The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $291mn in grants to 36 projects for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and other low-emissions aviation technologies through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Several of the grant recipient are producers whose projects are set to come online in the near future or are already operational. The grants will help achieve the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from aviation by 2050, the FAA said.
The largest grant went to northern California producer Martinez Renewables, a joint venture between Marathon Petroleum and Neste, which was awarded $50mn for production of synthetic paraffinic kerosene, an intermediate step in the production of hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) SAF.
BP's 238,500 b/d Cherry Point refinery in Washington state received the second-largest grant at $26.8mn, but BP said in June that it would pause plans for a standalone SAF unit at Cherry Point refinery as part of a broader reevaluation of its biofuels strategy.
The company, without definitively committing to SAF production at Cherry Point, told Argus on Monday that it remains committed to co-processing fuels at the site and that the federal grant "could enable us to proceed with upgrades" to existing equipment. Co-processing fuels involves using both biogenic and conventional petroleum feedstocks. While the FAA announcement says BP could produce up to 25mn USG/yr of SAF at the site, the company said the project, if pursued, would enable up to 10mn USG/yr of co-processed SAF.
World Energy, the largest producer of SAF in the US by Argus estimates, received $21.9mn for upgrades to its blending operations, enabling direct pipeline delivery of blended SAF to Los Angeles International Airport. Nearby, Equilon Enterprises received $18mn for similar upgrades at storage facilities in Carson, California.
Gevo's Luverne, Minnesota, facility and LanzaJet's Soperton, Georiga, facility were granted $16.8mn and $3.1mn, respectively, to help commercialize technology for converting alcohol to jet fuel, ahead of the 2025 debut of the Clean Fuel Production Credit under Section 45Z of the IRA.
Phillips 66 was granted $22.8mn across multiple blending and production assets located on the US west coast, streamlining its supply chain from production at its Rodeo, California, facility to storage of blended SAF at its terminals in California and Oregon.
Arcadia eFuels will receive $14.6mn for the development of a new 23.8mn USG/yr SAF facility in Texas.
With regard to transportation of blended product, Colonial Pipeline and Buckeye Terminals will receive $16.5mn and $24.1mn, respectively for upgrades to blending, storage, and movement of SAF across their networks of pipelines.
Other grants are for airport SAF distribution, academic and private sector technology research and deployment of adjacent decarbonization projects relevant to the aviation sector.
