European aerospace major Airbus has announced that it has become a strategic partner with US-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) developer DG Fuels, LLC (DGF) to support the scaling of a promising technology to produce SAF from cellulosic waste and residues.
DGF’s plant aims to have an initial production capacity of 120 million (US) gallons (≈ 454 million litres) of SAF per annum from 2026.
DGF’s fuel production system is based entirely on cellulosic waste products, such as wood waste from the logging industry, and renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power.
Sustainable aviation fuels play a crucial role in enabling aviation’s decarbonization roadmap. We are committed to supporting all efforts that contribute to making them available at scale around the globe. The partnership with DG Fuels supports the emergence of a new technological pathway allowing for the production of SAFs from a broader range of waste and residue sources, first in the United States with a potential for large-scale production worldwide, said Guillaume Faury, CEO at Airbus.
The partnership with Airbus supports DG Fuels’ goal of launching the equity process and reaching a final investment decision (FID) on building DG Fuels’ first SAF plant in the United States.
The decision would be expected by early 2024. In this context, Airbus and DGF have agreed to a portion of the production of the first plant to benefit Airbus’ customers.
DGF团队很高兴有鳍alized this SAF partnership with Airbus, and we look forward to working together to accelerate the initial SAF facility in Louisiana and the subsequent scale-up at various locations in the United States and beyond, commented Michael Darcy, Chairman and CEO at DG Fuels.
In line with the SAF Grand Challenge
This project is in line with the US government-sponsored SAF Grand Challenge, which aims to reduce costs, improve sustainability, and expand domestic SAF production.
This national program aims to produce 3 billion gallons (≈11.35 billion litres) of domestic SAF per year, achieving at least a 50 percent reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional fuel by 2030 and 100 percent of projected aviation fuel consumption – or 35 billion gallons (≈ 132.47 billion litres) of annual production – by 2050.
