United States aims to replace 100% of its domestic aviation fuels consumption with SAF by 2050

• Jim Spaeth, US Department of Energy representative says that the country could reach, by 2030, a production of 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) for the airline sector based on announced production facilities which range from approximately 2.4 billion gallons to almost 5 billion gallons;
• In the first six months of this year, the country has already produced or imported 50 million gallons of SAF, which is equivalent to 300 thousand metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions avoided.

 São Paulo, October 2024 – Jim Spaeth, Program Manager for Systems Development & Integration of the Bioenergy Technologies Office at the United States Department of Energy, reported that his country has the potential to  be producing 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in 2030. But the U.S.’s long-term goals are even more ambitious: replacing all fossil jet fuel in the country with its sustainable counterparts by 2050.

“Based on the recently updated DOE Billion Ton Study, we can produce more than 1.5 billion tons of biomass from which we can generate over 60 billion gallons of biofuels. With this, we will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 450 million metric tons, in addition to generating 1 million jobs by 2050”, he argued. Spaeth, who represented the United States in September at the high-level G20 meeting in Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) on Energy Transition, also participated in the BBEST – IEA Bioenergy Conference, in São Paulo/Brazil, which ended on Thursday 24 October. He recalled that the SAF is an integral part of the US government’s objectives with regard to the energy transition.

Transport is a key sector to decarbonize

“We want to be net zero by 2050. In the US, however, transportation  is the largest sector in terms of GHG emissions, making it quite challenging,” he admitted. “Half of our energy dollars are spent on transportation; and this sector is responsible for half of our local pollution.”

In response to the transportation sector challenges in September 2021, the Biden administration launched the US SAF Grand Challenge. “Initially, the idea was to reduce greenhouse gases from aviation emissions by 50%. But we want to go well beyond that”, he stated. This will be possible by encompassing several measures, including improvements in operation, in aircraft design, and on the ground. “But it is with SAF that the reduction is most significant”, he informed.

A task for many hands

The issue created a considerable challenge for the country: the targeted 35 billion gallons of SAF in 2050 require more than half a billion tons of biomass per year. The Biden administration rolled up its sleeves to meet the goal. “Today we have eight government agencies collaborating towards this objective, including NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy. And the Federal Aviation Administration, which is part of the Department of Transportation, has been leading initiatives for aviation”, he said.

The tasks were distributed across the government: The Department of Agriculture is focused on mobilizing the necessary raw materials. The Department of Energy is dedicated to making the best use of this raw material, and how to store it, how to process it after it leaves the field and, in particular, technologies for converting the raw materials into SAF.

Spaeth recalls that the USA has many raw materials that can serve as the basis for sustainable biofuels, as the country is continental and has a variety of different climates and soils – from crops such as corn and soybeans, and associated residues, to wood residues in southern and northern forests. But the development of the SAF supply chains also requires improvements in efficiency and costs of conversion technologies.

Taking flight

Some results can already be announced. In 2021 the country produced 5 million gallons of SAF, in the first six months of this year, 50 million gallons were produced or imported, equivalent to 300 thousand metric tons of GHG emissions avoided. “It’s a market that’s taking off,” he described. And he added: “In 2030, there could be between 2.5 billion and 5 billion gallons of SAF production. It’s possible!”

For the representative of the US government, the development of the SAF supply chains will require strong support from policies. It will also be necessary to guarantee the effective implementation of these new fuels, as well as qualify and certify them.

However, Spaeth wondered, “is there enough raw material out there for all this?” To quickly answer: “yes!” The 2023 Billion Ton report says that the country could have, more or less, 1.75 billion tons of raw materials available by 2050, from which more than 60 billion gallons of various types of biofuels can be produced.

According to him, the United States could be able, with biotechnology, research, development and investments, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% compared to fossil fuels. Spaeth said that his government is eager to work with Brazil and other countries on sustainable aviation fuels. “We want to create a global SAF ecosystem, as no country will be successful in this sector alone. This challenge will have to be the result of global collaboration”, he concluded.