Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Opportunity for Regional Development

by Laís Forti Thomaz and Amanda Gondim (Universidade Federal de Goias/Estadão (Google Translation)) In an article in Estadão, RBQAV researchers affirm that Brazil needs to seek international partnerships to fulfill an agreement -- ... Aircraft operators are encouraged to use CORSIA Eligible Fuels (CEF) which are certified by a Sustainability Certification Scheme (SCS) approved by the ICAO Council. These fuels must achieve the reduction of GHG emissions based on the life cycle; respect areas of high importance for biodiversity, conservation and benefits for people in ecosystems, in accordance with national and international regulations; and contribute to local social and economic development, and must avoid competition from the raw material used with food. If companies do not use SAFs, they must buy carbon credits in the clearing market.

However, it is also necessary that in the governmental sphere, incentives are sought to neutralize the difference in the cost of producing a “drop-in” fuel in relation to a product for engines adapted to biofuels, as is the case of road transport. This is because in aviation the fuel must be “drop-in”, that is, they are liquid bio hydrocarbons (renewable hydrocarbons), which have functionality equivalent to fossil fuels and are compatible with the existing infrastructure, that is, the fuel must be free of oxygenated compounds, having high calorific value and low water solubility (Speight, 2006). In this way, they can be mixed with aviation kerosene or diesel of fossil origin in regulated proportions, without the need for changes to the existing engines, aircraft and distribution infrastructure.

With this in mind, the development of sustainable aviation fuels has been encouraged both in Europe with the European Commission's European Ecological Pact and in the United States , as the size of the aviation fuel market is large and growing. The US Energy Information Agency says global demand will increase from 106 billion gallons in 2019 to 230 billion gallons in 2050. Dep. Julia Brownley (D-Califonia) even introduced the “ the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act ” bill that provides for a $ 1 billion fund for the production of SAF in addition to tax credit.

In principle, Brazil will only participate in CORSIA in 2027, in the mandatory phase, even though it already has an ANAC resolution (496/2018 amended by 558/2020) that regulates the monitoring, reporting and verification of emission data.

However, the sector has failed to overcome market barriers for large-scale aviation biokerosene production. Pedro Scorza, Director of Biofuels for Aviation of the Brazilian Union of Biodiesel and Biokerosene (Ubrabio), in an article carried out by Canal-Jornal da Bioenergia (2019) emphasized that the differences in cost of conventional fuels are still a bottleneck even though technology has evolved a lot and that the price difference would be at the level of 20%, and a few years ago it was 200%.

An alliance was created between Netflix, Microsoft, JP Morgan, Deloitte and others called Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), which will be operated by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Rocky Mountain Institute, with support from the Climate Group for SAF development. SABA aims for commercial aviation to be able to use 100% biofuels by 2030.

In the internal agenda, there are some specific initiatives to stimulate the development of the sector: (1) the recently launched Fuel of the Future Program, through the resolution of the National Energy Policy Council, which provides for the creation of the Technical Committee for the Fuel of the Future (CT-CF) which will be composed of fifteen bodies and coordinated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and the introduction of aviation biokerosene in the country's transportation matrix and for an integrated policy of this biofuel with diesel and green naphtha and the creation of the ProBioQAV Committee ; (2) the Science, Technology and Innovation Plan for Renewable Energies and Biofuels(2018-2022) of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MCTI), with the goal of consolidating the Brazilian Network of Biokerosene and Renewable Hydrocarbons for Aviation ( RBQAV ) coordinated by the Secretariat of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEMPI / MCTI) in partnership with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) with support from other universities involved; (3) advances in the processing of PL 9321/2017 that creates the National Biokerosene Program. Such initiatives reinforce this biofuels agenda - also built by RenovaBio since 2017 - in which solutions can be sought for these logistical, distribution, taxation and price bottlenecks, in order to make renewable hydrocarbons viable.

Recent study released by Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) states that the country has the potential to produce 9 billionliters of biokerosene from waste. Potential conditioned to the consolidation of its production chain and the creation of a favorable environment for the installation of biorefineries. Brazil needs to prepare to fulfill the mandatory phase of CORSIA in 2027. Therefore, it is necessary to seek joint solutions with banks such as the IDB, the World Bank and other international financing that can resume growth and investments in these technologies. This is because, if Brazil, with the support and encouragement of such international organizations, manages to develop this market, it may even stimulate the development of the Latin American regional market and benefit from CORSIA's requirements. Since the country occupies the position of leader of the United Nations High Level Dialogue on Energyon the topic of Energy Transition, as well as recognized efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen the Biofuture Platform created in 2016. READ MORE