The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced $291 million in new grants to accelerate air transport decarbonisation, backing projects ranging from production, storage and distribution of sustainable aviation fuels to new aircraft, propulsion and flight planning technologies. The funds have been provided under Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST), a programme which supports initiatives to help achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The grants, made possible under the Inflation Reduction Act, coincide with increasing global concerns that aviation will fail to meet its climate targets without more policy support from governments. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to enhancing the safety of our national transportation system and reaching our mid-century target of net-zero emissions,” said Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “These grants will help put the world on a path toward decarbonising aviation while fostering economic growth and ensuring the US retains its global leadership in aviation.”

The latest grants support 36 projects in 22 states, with the largest proportion – $244.5 million, or 84% – dedicated to producing, transporting, blending or storing SAF, or for studies to determine infrastructure requirements for the low carbon fuels. The remaining $46.5 million has been committed to projects which develop, demonstrate or apply low-emission aviation technologies.

“These grants will reduce carbon pollution, improve aircraft fuel efficiency and increase SAF use,” announced the FAA, adding that all the organisations to be awarded grants were based in the US. But some are also significant players in global markets, or aspiring to be so, supporting not just US aviation but also international partners and customers.

The FAST funding was allocated via four channels – SAF Tiers 1 and 2 and Low Emission Categories 1 and 2 – to a mix of existing and startup fuel producers, logistics and supply chain companies, state and local governments, airport authorities, universities, and both established and evolving manufacturers of aircraft, powerplants and components.

SAF Tier 1 projects, of which there are seven, are focused on supply chain studies to identify SAF infrastructure needs, while Tier 2 projects, of which there are 15, are for the construction of infrastructure to produce, transport, blend and store SAF. There are also 13 Low Emission Technology Category 1 projects, each developing new decarbonisation technologies, and one Low Emission Technology Category 2 project to develop test capabilities to advance new measures.

The largest single grant was $50 million to Martinez Renewables, a joint venture between Marathon Petroleum and global SAF producer Neste, to help fund upgrades at the company’s renewable fuels plant in California to enable production of SAF as synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK). The repurposed facility is expected to produce 100-350 million gallons of SAF per year from 2027.    

Among other major recipients of grants for SAF, BP Products North America secured $26.76 million to produce and blend 10-25 million gallons per year at its Cherry Point refinery in Washington State; Buckeye Terminals was awarded $24 million to upgrade SAF storage and distribution capacity at four facilities in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana; World Energy secured $21.96 million to install and integrate pipeline components to enable SAF delivery to Los Angeles International Airport; and Phillips 66 secured a total of just under $23 million to upgrade or develop four of its locations in California and Oregon to produce, blend and store SAF.

Additionally, Equilon Enterprises was awarded $17.9 million to install infrastructure to receive and blend neat SAF at the Shell Carson Terminal in southern California, with an annual output target of 151 million gallons; Gevo secured $16.8 million to convert a Minnesota facility to produce alcohol-to-jet SAF; Colonial Pipeline Company in Louisiana attracted $16.5 million to increase SAF storage and blending capacity; Arcadia eFuels was awarded $14.6 million for front-end engineering design to build a new SAF plant in Texas; Marquis R&D Energy secured just under $10 million for production, blending and storage infrastructure for ethanol-to-jet SAF; and LanzaJet received $3 million to expand infrastructure to enable delivery of an additional 518,300 gallons of SAF per year.

Emerging aircraft manufacturer JetZero secured an $8 million grant to develop technologies for its new Blended Wing Body aircraft, in particular lightweight composite materials; Otto Aviation Group secured just under $7 million for wind tunnel tests of a transonic super laminar aircraft, designed to achieve twice the efficiency of conventional models by improving airflow over the plane’s surfaces; hydrogen propulsion company ZeroAvia was awarded $4.2 million to progress development of a suite of hydrogen fuel cell powertrains; Heart Aerospace, California, secured $4.1 million to develop hybrid-electric systems for new zero emission planes; Wright Electric received $3.3 million to develop an ultra-high energy battery for zero-emission aircraft; and Boeing received $2.6 million for a new system to more accurately measure fuel loads.

Initiatives delivering incremental reductions in emissions were also recognised in the FAST programme, with a $5.6 million grant to Green Taxi to design, manufacture and certificate an electric nosewheel motor for zero-emission taxiing, initially for installation on Embraer E175 aircraft; Seattle-based Apijet secured $4.5 million for flight planning software enabling airlines to optimise routes with real-time information on operating constraints; and Aersale was awarded $757,400 to develop initiatives to reduce aerodynamic drag on Boeing 737 windscreens, including vertical parking of windshield wipers. 

The universities of Virginia, Illinois and Michigan received funds to advance a range of programmes including supply chain modelling for airport SAF deliveries, flight operations using low-emission technologies and development of a test facility for zero emission electric aircraft systems. The cities of Atlanta and Philadelphia and the Alaska Department of Transportation were variously funded to explore feasibility or means of delivering SAF or increasing its uptake in their jurisdictions. The FAA said no further grants or funding opportunities were under consideration.

Photo (Los Angeles World Airports): SAF producer World Energy secured $21.96 million under FAST to install and integrate pipeline components to enable SAF delivery to LAX

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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