. This contract is one of the largest agreements on SAF ever seen in the automotive and logistics industry. I would be delighted if other companies were to follow this example and work with us to promote the use of this fuel.”
A leading DB Schenker manager applauded Mercedes “that they are now investing in sustainability despite the strained market situation in the German automotive industry.”
A statement which is presumably welcomed by Elke Pusskeiler, Head of Supply Chain Management, Mercedes-Benz AG: “As part of our ‘Ambition 2039’ for Mercedes-Benz Cars, we want to reduce the CO2 emissions of our logistics activities by 60% compared to 2021. Our sustainability strategy focuses on avoiding CO2 and reducing emissions in all modes of transport, in- and outbound. The use of SAF for air freight is an important component of this. Together with DB Schenker, we have taken another significant step towards sustainable logistics,” she concluded.
EU regulators okay DSV’s intended acquisition of DB Schenker
In addition to the SAF deal between DB Schenker and Mercedes, it was reported that the EU competition watchdogs have apparently given the green light for the takeover of the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary by the Danish logistics heavyweight, DSV. Internal DB circles expect official approval on 04APR25. So far, only Washington’s go-ahead is still missing. DB Schenker’s imminent end as a company and as a world-renowned brand can already be seen in the draft of Deutsche Bahn’s 2024 annual report, which will be published on 27MAR25. The railroad group’s by far most profitable subsidiary, founded in 1872 by Austrian Swiss entrepreneur Gottfried Schenker, is only mentioned in the notes.
*Carbon dioxide equivalent(CO2e) measures global warming potential but includes greenhouse gases besides CO2. For that reason, experts recommend using CO2e since it is a more accurate measurement.
