The Biofuels Revolution Coming to the Friendly Skies

by Leticia Phillips (UNICA/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Sugarcane is the most energy efficient plant in the world and will play a vital role in the jet fuel revolution. With air travel expected to skyrocket in the coming decades, and carbon reduction a must, the aviation industry needs renewable options.

In the United States, cars and trucks account for the lion’s share of transportation greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), but aviation clocks in with a dangerously high 10 percent.

Thankfully, the aviation community is adapting, perhaps faster than most of the flying public knows. To their credit, the major airlines, manufacturers and shippers like FedEx and UPS are advocating policies and testing new sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) that will pay big climate dividends in the not-too-distant future.

According to McKinsey, widespread use of SAF could be transformative and result in a “reduction in carbon emissions of 70 percent to almost 100 percent.”

Congress is considering legislation that would offer a tax incentive of “up to $2 for every gallon of sustainable aviation fuel.” Regardless of any incentives, the airlines have already committed to using two billion gallons of biofuel by 2030. The commitment came from members of Airlines for America, the trade association representing the big U.S. carriers. Reaching this goal will require an 84% annual average increase in SAF production through 2030.

Boeing announced that by the end of this decade, every aircraft it builds will be able to fly using 100 percent sustainable fuels.

CORSIA has deemed eligible the sustainable fuel farnesane, derived from sugarcane ethanol.

Farnesane is obtained biologically through sugar fermentation using biochemical conversion technology, namely the synthesized iso-paraffins pathway. The decarbonization value of this crop-based biofuel for aviation is evident and we hope that countries around the globe adopt policies that will incentivize the use and the production of SAF. We also look forward to opportunities for collaboration in this area between Brazil and the United States. READ MORE