DHL Express has signed a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply agreement with TotalEnergies whose initial phase covers 5 million liters over one year, for aircraft departing its hub at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is DHL Express’s first SAF use in France. The first SAF-powered DHL aircraft left CDG on November 9, 2026, the day the deal was announced.

In a press release dated November 9, 2026, issued from Bonn and Paris, DHL said it is the first express logistics provider to use SAF at CDG. The move coincides with the fifth anniversary of the Paris hub. DHL expects emission reductions of about 11,800 metric tons of CO2e a year in France, with the SAF flights running from CDG to its air hubs in Leipzig, Casablanca, Milan and London.

What the Paris agreement covers

DHL describes the deal as a first SAF supply agreement “over 5 million liters” for DHL Express air operations, and said its initial phase covers 5 million liters over the course of one year for aircraft departing the Paris CDG hub. DHL said the SAF is made from waste and residual materials such as used cooking oil, and works in existing aircraft and airport infrastructure without modifications. Compared with fossil jet fuel, it can cut lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by about 80%, depending on feedstock and production method.

The volumes will also be included in GoGreen Plus, DHL’s book-and-claim offering, which assigns emission reductions to customers even when their shipments do not physically travel on SAF. DHL said customers can use it to reduce their Scope 3 emissions. SHEIN signed a GoGreen Plus agreement with DHL Express in March 2026 to use SAF supplied by DHL for its international express air freight.

Travis Cobb, executive vice president of global network operations and aviation at DHL Express, pointed to the share of SAF already used in DHL’s own fleet:

“In 2025, SAF already accounted for 10% of the aviation fuel used across DHL’s own aircraft fleet”

Philippe Prétat, CEO of DHL Express France, said the opening of the Paris hub in 2021 marked a major milestone, and that SAF use shows that strong logistics performance and a lower carbon footprint can go together. Mathieu Soulas, director of new mobilities at TotalEnergies, said “Sustainable Aviation Fuels are a key lever for reducing aviation emissions today.”

How the deal compares with DHL’s SAF targets

At 5 million liters, the Paris deal is small next to the supply agreements DHL Express has signed elsewhere. In March 2022, DHL announced deals with bp and Neste for more than 800 million liters of SAF until 2026, which it described at the time as among the largest SAF deals in aviation. In May 2026, DHL Express signed an offtake agreement with SAF One for 25,000 metric tons of unblended SAF a year from a plant in Bahrain, with production planned for 2028.

DHL’s stated aim is to raise SAF use to 30 percent by 2030, a goal it restated in May 2026 and that also appears in the Sustainability Roadmap it cited in March 2022. DHL said in March 2026 that SAF accounted for about 10% of fuel consumption in its dedicated air fleet in 2025, up from 3.5% in 2024.

TotalEnergies has been expanding its SAF output in France. In a June 16, 2025 release, the company said it expects to produce more than half a million tons of SAF a year from 2028, to cover the increase in the European SAF blending mandate, set at 6% for 2030. It said its Grandpuits biorefinery would have capacity for 230,000 tons a year of SAF in 2026, and that SAF coprocessing had begun at its Normandy platform. The company said it supplies SAF-blended jet fuel to airports including Paris-Le Bourget, Bordeaux and Toulouse, and that Air France-KLM had signed a deal for up to 1.5 million tons of SAF over ten years.

The Paris CDG hub at five years

DHL opened the CDG hub in 2021 with a EUR170 million investment, which it describes as its largest in France since entering the country in 1976. The site occupies a 91,000-square-meter plot with 34,000 square meters of operational space, and its sorting system handles up to 38,000 parcels and documents per hour. The hub runs 24/7 and employs 760 people.

The AirPro Atlas lists 72,029,407 passengers at CDG in 2025.

DHL also cited ground-side measures in France. It said all of DHL Express France’s owned light commercial vehicles are electric, that it serves 55 French city centers with low-emission delivery modes, and that this supports DHL Group’s target of two-thirds last-mile electrification by 2030.

Maxwell Aircraft has unveiled the M1 Hybrid, a patent-pending hybrid-drive amphibious aircraft that the Bartow, Florida, company is developing first in a cargo configuration, the M1-HC, designed to carry a 2,000-pound payload over 1,000 nautical miles on the same flight.

In a press release dated October 28, 2026, Maxwell said the aircraft pairs high-power electric assistance for takeoff and climb with Jet A-fueled compression-ignition engines for cruise. Its design targets are up to 1,500 horsepower for takeoff and initial climb and approximately 300 horsepower combined in cruise, or 150 horsepower per engine.

“Our goal with the M1 Hybrid Cargo was to rethink what an amphibious aircraft can do,” said David Dillon, CEO of Maxwell Aircraft. He said the design uses electric propulsion where it delivers the greatest benefit and Jet A for its range and energy density in cruise, and described the M1-HC as designed to be a practical working aircraft rather than a technology demonstration.

How the hybrid drive and airframe are laid out

The release describes a mechanically coupled hybrid drive that combines electric motors with compound-turbocharged, direct-injection compression-ignition engines. Maxwell says conventional aircraft carry engines sized for takeoff even though they use only a fraction of that power in cruise, and that limiting electric boost mainly to the high-power phases reduces the battery capacity and weight the aircraft must carry.

The carbon-fiber and Kevlar airframe is based on the composite Gweduck, which Maxwell describes as a fifth-generation evolution of the Grumman seaplane design. The company says composite construction removes the corrosion concerns of metal aircraft operating in marine environments. A five-foot cargo door is intended for palletized freight, and the amphibious configuration gives access to unimproved runways and waterways.

Maxwell’s aircraft web page lists the M1-HC with internal tie-downs, a 135-knot cruise, a total range of 900 miles and a useful payload of 2,000 lbs. That range figure differs from the 1,000 nautical miles given in the October release. The same page lists an all-electric M1-E with twin 10-inch electric motors, a 130-knot cruise, a total range of 235 miles and a useful payload of 1,400 lbs.

Intended missions and regulatory basis

Maxwell says the M1 Hybrid Cargo could suit missions for remote communities, island operations, logistics, disaster response, government agencies and defense organizations. According to the release, the aircraft is available under experimental aircraft regulations, including commercial use for government purposes.

On its website, Maxwell says it is developing high-payload, long-range hybrid aircraft for transport and logistics that do not depend on conventional airport infrastructure, operating from runways, short unimproved strips, water, beaches and docks.

AirPro News has also followed other amphibious aircraft projects, including NOEMI Aerospace’s multi-mission seaplane plans and MEHAIR’s letter of intent for Tidal Flight seaplanes.

Electra and VertiPorts by Atlantic, the vertiport subsidiary of fixed base operation (FBO) network Atlantic Aviation, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to assess how New York City sites could host Electra’s EL9 Ultra Short, a nine-passenger hybrid-electric airplane that Electra says can take off and land in as little as 150 feet. The companies announced the agreement on November 5, 2026, in Manassas, Virginia.

In its press release, Electra said the partners will look at barges, piers or elevated surfaces at new and existing VertiPorts by Atlantic sites in the city. The study is the first step in a broader effort to identify Ultra Short access points in multiple regions, and it follows Electra’s Downtown Skyport demonstration in Lower Manhattan, which Electra says is believed to be the first landing of a fixed-wing aircraft without vertical takeoff capability at that heliport.

What the partners will assess

The MOU covers an assessment of infrastructure that could bring Ultra Short operations closer to where people live and work. Electra describes its concept, which it calls Direct Aviation, as a point-to-point regional travel model that adds distributed access points to the existing hub-and-spoke system. The release does not name specific sites, a schedule or an investment figure.

“The demand already exists for regional travel that is faster and more convenient,” said Diana Siegel, Vice President, Commercial Programs at Electra. She said assessing EL9 Ultra Short operations at VertiPorts sites is a step toward connecting New York City with the surrounding region.

Kevin Cox, CEO of VertiPorts by Atlantic, said: “Electra’s ability to operate from dramatically smaller footprints presents exciting opportunities.” He said the companies are assessing how existing and emerging infrastructure can support a new generation of aircraft.

The market Electra is targeting

Electra’s inaugural Direct Aviation Market Outlook, which the company describes as a nationwide analysis of nearly one billion trips, identified 35 million passenger trips each day across distances of 50 to 500 miles. Compared with driving, the outlook estimates time savings of about 1 hour and 45 minutes from New York City to Boston, 3 hours and 30 minutes from New York City to Washington, D.C., and 45 minutes from New York City to Philadelphia.

The same outlook projects that this service category could carry one million passengers per day within its first decade. Meeting that demand would require an estimated 12,000 to 16,000 aircraft, Electra said, along with distributed access points, regional operators, regulatory frameworks and a scaled supply chain. These are the company’s own projections. Electra says the EL9 meets what it calls the “Rule of Six”: quiet operations, expanded access, safety, meaningful payload, practical range and affordability.

Who the two partners are

Electra.aero, Inc. builds hybrid-electric Ultra Short airplanes and says it has developed and/or certified over 40 prior aircraft. It claims 2.5x the payload, 10x the range and 70% lower operating costs than helicopters and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Its strategic investors include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Honeywell Aerospace and Safran, alongside Prysm Capital and the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC). Contracted customers include the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and NASA, and the company reports over 2,200 letters of intent from 60+ commercial customers, including airlines and helicopter operators.

For production, Electra selected Springfield, Ohio, for its first EL9 facility. The company said the planned Springfield plant is an $850 million development expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs and support production of up to 800 aircraft annually.

VertiPorts by Atlantic develops and operates vertiport infrastructure for advanced air mobility (AAM). Its parent, Atlantic Aviation, operates 108 FBO locations across North America and has 98 years of experience, according to the release. On August 27, 2026, Apollo announced that funds it manages had acquired a significant interest in Atlantic Aviation in a transaction valuing the company at nearly $10 billion, with KKR-managed funds, which acquired Atlantic in 2021, remaining a substantial shareholder.

What comes next

Electra described the New York assessment as the start of a wider search for Ultra Short access points. Its recent announcements include five Norwegian sites for 2027 demonstration flights, listed on its news page as “Five Norwegian Sites Selected to Host Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Demonstrations in 2027.” Neither company has said when the New York study will report or which sites it will cover first.