Sustainable Aviation Fuel Won’t Short Food Supply, Manufacturers Say

by Sean Prattt (Manitoba Cooperator/Glacier Farm Media) Manufacturers of sustainable aviation fuel say the increase in light duty electric vehicles has created an ethanol surplus -- Sustainable aviation fuel manufacturers say they won’t compromise food supplies despite consuming large volumes of agricultural products.

The U.S. government has established goals of scaling up SAF production to three billion gallons by 2030 and 35 billion gallons by 2050. Most of that fuel is expected to be made using agricultural feedstocks, at least initially.

Domestic canola groups have flagged Canadian and U.S. biofuel as a major growth avenue for the oilseed.

The projections created a resurgence of the food-versus-fuel debate that first surfaced during the ethanol boom of the late-2000s, when critics also worried that crop markets bound for the gas tank would pressure food streams.

That’s outdated thinking, according to a panel of SAF manufacturers who presented at the Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit earlier this year.

Alex Menotti, vice-president of government affairs, policy and sustainability at LanzaJet, said his company just opened the world’s first ethanol-to-jet SAF plant in Georgia. It will be converting 10 million gallons of ethanol per year into SAF and diesel.

The country is a long way from meeting its goal of three billion gallons, or 10 per cent of all jet fuel use in the United States.

However, Menotti said he is confident the ambitious target will be achieved. LanzaJet plans to produce one-third of that total without compromising food supplies.

There is plenty of excess ethanol production in the U.S. due to the electrification of light duty vehicles in that country, he argued. Ethanol demand for those vehicles isn’t what it once was. SAF offers a way to mop up that excess.

He framed SAF as a redistribution of existing ethanol production and said there likely won’t be huge spikes in new production.

Alan Weber, founding partner of MARC-IV, is helping promote alternative oilseed crops that will be used to make SAF.

The company is focused on crops such as camelina, covercress, brassica carinata and winter canola. All those can be grown as cover crops, a practice linked to improved soil health.

Weber said the feedstocks are geographically complementary to each other. Camelina will be grown in the Pacific Northwest and Plains region of the U.S.; covercress is suited to the Midwest; winter canola is slated for the mid-south and carinata can be grown in the far south between Texas and Florida.

These newcomers will not eat up food-producing acres, Weber said. For instance, camelina can be planted during the fallow years in a wheat-fallow-wheat rotation in the Pacific Northwest. Covercress is planted after the corn harvest in the Midwest and harvested before soybean planting.

That helps the feedstocks achieve low carbon intensity scores sought by SAF manufacturers.

Weber also noted that corn and soybean yields have increased by 30 per cent over the past two decades thanks to new practices and innovation. For soybeans, that translates to an extra 12 bushels per acre, resulting in another 12.5 billion pounds of soybean oil production per year.

The renewable fuel sector consumed 13 billion pounds of soybean oil last year, almost entirely covered by the productivity increases.

Tim Obitts, chief executive officer of Alder Renewables, said his firm is building its first commercial plant that will convert woody biomass, agricultural residues and purpose-grown energy crops into SAF and other products.

The company is using residues as its feedstock, such as nut shells, sugar bagasse, sawdust and regenerative grasses such as miscanthus that will be grown on fallow land. READ MORE

Excerpt from Seed World: Bayer Crop Science Canada has partnered with the University of Alberta (U of A) to research the genetic diversity of Canada’s most exported crop – canola. Through this research, the team at U of A aims to make hybrid canola stronger, leading to an increased yield for Canadian farmers.

“There is a prosperous future for canola in Canada,” says Antoine Bernet, President and CEO, Bayer Crop Science Canada. “The talented research team at the University of Alberta are developing hundreds of canola lines, which could be a game changer for our farmers. Having canola that not only has an increased seed yield, but is also more disease resistant, would be an incredible step forward for Canadian agriculture.”

The research team is currently evaluating the genes of brassica vegetables, such as broccoli and kale, to determine which are best for breeding new lines of canola to produce the strongest hybrids. These types of plants are closely related to canola, and showcase the untapped genetic range and diversity available for canola development. Through this research, the team can then conclude which sources and backgrounds can create the highest yield for canola.

“Canada is the top producer of canola, and with demand expected to increase substantially over the next decade, it’s critical that we support research that will help to bolster this important crop,” says Antoine. “While it will take time to develop these hybrids, I’m optimistic about the work done by the team at U of A to enhance the genetic diversity of canola here in Canada.”

Once developed and proven effective, the improved genetic material and the knowledge from the research will support the long-term work of Bayer Crop Science to produce new commercial hybrids. READ MORE