In the United States (US), Avina Clean Hydrogen Inc., a developer of clean hydrogen and derivative fuel solutions, has disclosed plans for a "cutting-edge" sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant in the Midwest region set to commence operations in 2027.
According to a statement, the facility is engineered to produce 120 million (US) gallons (≈ 454.2 million litres) of SAF annually and will utilize the alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) production technology pathway.
The SAF produced will have significantly reduced life cycle carbon emissions compared to conventional jet fuel. The end product will be certified to meet ASTM D7566 standards.
Preliminary Front End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED) for the project is complete and FEED is expected to kick off in Q2 2024.
Funding commitments for the project through FID have been secured, and Avina Avina Clean Hydrogen is currently engaged in advanced discussions with various strategic and financial investors to fund the project at FID.
Secured long-term ethanol supply agreements
Avina is also pleased to announce that it has entered into long-term supply agreements with leading ethanol suppliers for a significant portion of the low carbon intensity (CI) ethanol feedstock volume requirement, a major milestone in moving the project forward.
Substantial volumes of ethanol will be supplied by facilities with operational carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).
Leveraging this low carbon-intensity ethanol feedstock, the project is estimated to avoid around 840,000 tonnes of aviation-related carbon emissions annually.
The project will leverage existing rail and pipeline infrastructure to ensure optimal delivery of end product into Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and other regional airports.
The US airline industry is experiencing a notable demand for SAF in response to commitments to utilize three billion gallons (≈ 11.36 billion litres) of SAF by 2030.
Avina is collaborating with airline customers and other stakeholders to play a key role in meeting this target.
The strategic location, scale, and cost-effectiveness offer a significant advantage for our SAF project. The aviation sector accounts for 2 percent of global CO2 emissions. In recent years, emissions from this sector have been increasing at a faster rate compared to those from rail, road, or shipping. Sustainable Aviation Fuels are critical to decarbonizing the aviation sector and the Ethanol-to-Jet production pathway is the most immediate, cost-effective, and scalable option for aviation decarbonization. With the procurement of low CI ethanol from existing production facilities that have CO2 capture and sequestration, we are excited about the project’s potential to drive the aviation industry’s decarbonization efforts forward, said Vishal Shah, CEO and Founder at Avina Clean Hydrogen.
