29 min

Understanding SAF buyers Catalyst with Shayle Kann

    • Technology

Airlines are lining up to buy as much sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as they can, despite it costing two to three times more than conventional jet fuel, according to BloombergNEF. United Airlines has secured 2.9 billion gallons of SAF over, and others like Delta, Air France-KLM, and Southwest have secured around 1 billion gallons each. And yet to meaningfully decarbonize aviation, the SAF market needs to grow thousands of times larger than it is today. BloombergNEF estimates that global production capacity will grow 10-fold by 2030, but by then supply will still only meet 5% of jet fuel demand.
So how are airlines thinking about scaling up their procurement of SAF?
In this episode, Shayle talks to Amelia DeLuca, chief sustainability officer at Delta. They cover topics like:

Who pays the green premium

Infrastructure considerations, like SAF hubs and blending

Technical pathways, like hydroprocessing, alcohol-to-jet, and power-to-liquids

The role of incentives and regulation, like ReFuelEU

Why airlines should procure SAF instead of buying carbon removal


Recommended Resources:
BloombergNEF: United Airlines Is Betting Big on a Pricey Green Aviation Fuel
The Verge: Delta Air Lines lays out its plan to leave fossil fuels behind 
Canary Media: Can corn ethanol really help decarbonize US air travel?
Canary Media: How hydrogen ​‘e-fuels’ can power big ships and planes
Catalyst: CO2 utilization

Catalyst is supported by Origami Solar. Join Latitude Media’s Stephen Lacey and Origami’s CEO Gregg Patterson for a live Frontier Forum on May 30th at 1 pm Eastern to discuss Origami’s new research on how recycled steel can help reinvigorate the U.S. solar industry. Register for free on Latitude’s events page.

Airlines are lining up to buy as much sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as they can, despite it costing two to three times more than conventional jet fuel, according to BloombergNEF. United Airlines has secured 2.9 billion gallons of SAF over, and others like Delta, Air France-KLM, and Southwest have secured around 1 billion gallons each. And yet to meaningfully decarbonize aviation, the SAF market needs to grow thousands of times larger than it is today. BloombergNEF estimates that global production capacity will grow 10-fold by 2030, but by then supply will still only meet 5% of jet fuel demand.
So how are airlines thinking about scaling up their procurement of SAF?
In this episode, Shayle talks to Amelia DeLuca, chief sustainability officer at Delta. They cover topics like:

Who pays the green premium

Infrastructure considerations, like SAF hubs and blending

Technical pathways, like hydroprocessing, alcohol-to-jet, and power-to-liquids

The role of incentives and regulation, like ReFuelEU

Why airlines should procure SAF instead of buying carbon removal


Recommended Resources:
BloombergNEF: United Airlines Is Betting Big on a Pricey Green Aviation Fuel
The Verge: Delta Air Lines lays out its plan to leave fossil fuels behind 
Canary Media: Can corn ethanol really help decarbonize US air travel?
Canary Media: How hydrogen ​‘e-fuels’ can power big ships and planes
Catalyst: CO2 utilization

Catalyst is supported by Origami Solar. Join Latitude Media’s Stephen Lacey and Origami’s CEO Gregg Patterson for a live Frontier Forum on May 30th at 1 pm Eastern to discuss Origami’s new research on how recycled steel can help reinvigorate the U.S. solar industry. Register for free on Latitude’s events page.

29 min

Top Podcasts In Technology

Acquired
Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal
Lex Fridman Podcast
Lex Fridman
The TED AI Show
TED
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
All-In Podcast, LLC
Hard Fork
The New York Times
TED Radio Hour
NPR