Gallery: Aviation Invests Funds, Technology In SAF Initiatives

A process developed by biofuel developer Enerkem to convert forest biomass into SAF has won a Canadian government competition to develop a fuel that can be produced domestically at costs competitive with fossil fuel. A team led by Montreal-based Enerkem won National Resources Canada’s “The Sky’s the Limit Challenge,” received a C$5 million ($4 million) grant to continue commercialize the fuel. Enerkem was one of four finalists each awarded C$2 million in 2019 to develop their technology. The winning process involves deconstruction and fractionation of the forest biomass, followed by gasification, the production of oligomers and their catalytic hydrocracking to produce a SAF enabling a 93% reduction in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions.

Deutsche Aerospace is returning the Dornier 328 to production as the 40-seat 328eco regional turboprop. German hydrogen propulsion specialist H2Fly will develop the fuel-cell power and liquid-hydrogen storage systems for installation in the testbed aircraft. First flight is planned for 2025. Germany’s government is funding a $33 million project to modify a Dornier 328 regional turboprop into a flying testbed for zero-emission hydrogen-electric propulsion. The D328H2-FC project is being led by German aerospace center DLR in cooperation with H2Fly, Deutsche Aircraft and Diehl Aviation. The project will demonstrate a 1.5-megawatt-class fuel-cell powertrain for CS-25 transport-category aircraft.

Hydrogen-electric propulsion startup ZeroAvia has partnered with zero-emission vehicle refueling company ZEV Station to develop a hydrogen refueling infrastructure for airports in California. The companies plan to develop an initial regional aircraft project with sufficient scale to showcase how hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion systems can enable zero-emission commercial flights. ZeroAvia plans flight demonstration with hydrogen-electric-powered aircraft from pilot airports in California, supported by the refueling ecosystem codeveloped with ZEV Station. The company’s charging-only test site is scheduled to open at the end of May 2022. ZEV’s first station with both charging and hydrogen is targeted for operation in early 2023.

Lyon Saint Exupéry Airport is gearing up to introduce hydrogen to its platform, for ground vehicles first and aircraft later. From 2023, a hydrogen gas station will be installed for light vehicles, such as private individuals’ cars, taxis and the airport’s own fleet. “We will have two-to-four hydrogen-powered shuttle buses among those serving car parks,” says CEO Tanguy Bertolus. From 2024-25, a second station will distribute green hydrogen for heavy-duty ground vehicles. Those will include apron buses, trucks and handling vehicles operated by the airport and local companies.

Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) based in Prestwick, Scotland, has signed a term sheet in principle with UK startup Electric Aviation Group (EAG) to collaborate on the development of technologies to support zero-emission flight. EAG is aiming to develop a zero-emission 90-seat hydrogen hybrid-electric regional aircraft, the H2ERA, but 2030. The startup plans to fly a demonstrator in 2026 and to sue its technology in retrofit programs before developing the clean-sheet H2ERA.

Qantas has set ambitious goals for the use of SAF in its new Climate Action Plan, which established a target of having SAF comprise 10% of its fuel mix by 2030, and about 60% by 2050. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said he hopes the action will encourage more investment in SAF production and build more momentum for the industry as a whole. The Australian flag carrier already has deals in place for the purchase of SAF at some overseas airports. Since the start of 2022, SAF has comprised 15% of the fuel used on the carrier’s flights out of London. The airline has also signed a supply deal for almost 20 million liters of blended SAF per year for its flights out of California airports from 2025.

Finnair inked a $70 million contract with renewable fuels company Aemetis for 17.5 million gallons of blended SAF. The seven-year agreement will see the fuel produced at Aemetis’ production facility, which is currently being developed in Riverbank, California, before being delivered to San Francisco International Airport. The blended SAF will combine 40% SAF and 60% Petroleum Jet-A to comply with current international blending standards. Finnair will receive the first delivery of the blended fuel in 2025.

Chicago-based United Airlines made a $5 million initial investment in renewable fuel startup Cemvita Factory, part of a collaboration with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures. As part of its synthetic biology approach, Houston-based Cemvita uses genetically modified microbes that convert carbon dioxide into renewable hydrocarbons that can be used to produce SAF. The investment in Cemvita is the third SAF deal in the portfolio of United Airlines Ventures (UAV).

Delta Air Lines agreed to purchase 75 million gallons of SAF annually from Colorado-based advanced biofuels company Gevo. The deal will see Gevo supply Atlanta-based Delta with 75 million gallons of SAF annually for seven years, beginning in 2026. The renewable fuels will be developed using alcohol-to-jet pathways that convert various low-carbon feedstocks into Alcohol-to-Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene, which can be used for up to a 30% blend in conventional jet fuel for commercial flights.

British Airways took delivery of the first batch of SAF produced by Phillips 66 Limited, making it the first airline in the world to start using SAF produced on a commercial scale in the UK. The Phillips 66 Humber Refinery near Immingham is producing thousands of tonnes of SAF that will now help power a number of British Airways flights. The SAF is produced from sustainable waste feedstock at the refinery and British Airways will add it into the existing pipeline infrastructure that directly feeds several UK airports including London Heathrow.

Infrastructure consultancy Aecom has partnered with Colorado-based wastewater processing company Genifuel to scale up the production of a carbon-neutral SAF from algal blooms and sewage sludge. The partnership combines a process developed by Aecom to harvest wild algae and a process developed by Genifuel to convert algae and biosolids to a renewable crude oil.

Airbus has flown an A380 with one of its four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines running on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), produced from used cooking oil and waste fats by France’s Total Energies. The March 25, 2022, flight followed earlier 100% SAF tests on the A350 and A319neo in 2021. Airbus A380 test aircraft MSN1 conducted the 3-hr test flight from Blagnac Airport in Toulouse and used 27 metric tons of unblended SAF produced by Total in Normandy. A second 100% SAF test flight, from Toulouse to Nice Airport, flew on March 29. This is the third Airbus aircraft type to fly on 100% SAF over the course of 12 months; the first was an Airbus A350 in March 2021 followed by an A319neo single-aisle aircraft in October 2021.