Delta, DG Fuels Partner in Pivotal Expansion of Sustainable Fuel Market

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August 31, 2022

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(Delta News Hub) Under a new agreement, DG Fuels, LLC plans to establish a new SAF supply stream that could provide Delta with 385 million gallons of unblended sustainable aviation fuel, while helping to expand availability of SAF in the underserved marketplace.

DG Fuels will provide Delta with 385 million gallons of a new low-emissions sustainable aviation fuel, a vital resource needed for aviation to reach its sustainability goals.
The production of DG Fuels SAF is up to 85% lower in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions versus conventional jet fuel.
The agreement will help accelerate SAF production, which remains nascent – current existing supply would only operate a fleet Delta’s size for a single day.
SAF provided under the partnership advances Delta toward its recently validated science-based carbon emissions reduction target approved by Science Based Targets initiative.

Delta and DG Fuels, LLC are taking an important step together to expand the availability of sustainable fuel, with a new low-emissions SAF, which is critical to achieving a more sustainable future for aviation.

Under a new agreement, the low-emissions fuel company plans to establish a new SAF supply stream that could provide Delta with 385 million gallons of unblended sustainable aviation fuel, while helping to expand availability of SAF in the underserved marketplace.

“Achieving a sustainable future for travel will require us all to work together across industries and encourage innovations like DG Fuel’s new low-emissions SAF option,” said Pam Fletcher, Delta’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “SAF is essential to our industry’s more sustainable future, and new supply chain streams will help ensure sustainable fuel becomes more available and affordable.”

Anticipated to begin delivery by the end of 2027, DG Fuels is planning to deliver 55 million gallons of SAF annually for seven years. The SAF will likely use timber waste, corn stover and cotton gin waste as feedstock and is expected to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emission by between 75%-85% compared to conventional jet fuel, which aligns with Delta’s goal as a founding member of the First Movers Coalition.

The agreement also moves Delta toward its recently validated Science Based Targets initiative goal to reduce well-to-wake scope 1 and 3 jet fuel greenhouse gas emissions by 45% per revenue tonne kilometer by 2035 from a 2019 base year.* Science Based Targets initiative is a coalition that defines and promotes emissions reductions goals that climate scientists predict is needed to keep global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

“DG Fuels is committed to developing and supporting initiatives that provide practical and sustainable benefits to businesses, the environment and local communities,” said Michael C. Darcy, Chief Executive Officer of DG Fuels. “We are proud to take this next long-term step alongside Delta Air Lines in supporting the lasting sustainability of our planet by reducing the impact of airline travel on the environment.”

SAF is among the most impactful solutions on the market today for reducing aviation’s carbon emissions, but availability remains limited – the current existing supply would only operate a fleet Delta’s size for a single day. The new agreement reflects Delta’s dedication to driving the growth of sustainable fuels as it works toward reducing aviation's carbon emissions over the long term.

“Cellulosic biomass feedstock SAF is the key to scaled deployment that moves the needle for the aviation industry in reducing its carbon footprint,” said Christopher J. Chaput, President and CFO of DG Fuels. “Delta is a known innovator in the airline industry so we’re excited to work with them on implementing this long-term partnership.”

In SAF and other emerging technologies, Delta is also partnering with corporate, agency and cargo customers on SAF agreements to encourage the growth of the alternative fuels markets. Those efforts have resulted in more than 1 million gallons of purchased SAF so far. More information on Delta’s sustainability efforts are available in its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance Report.

*Non-CO2e effects which may also contribute to aviation induced warming are not included in this target. Delta Air Lines commits to publicly report on non-CO2e impacts of aviation over its target timeframe. READ MORE

Delta and DG Fuels partner to expand SAF usage (Biofuels International)

Delta places huge order for sustainable aviation fuel made with 839MW of green hydrogen -- The SAF will be made by combining cellulosic biomass and renewable H2 using Fischer-Tropsch method (ReCharge)

Delta, DG Fuels partner to expand SAF market (Hydrogen Processing)

As SAF rules, DG Fuels rocks with huge Air France/KLM fuels deal (Biofuels Digest)

Delta Air Lines in seven-year deal to purchase 385 million gallons of low-emissions SAF from DG Fuels (GreenAir Online)

Excerpt from ReCharge: Fuel for the deal will be made using a version of the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process, which chemically pairs carbon monoxide and hydrogen to produce synthetic hydrocarbons.

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Supply will come from a new FT plant planned by US producer DG Fuels in Louisiana, furnished with an 839MW electrolyser to supply the hydrogen. Construction on the plant is due to begin in 2023, with first SAF production in the second half of 2026.

The largest hydrogen electrolyser installed globally to date is a 150MW machine in central China, while a bigger 260MW unit is currently under construction in northwest China.

Power for DG Fuels’ 839MW electrolyser will be sourced from solar plants and verified by Renewable Energy Certificates, DG Fuels CEO Michael Darcy, tells Recharge. The scheme will apply for hydrogen tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), but the Delta deal was already agreed before the IRA was announced, he adds.

Delta will buy 55 million gallons of the fuel per year for seven years from 2027, pushing the company further towards its goal of procuring more than 400 million gallons of SAF annually by 2030 — the equivalent of 10% of its yearly fuel consumption.

As of 2021, Delta had secured more than 40% of that goal through offtake agreements. The DG Fuels deal — assuming it has not already been counted — would take that to around 54%.

Fischer-Tropsch

DG Fuels’ FT process utilises a carbon monoxide-heavy syngas made by processing cellulosic biomass —organic material such as plant or tree waste — at high temperatures and without oxygen to produce carbon monoxide and other gases, water and tar, and a small amount of hydrogen.

This syngas is then mixed with renewable hydrogen produced from the 839MW electrolyser and passed through a metal catalyst causing “polymerisation”, where the carbon monoxide and hydrogen molecules join together to form synthetic hydrocarbons. Further refinements then burnish them into SAFs.

According to Darcy, the process represents a departure from other FT processes for SAF, which typically source all the hydrogen from the organic material used to make the syngas, which would usually be a balance of carbon monoxide and hydrogen at a ratio of roughly 2:1.

By tweaking gasification so the syngas is richer in carbon monoxide and then adding hydrogen from an electrolyser, DG Fuels can optimise its SAF output by a factor of almost four, with 97% of the carbon from the biomass ending up in the fuel, the company claims.

Waste water from the FT process is then used in the electrolyser, which will be supplied by Norway’s HydrogenPro.

Currently the aviation biofuel market is dominated by waste-oil-derived biofuels such as HEFA-SPK (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids synthetic paraffinic kerosene) — in fact, more than 95% of biofuel flights to date have used HEFA-SPK fuel.

But FT technologies are catching up. In May this year, Fulcrum Bioenergy began operations at its FT-based transport fuel plant in Nevada, which uses municipal waste as a feedstock. READ MORE