In the United States (US), Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) has announced an investment into SAFFiRE Renewables, LLC (SAFFiRE), a new company formed by D3MAX, LLC (D3MAX), as part of a US Department of Energy (DOE) backed project to develop and produce scalable, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Funded with a DOE grant matched by Southwest’s investment, Sustainable Aviation Fuel From [i] Renewable Ethanol (SAFFiRE) is expected to utilize technology developed by the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to convert corn stover, a widely available residual feedstock in the United States, into renewable ethanol that then would be upgraded into SAF.
Unique opportunity for Southwest
The pilot project is intended to validate the commercialization of this corn-stover-to-ethanol technology, which could lead to a follow-up phase.
SAF is critical for decarbonizing the aviation sector, said Bob Jordan, CEO at Southwest.
Southwest’s match of the DOE’s grant supports phase one of the project, which is expected to include technology validation, preliminary design, and a business plan for a pilot plant.
This is a unique opportunity to invest in what we believe could be a game-changing technology that could facilitate the replacement of up to approximately five percent of our jet fuel with SAF by 2030, with the potential to significantly continue to scale beyond the decade, Bob Jordan said.
In 2021, Southwest set a near-term goal to maintain carbon neutrality to 2019 levels while continuing to grow its operations, part of which includes replacing 10 percent of its total jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030.
This first-of-its-kind investment is another step we are taking to address our environmental impact, and it also supports our efforts to partner with organizations and government entities to help our industry reach the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, remarked Bob Jordan.
In addition to complementing Southwest’s SAF goals and broader environmental sustainability efforts, this project supports the federal government’s climate strategy, including an ambition for three billion (US) gallons (≈ 11.3 billion litres) of SAF by 2030 through the SAF Grand Challenge.
The Department of Energy is committed to turning our ambitious aviation decarbonization goals into realities through strong partnerships across the airline industry, said US Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk.
Aim to demonstrate cost-effective 2G ethanol
In 2021, the DOE through a Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Scale-Up Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) awarded D3MAX the only pilot-scale grant for SAF production, with a goal to scale technology that could commercialize SAF.
Moving cutting-edge technological advances in sustainable aviation to production scale will save money, reduce carbon emissions, and reshape the future of the airline travel for the benefit of American consumers, David Turk said.
DOE has just released a second Scale-Up FOA that will provide up to US$59 million for biorefinery projects.
The facility will demonstrate reliable production of ethanol from corn stover in the amount of 10 tonnes per day using technologies from NREL and D3MAX.
If phase one is successful, DOE and Southwest would have the opportunity to fund a second phase investment for the design, fabrication, installation, and operation of a pilot plant producing renewable ethanol utilizing technology developed by D3MAX and NREL.
Use LanzaJet AtJ technology
This cellulosic ethanol will then be upgraded to SAF at LanzaJet’s Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) facility currently under construction at its biorefinery in Soperton, Georgia (GA).
This so-called ‘Generation 2’ or lignocellulosic biomass conversion project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to fossil fuels by up to 84 percent.
NREL is thrilled to contribute its research and development expertise in biofuels to this exciting collaboration with Southwest Airlines, D3MAX, and DOE to potentially bring SAF to the market quickly and economically, said Adam Bratis, Associate Laboratory Director of BioEnergy Sciences & Technology at NREL.
Furthermore, it could produce SAF at a Minimum Fuel Selling Price (MFSP) of US$2.75 per gallon — well below the current MFSP of traditional jet fuel.
We are extremely excited to be working with Southwest Airlines—they will be a great investor, said Mark Yancey, CEO of SAFFiRE.
Technology license model
Formed in 2022, SAFFiRE Renewables, LLC intends to first pilot, and then commercialize if the pilot is successful, proprietary technology to convert waste biomass like corn stover into renewable ethanol.
SAFFiRE expects to exclusively license technology from NREL and D3MAX, which, when combined, will enable the production of low-cost, low-carbon renewable ethanol.
SAFFiRE technology is expected to produce lower carbon SAF compared to conventional jet fuel on a lifecycle basis, which could become carbon negative with process improvements and carbon capture, Mark Yancey said.
The renewable ethanol would then be upgraded into fully certified SAF, utilizing AtJ technology applied by prospective SAF producers
If we are successful in developing and commercializing this technology, we project the technology can produce 7.5 billion gallons per year of SAF by 2040, ended Mark Yancey.
