A new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) pathway recently approved by the standardization group ASTM International will help propel the use of the biofuel by US airlines, providing another option for the industry as it looks for ways to lower its carbon footprint.
The latest ASTM-approved pathway establishes criteria for the production and use of a synthesized kerosene from hydrocarbons, esters and fatty acids. The fuel can be blended at up to 10pc with conventional jet fuel.
"Even as the US airlines work to address the Covid-19 crisis and aid in our national and global recovery, we remain committed to achieving our aggressive climate and sustainability goals," Airlines for America vice president for environmental affairs Nancy Young said. "The increased production and use of sustainable fuels is a key pillar of our efforts."
The more pathways that exist, the more that SAF can be produced and used by airlines, Young added. Advancing SAF deployment will help the aviation industry meet its emissions reduction goals, while diversifying fuel supply and enhancing energy security, she said. This marks the seventh approved pathway for SAF by ASTM.
Alternative aviation fuel was added as an eligible credit generator to California's Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program at the start of last year, but regulators stopped short of putting a compliance obligation on conventional jet fuel. It was also added as an eligible credit generator to Oregon's Clean Fuels Program.
The California LCFS requires a 20pc cut in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 2030, with this year's target at 7.5pc. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) requires SAF to beat certain carbon intensity benchmarks in order to generate credits. Through 2022, the jet fuel benchmark is 89.37g CO2/megajoule. After that, it falls by about 1.25g/yr, reaching 80.36g in 2030. Oregon uses a 90.8g benchmark until 2025, when it falls to 88.87g.
But to date, SAF has not been a significant contributor to either state's program. Last year, alternative jet fuel generated only 11,100 California LCFS credits, out of nearly 14.8mn from all fuels in the program, from roughly 1.9mn USG of the fuel. SAF did not generate any credits for Oregon's program, which has a 10pc by 2025 carbon-intensity reduction mandate.
SAF growth will not be as sharp as it otherwise could be because of producers' pull toward renewable diesel, which is often co-produced with SAF in the same refining process. To date, the economics have largely favored renewable diesel. Alternatives to diesel have to best a CI score of 92.92g in California this year, one reason renewable diesel production is more attractive than SAF. And despite sharp drops in transportation fuel demand from restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19, refiners are not shelving projects to reduce renewable diesel.
None of the refiners pursuing new renewable diesel capacity — Valero, Marathon, Phillips 66 and HollyFrontier — has delayed or cancelled those projects as part of capital spending cuts. Instead, CVR Energy, a midcontinent refiner, added to the list of projects with the disclosure that it will study converting sulfur treating capacity to produce the advanced renewable fuel.
The SAF growth curve could be affected, at least in the short term, by how hard the airline industry has been hit by Covid-19.
"But it does not change the underlying fundamentals that people are going to continue to fly and that airlines and jets are going to require liquid fuels for the foreseeable future. We will continue to see the tremendous interest in sustainable aviation fuels," Low Carbon Fuels Coalition executive director Graham Noyes told Argus.
Travel on US airlines neared its lowest level in two decades in March, as airlines carried 51.5pc fewer passengers than a year earlier amid and-coronavirus measures and travel restrictions, according to preliminary data from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Some biofuels producers have argued that companies should use this time to transition to a more low-carbon future.
"Long term, the opportunity for sustainable aviation fuel to reduce emissions from flying remains exciting," Finnish biofuels producer Neste said.
Neste can produce 100,000t/yr of SAF at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. The company began a $1.4bn expansion of its Singapore refinery in August, which will increase its renewable production capacity by 1.3mn t/yr to 4.5mn t/yr, giving the firm the ability to produce 1mn t of SAF at the plant. This project is still on track, Neste said.
"As the United States begins to re-open for business, now is the time to put the fight against climate change and clean air at the core of our economic recovery. Long term, the opportunity for sustainable aviation fuel to reduce emissions from flying remains exciting," the company said.
It makes sense to go through a "rebuilding," from this pandemic, Noyes said. "We should not rebuild a petroleum-centric economy. That does not make sense. People will have changed perspectives on priorities and health."
