As part of Sweden’s target to be fossil-free by 2040, the Swedish Government announced on September 11th its intention to introduce a greenhouse gas reduction mandate for aviation fuel. The reduction level is expected to be 0.8% in 2021 and gradually increase to 27% by 2030, with most of the savings expected to come from the use of SAF.
In addition to Sweden’s announcement, Norway announced earlier this year to introduce a 0.5% biofuel blending mandate. Norway’s ultimate target is for a 30% share of biofuels in the aviation sector by 2030
“These announcements in Scandinavia further highlight the mega-trend around the world to de-carbonize the transportation industry in every way possible. We are always elated to hear of these positive announcements to support the reduction of Greenhouse gases,” stated Patrick R. Gruber, Chief Executive Officer of Gevo. “Gevo’s mission is to produce transportation fuels that lower greenhouse emissions. Gevo’s SAF product is approved for use in commerce and has already been used to power numerous commercial flights. Gevo looks forward to increasing its production capabilities for SAF to help countries like Sweden and Norway in the battle to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions.”
For every gallon of SAF produced, Gevo also produces approximately 10 pounds of protein that goes into the food supply chain and can sequester up to 2 pounds of carbon dioxide as carbon into the soil, making it one of the only renewable jet fuel producers to produce both food and fuel while sequestering carbon dioxide and lowering the GHG emissions as compared to traditional fossil-based jet fuel. In addition to adding food back into the food chain, Gevo will also be more transparent with its sustainability practices by utilizing blockchain technology to track its sustainable agriculture efforts.
In April 2016, ASTM International completed its process of approving a revision of ASTM D7566 (Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons) to include alcohol to jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene derived from renewable isobutanol. This allows Gevo’s SAF to be used as a blending component in standard Jet A-1 fuel for commercial airline use in the U.S. and around the globe.