YEG, Forge Hydrocarbons partner on SAF facility

Edmonton International Airport signed a memorandum of understanding with Forge Hydrocarbons to develop a sustainable aviation fuel production facility in the Edmonton Metro region. [caption id="attachment_63516" align="alignleft" width="300"] Edmonton International Airport[/caption] The collaboration will help increase production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and help Canada achieve its 2050 net-zero emissions targets, according to a release from Edmonton International Airport (YEG). The partnership will use Forge’s lipid-to-hydrocarbon technology developed by bioresource scientist David Bressler at the University of Alberta “t hat offers an innovative approach to producing a cost-effective ‘drop-in’ renewable diesel fuel,” according to the release. Forge, a spinoff of the university, is focused on chemical and renewable fuel production, according to a report released this summer by the University of Alberta. “Airports need to be ready for the evolution of energy ,” Myron Keehn , president and chief executive at YEG, previously told Air Cargo Next . “Here at YEG, we are Canada’s largest airport by land area. We are committed to using our vast space to develop the infrastructure to accommodate new fuel regimes and bridge the future of a net-zero aviation industry .” The facility’s size and location are undecided, although three sites are being considered, Bressler told Air Cargo Next . Engineering and funding for the facility are still being finalized but the process is moving quickly, and the facility should be operational within two years, he added. Investing in new fuel technology Since 2013, YEG has invested $1.5 billion in its Airport City Sustainability Campus, optimizing cargo logistics, manufacturing, technology and sustainability as part of its core goals. This aligns with its mission of “fostering the commercialization of emerging clean technologies” to handle its 34,000-tonne throughput, YEG’s Keehn previously told Air Cargo Next . SAF is created from waste products like animal fats, leftover oil and grease from food, agricultural waste and other feedstocks. It’s use is the most efficient way to decarbonize the aviation industry, according to IATA . Critics of SAF say it is difficult to produce on a large scale and costs about twice as much as traditional jet fuel. However, the technology Bressler developed has yielded “new ways to upgrade the biofuel to meet stringent specifications for the aviation industry,” according to a report released by the University of Alberta. “It’s a new approach that allows us to make jet fuel without any technical hard requirements for additives or blending,” Bressler stated in the university report. “And it contributes to decarbonizing a high-emission industry that doesn’t have a lot of alternatives in electrification and other spaces.” “Low cost, low carbon, high yield” is the promise of the technology, the release stated. There are “other ways to make fats and oils that are not agriculturally based, that have much larger volume potential,” Bressler told Air Cargo Next . “There are other pathways that are linked to this technology that we’re [working on]. But there may be pathways to get much larger volumes of feedstock, because that’s going to be the pinch point to get to very large scale.” Bressler said the new SAF technology allows for dirtier feedstocks, and therefore more production. Stable government policy is needed to increase SAF production in Canada, Bressler said. Policy “has to be stable because, when we try to raise what could be hundreds of millions of dollars in capital, nobody wants to do that if the government policy is only good for 18 months,” he said. Further, locating an SAF production facility near YEG is advantageous to the facility and the airport, from an agricultural and energy standpoint, Bressler said. YEG isn’t the first cargo airport to become involved with SAF production. Earlier this year, Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) partnered with major SAF producer Neste to double SAF production to 2.6 million tonnes annually. That expansion project at the Changi Airport Fuel Hydrant Installation was a $1.7 billion investment, according to a press release from SIN. Join Air Cargo Next for its second annual Air Cargo Tech Summit on Sept. 18-19 in Brussels, sponsored by Unisys and Brussels Airport and featuring a fireside chat with Brian Hodges, managing director, American Airlines Cargo. For more details and to register, click here .

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