Sustainable Aviation Fuel: According to Plan

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October 15, 2024

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by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine) Doubling in attendance from its debut in 2023, the North American SAF Conference & Expo drew over 500 industry stakeholders to discuss progress and double down on initiatives to reach the near- and long-term goals of the U.S. SAF Grand Challenge.

Opening the event, held in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on Sept. 11-13, was Steve Csonka, executive director of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative. He began by providing an overview of challenge, which includes a near-term goal delivering 3 billion gallons of SAF in the United States by 2030, with at least a 50% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. “Secondly, [the challenge requires] a full replacement of petroleum-based jet fuel with SAF by 2050, estimated to entail about 35 billion gallons per year usage in that timeframe, with certain assumptions on the growth profile of the industry,” Csonka said. “And then, a subsequent commitment through the Clean Fuels and Products Shot, which was introduced last year to increase our greenhouse gas emission reductions to 55% and beyond in the midterm.”

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Following Csonka, representatives from the key contributing departments—the USDA, Transportation Department and Energy Department—discussed attributes of their work.

Three Years In
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recorded remarks that were played at the event, which included the announcement of a SAF Grand Challenge metrics dashboard fact sheet to help track figures and stay on target.

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Robert Bonnie, undersecretary of the USDA, said the SAF industry represents “an enormous opportunity for U.S. agriculture,” and that the USDA’s focus is currently on three main challenges in terms of policy and how to boost farmer interest in SAF and the commodities necessary to do so. The first, he said, is quickly scaling up climate-smart practices. “Two, is measuring, monitoring, reporting, verification and how we can make sure we have the science and wherewithal … to track CI scores in U.S. commodities … and three, how do we create a system that allows us to track those CI scores and commodities through a supply chain?” He noted that (through the Inflation Reduction Act) $20 billion has been committed to the Agriculture Department for the scaling up of climate-smart commodities practices across the country.

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Months ago, Bonnie added, the USDA put out a request for information regarding the creation of a standard to track CI scores through the supply chain.

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Following Bonnie, Annie Petsonk, assistant secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the Transportation Department, discussed the most pressing aspects of SAF policy and implementation. “In terms of the SAF Grand Challenge, while 35 billion gallons of SAF by 2035 is very ambitious, what’s really ambitious is the 3 billion gallons by 2030,” she said. “Because if we can get to the 3 billion gallons by 2030, it means that we will have the policy, architecture, infrastructure and supply chain in place to get to the 35-billion-gallon goal.”

Petsonk said the government agency partners want to hear from stakeholders on three aspects of SAF policy and implementation. “The first is clarity ... clarity on what counts as sustainable aviation fuel, how you measure it, and the life cycle emissions modelling its used ... we were deeply involved and engaged in the revisions of the GREET model that we’ve developed for 40B implementation, and we are looking forward to working with our interagency partners as we move forward on guidance for 45Z.”

Consistency was the second aspect that Petsonk said the government wants to hear about from stakeholders.

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Petsonk said continuity is the final aspect about which stakeholders are urged to provide feedback.

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Petsonk also discussed engagement in the international arena, highlighting global SAF mandates in other countries such as the United Kingdom and the European Union, and emphasized the importance of the U.S.’s ability to compete in the global market.

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Laurence Wildgoose, assistant administrator for policy, international affairs and environment at the Federal Aviation Administration, provided an update on the FAA’s Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition grant program. In August, $291 million was awarded to 16 projects in two categories, he said—$244.5 million for 22 projects that will reduce, transport, blend or store SAF, and for scoping studies related to SAF infrastructure need, as well as $46.5 million for 14 projects that will help develop, demonstrate or apply low-emission aviation technologies. He gave a few examples of the projects being supported, including $16.8 million to Gevo Inc. to convert its existing biofuel facility in Luverne, Minnesota, into a fully integrated alcohol-to-jet production facility, and $240,000 to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to conduct a study of regional supply chains, infrastructure and distribution needs to enable SAF deployment.

Valerie Sarisky-Reed, director of bioenergy at the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, filled attendees in on the previously mentioned roadmap implementation report, taking a deeper dive into progress made on the U.S. SAF Grand Challenge thus far.

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The dashboard will enable the tracking of metrics such as the status of potential feedstocks, and where technology is in terms of commercial readiness, Sarisky-Reed said. “And as you’ll note, through the dashboard, you’ll see that between 2.6 [billion] and 4.9 billion gallons per year of SAF capacity has been announced. That’s really incredible; that will get us to our goal and beyond, however, these are [just] announcements. ..."
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Following updates from SAF producers and suppliers including Montana Renewables, LanzaJet, Phillips 66, World Energy and AvFuel, was an update on the Minnesota SAF Hub. READ MORE

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Excerpt from Energy.AgWired.com: A new CoBank Knowledge Exchange report on Charting the Path Forward for SAF finds sustainable aviation fuel provides great opportunity for growth in U.S. biofuels production from agricultural feedstocks, as long as the market and regulatory incentives are there for farmers and the wider biofuels industry.

According to the report, the anticipated guidance for the 45Z tax credit, also known as the Clean Fuel Production Credit, will be the major determining factor for the extent of agriculture’s role in SAF production, replacing the 40B tax credit for SAF production.

“The 40B tax credit guidance for SAF fell short in effectively incentivizing farmers to adopt the prescribed set of on-farm conservation practices required to be eligible for the credit,” said Jacqui Fatka, farm supply and biofuels economist with CoBank. “Farmers are hoping the new guidance offers more flexibility to employ practices that are applicable to their individual operations. The 40B guidance reflected a one-size-fits-all approach, which is certainly not the case for farms spanning the entire country.”

While the 45Z tax credit is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, the final guidance has yet to be issued causing uncertainty for farmers, biofuel producers and other market participants. “Biofuel producers are unlikely to move forward on any expansion plans until the new guidance is published,” said Fatka. “And the delay creates more uncertainty for farmers as they make decisions about planting, input purchases and conservation programs for 2025.”

Read the report. READ MORE

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