Virginia sees itself as new hub for air mobility, SAF

A crowd of legislators and aviation stakeholders gathered in the Main Street Station in Richmond on Jan. 26 to explore what Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared is the “forefront” of aviation: sustainable aviation fuel and unmanned aircraft system technology — two areas in which Virginia is ahead of the tech curve. Welcoming drones to Va. The state has become home to Virginia-based drone provider DroneUp. DroneUp, which provides last-mile drone delivery services for Walmart, trains its prospective drone pilots at Richard Bland Community College in Petersburg, Va. Around 200 drone pilots graduated at the community college last year, according to the company. “We’re looking at getting over 1,000 graduates next year,” a DroneUp spokesperson told Cargo Facts , adding that the college’s graduates support the more than 34 hubs DroneUp operates in conjunction with services for Walmart. While the company did not disclose its fleet size or growth plans, it did say it is purchasing the second version of a cargo drone — the Watts Innovation Prism Sky drone that can carry a maximum payload of 5 kg at speeds of up to 52 knots. Produced by Baltimore-based Watts Innovation, this drone can fly between 12 and 40 minutes, depending on its battery and payload. The community college is just one Virginia resource for drone aviation. Another is the Virginia Flight Information Exchange (Virginia FIX), a publicly available identification software. Launched in 2020 by the Virginia Department of Aviation in partnership with the Herndon, Va.-based Center of Innovative Technology, Virginia FIX offers a platform for state and local government agencies and unmanned aircraft operators to share advisory information on drone flights. “Feedback is enthusiastic,” Amber Wilson, an FIX creator and manager of aviation technology at the Virginia Department of Aviation, told Cargo Facts . “The industry is extremely excited as they see this as a missing piece of getting toward unmanned aircraft traffic management.” [caption id="attachment_57133945" align="alignright" width="460"] Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears examines a Wing Drone. (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] Drone policymakers in other states have previously shared with Cargo Facts the importance of relationship-building with communities for successful drone integration. To be commercially viable, drones need to be able to identify themselves to authorities and populations on the ground, relaying important flight information to help navigate the national airspace system, this is one of the things Virginia Fix enables. Virginia FIX has been receiving attention from drone-related companies throughout the country, with drone service providers DroneUp and Wing joining the initiative, alongside drone aerospace management software companies Air Map and SkyGrid, Aloft, ATA and AirspaceLink. Virginia has signed agreements with North Carolina and Arkansas to develop FIX in those states and is holding conversations with other states on its adoption, Wilson said. California specifically is home to several drone manufacturers, including Pyka , Natilus , Reliable Robotics , Xwing and Matternet. More than 17,000 jobs will be generated in Virginia by 2045 by advanced air mobility programs, according to a Jan. 30 report by the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center . The technology programs include electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, electric short takeoff and landing aircraft (eSTOL), hybrid electric and hydrogen regional air mobility (RAM) vehicles, and small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS). As drone technology advances, increasingly there is a trend for companies in the industry to prioritize sustainability in their design. Companies like Elroy , Natilus , and Dronamics are all developing drones capable of being fueled with sustainable aviation fuel. on fuel. Sustainable aviation fuel United Airlines, which operates a major hub at Virginia’s Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), first approached the Virginia Department of Aviation about sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development in 2011. The carrier reported cargo operating revenue of $2.17 billion in 2022 . In 2011, when Rusty Harrington, manager of the planning and environmental section at the Virginia Department of Aviation, began work on SAF, it was known as “biojet fuel,” and the Federal Aviation Administration had only just accepted proof of concept research done by the U.S. Department of Defense. Harrington had the state commission a number of studies on the development and use of SAF that went on to inspire further study by the U.S. Department of Energy. “This interest gained traction at the federal level,” Harrington said. “You also have commitments that have been made by airlines such as United. They renewed their commitment to the corporation’s use of sustainable aviation fuel.” Airlines such as KLM, Air France and American Airlines have recently made pledges to use SAF, along with freight forwarders and digital booking companies. But commitments for SAF must be met with supply. Read more on SAF Harrington examines the need for increased SAF production for it to become commercially viable. Harrington notes that the world’s supply of SAF of SAF wouldn’t be e for a week’s worth of flights from IAD. “This is why Virginia has commissioned more SAF production studies to stimulate pilot programs,” he told Cargo Facts . A path to economic growth SAF production could be a way to help revitalize the region that was previously dependent on the coal and tobacco industries, said James J. Lambert, a professor at the University of Virginia who has been studying sustainable aviation fuel production at the Commonwealth Center of Advanced Logistics Systems (CCALS) for the past seven years at the request of the Virginia Department of Aviation. Virginia’s southwest region has seen notable economic slide amid the decline of the local coal industry, a dwindling population and workforce, and an opioid crisis which saw overdose deaths increase more than 300% from 1997 to 2003. [caption id="attachment_57133946" align="alignright" width="372"] Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] For researchers and government, the region stands to gain the most from SAF production, as the climate produces the best quality feedstock and has a pipeline ready to transport the refined product to IAD. “For this industry to develop in Virginia, the job creation is extremely valuable, and that's what our ultimate goal is: this job creation and the economic value to Virginia,” Harrington said. A 2013 study identified twenty-eight different pathways of production of feedstock on the production of fuel. Virginia had all twenty-eight. Some of those production pathways included: Aged wood; Pig fat; Livestock waste; and Compost-generated oils. Virginia commissioned a study in 2021 at the request of United Airlines to re-examine the possibility of supplying SAF at IAD. According to Harrington, another study will examine the entire lifecycle of the fuel to ensure the most efficient production, transportation to user, and usage. “The very next step is that an airline, United, promises to purchase this much fuel at this price over this time horizon with particular company or companies at Dulles,” Lambert told Cargo Facts . For United to agree to purchase SAF at IAD, there must be a price and quantity promised. Lambert says his students are working on that figure. SAF to Dulles? While Virginia is rich in feedstocks to produce SAF, Lambert’s studies and conversations with airlines and economic development officials have focused on trees, an abundant year-round resource in the southwest region of the Commonwealth. While Lambert says he is confident that Virginia will be offering SAF at Dulles by 2027, he said, “Who's going to move first and at what pace? That's what I couldn't tell you.”

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