Canadian Biomass Magazine

Gevo and SFO work to advance sustainable aviation fuel

January 28, 2019
By Gevo Inc.

Jan. 28, 2019 – Gevo, Inc. announced today that it has joined with the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), certain airlines and other industry participants for the use and advancement of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), a low-carbon and sustainably produced alternative to conventional, petroleum jet fuel. Gevo has signed on to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a group of eight airlines and certain fuel producers to work cooperatively on expanding the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels at SFO. The consortium, initially formed in September 2018, is the first of its kind to include fuel suppliers, airlines, and airport agencies in a collaborative effort to accelerate the global transition to SAF.

The four airlines – United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Cathay Pacific – represent nearly 70 per cent of all flights at SFO, while the four fuel producers include SFO’s two primary suppliers, Chevron Corporation and Shell Oil Company along with Neste and LanzaTech, Inc. Together with SFO Fuel Company, LLC, the Airport’s Fuel Consortium, Gevo and these partners will strive to increase SAF supply globally and at SFO. Airlines at SFO currently use over 1 billion gallons of jet fuel annually. If SAF suppliers are able to increase global supply from the current 5 million gallons per year to 500 million gallons per year, the use of SAF could prevent nearly 4.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year – equivalent to taking over one million cars off the roads.

“We are pleased to be a member of the Consortium to advance the use of sustainable aviation fuel at SFO. We are the only player at the table using low cost, sustainably produced carbohydrates as a feedstock to produce renewable jet fuel. In our production process, not only do we produce renewable jet fuel, we also can produce large quantities of protein for the food chain and even sequester carbon in the soil. In fact, for every barrel of bio jet fuel produced by Gevo, we could produce approximately 420 pounds of protein and sequester up to 60 pounds of carbon back into the soil. We are planning on expanding our plant in Luverne, Minnesota, to make it capable of producing nearly 10 million gallons per year of our sustainable alcohol-to-jet fuel, and we are looking to build additional sustainable alcohol-to-jet fuel production plants that could even use wood as a feedstock,” said Dr. Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo.

“With this Memorandum of Understanding, we’re moving the dial on an entire industry,” said SFO Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “A quantum leap of this kind requires partnering with like-minded organizations, and we’re pleased that Gevo has joined the airlines and fuel suppliers who are committed to expanding the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in air transportation.”

Advertisement

Print this page

Advertisement

Stories continue below