A consortium of 60 airlines operating in Canada has created and launched the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF) with a goal to facilitate the production and supply of affordable, low-carbon, made-in-Canada SAF, reports Susan van Dyk. The Council’s next step is to develop an industrial transition roadmap to clarify priority targets for the sector to achieve net zero by 2050. The ultimate goal, said Geoff Tauvette, Executive Director of C-SAF, is to identify the obstacles to SAF development and take steps to remove these barriers to create a thriving SAF industry in Canada. The consortium of domestic, international and cargo airlines operating in Canada own and operate aviation fuel storage and distribution facilities at 11 major airports across Canada, representing about 75% of total jet fuel uptake in Canada, said Tauvette. C-SAF has a further 40 members committed to advancing SAF production and use in Canada that include fuel and feedstock suppliers, fuel producers, aerospace manufacturers, airports, finance and academia.

While airlines were the “genesis” of the Council, they know they need to work with others along the entire value chain to accomplish their goals, said Tauvette. “Decarbonising Canadian aviation requires collaboration between industry, governments, scientists and airlines,” he told GreenAir. “The C-SAF provides a space for a common dialogue to facilitate the exchange of ideas to reduce GHG emissions from aviation and we strongly believe that with everyone working together, change can happen faster.”

He reported C-SAF is targeting midsummer for completion of an ambitious roadmap that will determine priorities and workstreams to address barriers. The Council will be working closely with government to put in place a set of coherent public policies to attract investment and accelerate domestic SAF production. Although electric and hydrogen technologies are being developed in Canada, SAF will have to deliver the bulk of emission reductions in the sector. While SAF can cost up to eight times more than conventional jet fuels and with production costs not expected to be competitive for the foreseeable future, effective policies are critical for SAF acceleration, he said.

There is currently no commercial SAF production in Canada, although several companies are involved in development of SAF production across the entire spectrum of SAF technologies, including gasification, power-to-liquids, hydrothermal liquefaction and co-processing. The HEFA process for SAF production is currently the only fully commercial technology for SAF production worldwide and produced by companies such as Neste and World Energy. Several companies have announced the planned construction of HEFA facilities in Canada that will produce SAF and renewable diesel from fats, oils and greases, although SAF production is not expected before 2025.

Other initiatives to promote SAF in Canada have included ‘The Sky’s the Limit’ competition to find a Canadian producer of SAF. The challenge was announced and launched in 2018 by Natural Resources Canada, a government department. Four finalists were selected for a Green Aviation Fuels Innovation Competition in 2019. The winner will be announced in Spring 2022 and will receive prize money of C$5 million ($4m) to help fully commercialise their technology.

The formation of C-SAF is expected to streamline all these initiatives in cooperation with government departments, with C-SAF acting as the voice for its members.

“We want to promote and implement sound public policies to address aviation’s need for a sustainable, made-in-Canada, affordable supply of aviation fuel. I salute the vision of the industry players and thank all of our partners who will enable Canada to become a leader in the decarbonisation of global aviation,” said Tauvette. He was emphatic that one word should describe the consortium’s approach: “Action!”

SAF can be produced from renewable and sustainable feedstocks that are widely available in Canada. An extensive and sustainably certified forest sector can provide abundant feedstocks such as forest residues that can be converted into SAF. Canada is home to 40% of the world’s sustainably certified forests. Canada is also a significant global producer of canola (similar to rapeseed) that can provide a feedstock for HEFA production, together with waste fats and greases. Canadian canola producers target a total harvest of 26 million tonnes by 2025. According to Tauvette, Canada has all the ingredients to create an affordable and reliable SAF market: an abundance of renewable feedstocks, low-carbon energy sources, climate policies and evolving carbon pricing.

“The aviation industry is in constant evolution to ensure a greener future for our planet. With the launch of the C-SAF, Canada’s aviation sector will remain competitive and create jobs for Canadians while reducing pollution. This initiative will help in Canada’s goal in achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and is a step in the right direction for the aviation industry,” commented the Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra.

Photo: Montreal Trudeau International Airport

Susan van Dyk

GreenAir Correspondent

www.svdconsulting.ca

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Aviation training and flight simulator giant CAE has announced it is the first Canadian aerospace company to become carbon neutral. CAE intends to offset live training fuel emissions, employee’s business air travel and energy other than electricity by funding greenhouse gas reduction projects. Electricity consumption, which amounted to 190,000 MWh in fiscal 2019, will be compensated by buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) that support renewable electricity development. The company says carbon offsetting and RECs are interim measures while new technologies and solutions are being developed to reduce emissions, and will continue to invest in making its full-flight simulators more energy efficient, so allowing its customers worldwide to reduce their own footprint.

CAE first revealed its carbon neutral ambitions late last year. “We wanted to honour our pre-pandemic commitment and up our contribution now – a testament to CAE’s environmental leadership and engagement towards future generations,” said the company’s CEO, Marc Parent.

“This is a bold achievement and we hope that CAE’s commitment in the fight against climate change will inspire other companies to take tangible actions today. We are also working with the industry towards the development of electric aircraft and undertaking other measures to reduce our overall emissions.”

Parent announced the carbon neutral decision in a live virtual Q&A discussion on the environment with employees and their children.

CAE said it would offset emissions by buying RECs in the countries where it operates and funding greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects such as wind energy in India and forest preservation in Canada.

According to CAE’s latest CSR report, direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions by the company amounted to 25,213 tCO2e in 2019, with Scope 1 and 2 location-based emissions totalling 87,825 tCO2e and Scope 1 and 2 market-based emissions totalling 80,550 tCO2e.

The Quebec-headquartered company had revenues of $3.3 billion in 2019 and employs 10,000 people at 160 sites and training locations in 35 countries. It trains 220,000 civil and defence crewmembers each year, including 135,000 pilots, and has over 300 airline and major business aircraft customers.

“This is a step in the right direction to ensure a green economic recovery in Quebec,” commented Pierre Fitzgibbon, Quebec Minister of Economy and Innovation. “This achievement demonstrates the real dynamism of our aerospace industry while confirming that Quebec remains a good place to make major investments in the environment and in innovation projects.”

Added Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Navdeep Bains: “I am pleased to see Canadian companies demonstrating their leadership in the fight against climate change by working towards the green recovery of our aerospace industry.”

Photo: CAE’s Marc Parent discusses carbon neutrality with employees and their children