Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production on the US West Coast has been boosted with the announcement that Boeing will invest in SkyNRG Americas’ first dedicated SAF plant in the country, while JetBlue Airways said it will increase its usage of SAF by taking World Energy’s product for its operations at Los Angeles International Airport. SkyNRG, which is based in the Netherlands, is looking to establish a series of SAF production plants, with the first planned to come online in Europe, reports Mark Pilling. Its recently formed US subsidiary SkyNRG Americas said the US SAF facility will supply airports and airlines on the West Coast. Boeing’s investment in the project includes the advance purchase of SAF from the facility for use in company flight tests and other operations. At this stage, neither the location of the US SkyNRG SAF plant nor the scale of Boeing’s investment have been announced. Meanwhile, JetBlue’s new SAF deal with World Energy and World Fuel Services has already started with fuelling of the airline’s flights at Los Angeles.

Boeing, SkyNRG and SkyNRG Americas said they will work together to accelerate SAF development globally, focusing on scaling production capacity, building awareness and engaging stakeholders throughout the value chain, including airlines, governments and environmental organisations. “Sustainable aviation fuels are safe, proven and offer the greatest potential to reduce our industry’s carbon emissions in the near, medium and long term,” said Boeing Chief Sustainability Officer Chris Raymond. “This partnership is an important milestone on our journey to decarbonise aerospace, while ensuring that its societal and economic benefits are available to people everywhere.”

“We are extremely proud to take the longstanding Boeing-SkyNRG relationship to this new level. We have always been strong collaborators and through this teaming effort, we’re strengthening our relationship even further,” said Maarten van Dijk, Managing Director of SkyNRG.

Added John Plaza, Chief Executive of SkyNRG Americas: “We are thrilled to be in this partnership with Boeing and grateful for their leadership by providing an advance payment for SAF from our first facility. With this teaming agreement, SkyNRG Americas will be able to accelerate our efforts to expand the SAF industry throughout North America.”

Boeing becomes the second announced partner in SkyNRG Americas’ SAF production project following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in April between the firm and Alaska Airlines to jointly invest in its production, supply and use via offtakes. The MoU allows for Alaska Airlines to “collaborate on the development of SkyNRG Americas’ Direct Supply Line (DSL) projects and supporting policies that increase the commercial supply and pricing of SAF and educate the public on the benefits of SAF produced from municipal solid waste and associated waste streams,” a spokesperson for SkyNRG told GreenAir.

JetBlue’s new relationship with World Energy and World Fuel Services will increase JetBlue’s usage of SAF and will include 1.5 million gallons of blended SAF a year for at least three years, accounting for approximately 5% of JetBlue’s fuel uplift at Los Angeles International.

“JetBlue is facing climate change head on and preparing our business for a new climate reality,” said Sara Bogdan, JetBlue’s Director of Sustainability and ESG. “We are focused on growing our use of sustainable aviation fuel to replace conventional fossil-based jet fuel in our focus cities as it becomes available. It has not historically had the same policy support as other low carbon fuels and comes at a premium today. We’re excited by the prospect of additional policy support to help grow and scale sustainable aviation fuel, helping to usher in a lower-carbon future for aviation.”

The Los Angeles announcement follows JetBlue’s move to fuel flights from San Francisco International Airport with SAF from Neste. JetBlue is World Energy’s second US commercial airline partner to incorporate SAF into its regular operations. Delivery of the fuel into Los Angeles will be managed by World Fuel Services, JetBlue’s fuel management company. “JetBlue is taking aggressive action utilising tools available today to deliver on their net zero carbon emissions goals,” said Bryan Sherbacow, Chief Commercial Officer at World Energy. “Expanding commercial use of sustainable aviation fuel is critical in changing the industry’s carbon outcomes.”

The move by JetBlue at Los Angeles, one of the carriers most successful and busiest markets, and the SAF initiatives of other carriers, is strongly supported by the airport. “Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is committed to achieving ambitious sustainability goals, including net zero carbon emissions and 100% renewable energy for LAX facilities by 2045,” said LAWA CEO Justin Erbacci.

JetBlue has aggressive sustainability targets including the conversion of 10% of total jet fuel to be from blended SAF by 2030 and the conversion of 40% of three main ground service equipment vehicle types to electric by 2025 and 50% by 2030. Renewable fuel options will play a critical role in the aviation industry’s transition to lower-carbon operations, it said. Its ambitious ESG targets include a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Last year, JetBlue became the first major US airline to achieve carbon neutrality on all domestic flying, primarily through buying carbon offsets.

Photo: Boeing

Mark Pilling

GreenAir Contributing Editor

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The recent virtual symposium hosted in the US by CAAFI, the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, illustrated the increasing momentum in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) commercial development, with companies at different stages of development outlining ambitious plans for multiple facilities over the coming years. Many facilities are already under construction or nearing completion, and the increased availability of SAF is expected to become a reality over the next few years. Significantly, many producers are pursuing net zero SAF from initial construction by integrating technologies such as renewable energy, green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage into their fuel production strategy, reports Susan van Dyk. By incorporating net zero targets as part of the initial engineering design of a facility, any SAF pathway can potentially be net zero if the right policies are in place to incentivise the greatest emission reductions.

Gevo’s first fully net zero project is planned for its Lake Preston, South Dakota, facility and across its entire feedstock supply chain, CEO Pat Gruber told the symposium. Onsite electricity used in the facility will be derived from biogas, offsite electricity from wind turbines and renewable hydrogen. As Gevo uses corn for the production of isobutanol, the feedstock supply chain is addressed explicitly through better agricultural practices and land management, improved tillage practices and sustainable fertiliser. Gevo works closely with farmers and plans to reward them according to the sustainability of their corn, according to Gruber. Adds the company: “Gevo designs our entire business with carbon value in mind from the beginning, and carbon value has an impact on everything we do. By focusing on carbon value, Gevo is set up to maximise the value of renewable energy sources. When we aim towards that goal, everything we do in developing our plans, building our facilities, working with airlines, fuel companies, farmers and other partners, becomes focused on sustainability.”

Other companies pursuing a holistic approach to net zero SAF are Velocys, Aemetis, Red Rock Biofuels, and SkyNRG Americas. The Velocys Bayou Fuels project, according to Jeff McDaniel, VP New Projects, can achieve a negative -144 gCO2/MJ carbon intensity based on the production of the facility’s electricity with solar power and further use of carbon capture and sequestration for emissions from the facility, to achieve a significant reduction in carbon intensity.

Eric McAfee, CEO of Aemetis, told the CAAFI symposium the company’s strategy for net-zero includes renewable natural gas, cellulosic hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. The proposed facility of SkyNRG Americas aims for maximum emission reductions by producing hydrogen from electrolysis, stated CEO John Plaza, while Red Rock Biofuels is implementing engineering changes to its Lakeview facility to lower the carbon intensity of the fuels. According to CEO Terry Kulesa, the Lakeview facility will use solar power for electricity and undertake carbon capture of any emissions.

The ability of SAF to reduce emissions, reflected in the carbon intensity (CI) of the specific fuel, is a central characteristic of its environmental benefits and sustainability, and based on a life cycle assessment across the entire supply chain of the fuel production process. Under CORSIA, eligible fuels are given default CI values, termed life cycle emission factors (LSf), based on the type of technology and feedstock used, although CORSIA provides a methodology to determine the unique LSf of a SAF pathway. The default LSf under CORSIA for isobutanol-to-jet based on a corn feedstock (similar to the Gevo pathway), is 77 gCO2eq/MJ compared to conventional jet fuel of 89 gCO2eq/MJ. However, the actual calculated value for Gevo fuel is -5 gCO2/MJ, according to Gruber.  

If any type of SAF can deliver net zero, all technologies can potentially be used to meet net zero targets for the aviation sector to 2050. Proponents of synthetic e-fuels, such as Andrew Murphy from Transport and Environment, argue that power-to-liquid (PtL) fuels should be the main SAF technology in the long term as it is the only pathway that can achieve net zero. In contrast, Andreea Moyes, Global Aviation Sustainability Director at BP in a presentation at the CAAFI Symposium, argues “multiple SAF pathways are required, and all should be allowed to compete on their own merits within societal preference.” According to Moyes, the GHG profile of SAF, rather than the volume, should be the focus.

An important driver for aggressive targeting of maximum emissions reductions is placing a value on carbon. This type of policy is already in action in California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and has created a strong incentive for low carbon intensity fuels. The proposed Sustainable Skies Act, recently introduced in the US House of Representatives by Congressman Brad Schneider, creates exactly this type of policy in the aviation sector (see article). The Act proposes a blenders tax credit of $1.50 per gallon of SAF that provides a 50% reduction in emissions. SAF that provides greater emission reductions can earn an additional credit of $0.01 per gallon for each percentage the fuel reduces emissions over 50% up to a maximum of $2 per gallon for a 100% reduction, in order to incentivise greater reductions in emissions.

In contrast, the European ReFuelEU Aviation policy proposes a volumetric blending mandate which is not directly linked to emission reductions (see article). Although this will create a strong demand signal, it seems unlikely to drive aggressive carbon reductions of SAFs. Bryan Stonehouse, General Manager Aviation Sustainability & Risk at Shell Aviation, speaking at the recent IATA SAF Symposium, explained the role of policy for driving investment in SAF and contrasted the blenders tax credit with the ReFuelEU mandate. According to Stonehouse, the mandate is important for creating a demand but does not give the whole picture. The blenders tax credit will be the carrot for the industry, he said. According to Stonehouse, SAF is incredibly expensive and needs affordability support and argued the SAF industry needs aspects of both the ReFuelEU and the US blenders tax credit for development and scale-up.

While carbon intensity is only one component of sustainability, achieving net zero carbon intensities of SAF pathways should be a critical focus in the sector. Several US companies are engineering new facilities with a goal of achieving net-zero carbon intensity of fuels, and this seems to be driven by policies in the US that incentivise greater reductions. Designing and engineering a facility from the get-go to produce net zero fuels makes sense, and the right policies are crucial at this critical stage of investment and scale-up. While multiple policies are needed, rewarding carbon intensity reductions should play a central role in policymaking.

Photo courtesy of Alaska Airlines and Gevo

Susan van Dyk

GreenAir Correspondent

www.svdconsulting.ca

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Alaska Airlines and Oregon-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) outfit SkyNRG Americas have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly invest in SAF production, supply, and use, reports Mark Pilling. The Seattle-based carrier is the latest US airline, following Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, to tie-up with SAF producers to gain access to alternative fuels. The MoU allows for Alaska Airlines to “collaborate on the development of SkyNRG Americas’ Direct Supply Line (DSL) projects and supporting policies that increase the commercial supply and pricing of SAF and educate the public on the benefits of SAF produced from municipal solid waste and associated waste streams,” a spokesperson for SkyNRG told GreenAir. A Direct Supply Line is SkyNRG’s terminology for a SAF supply chain that consists of local feedstock, a commercial SAF production plant and long-term offtake partners.

“Offtake agreements are part of collaboration between Alaska and SkyNRG Americas and more details will be announced in the future,” said the company. “SkyNRG Americas is developing SAF production facilities in North America, focusing on the US West Coast.”

“This is a critical next step in our long-term plan to reduce carbon emissions and our impact on the planet,” said Diana Birkett Rakow, Alaska Airlines’ VP Public Affairs and Sustainability. “We have been working for more than a decade to advance SAF technology and viability, and we’re excited to partner with SkyNRG’s experienced team to advance truly sustainable production of SAF, develop supply in the Pacific Northwest and engage partners for a commercially viable and scalable future for sustainable fuels.”

John Plaza, CEO of SkyNRG Americas described Alaska Airlines as one of the most fuel-efficient airlines in the US. “It is an ideal partner not only to support SAF demand but also to help drive necessary policy changes that will encourage development of the SAF industry across the Pacific Northwest and the nation as a whole.”

The partners will focus on SAF made from municipal sold waste (MSW) and other waste-based feedstock sources that have the potential to reduce GHG emissions by more than 80% and reduce particulate matter by 90%. They say significant volumes of MSW are available throughout the US that could be diverted from landfill. Of critical importance, they stress, will be to continue work to maximise recycling and reduce waste streams before any conversion of MSW to SAF occurs.

The collaboration builds on an agreement between Alaska Airlines, SkyNRG and Microsoft announced in October 2020, aiming to use SAF to offset Microsoft employee travel on Alaska Airlines services between Seattle and San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles (see article). This sees Microsoft buying SAF credits from SkyNRG, with those credits used by SkyNRG to supply SAF produced by World Energy.

Alaska Airlines has been an early adopter of SAF beginning in 2010 with test flights and it continues to regularly use SAF offtake at San Francisco International Airport. At the end of March, the airline confirmed its membership of oneworld, which was the first airline alliance to commit its members to a net-zero emissions by 2050 target.

Photo: Alaska Airlines

Mark Pilling

Contributing Editor, GreenAir

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