The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Thursday that it is funding university research on sustainable aviation fuel. The goal is to make sustainable aviation fuel cheaper and more widely available.
Airlines such as United, Southwest, Delta, and American are now turning to sustainable aviation fuel. Though airlines committed to zero carbon emissions by 2050, sustainable aviation fuel isn’t as widely available as jet fuel.
The sustainable aviation fuel research fund amounting to $1.4 million will go to five universities. The study will look into the viability of construction waste as an alternative fuel at the University of Hawaii. Also, part of the research is retrofitting existing refineries at Washington State University.
Michael Wolcott, a materials engineer and a university coordinator of the FAA-funded sustainable aviation fuel research, said that “aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize”. Among challenges according to Wolcott include high capital investment and the long life cycle of airplanes.
According to experts, the aviation industry is responsible for 2% to 3% of the world’s carbon emissions. Plus, it is also believed to get worse in the coming years.
John Slattery who is the CEO of General Electric Aviation said that “There isn’t an airline CEO that I’ve spoken to in the last six or 12 months that does not want to fly SAF”.
Unfortunately, switching to sustainable aviation fuel isn’t simple. Just how scarce is sustainable aviation fuel? Currently, SAF supply can only meet less than 1% of the industry’s jet-fuel demand. Plus, the production of SAF is currently three times more expensive than conventional jet fuel.
United Airlines flew a SAF-powered Boeing 737 Max 8 with passengers including Slattery. The airline hoped that this move caught the attention of lawmakers to push legislation that could help increase the production of SAF.
In September, the Biden administration launched an initiative that can boost SAF production to 3 billion gallons annually by 2030. This is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to cut aviation carbon emissions by 20% in 2030.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that “These funds will help build regional supply chains so that communities across our country—many of them rural—feel the economic benefits of producing sustainable aviation fuel”.
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