A recent flight from Chicago O’Hare to Washington’s Reagan Airport became the first flight to use both conventional jet fuel and a new energy source, derived from old newspapers, lawn clippings, wood chips, and used fuel oil.
This is known as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). An article from Bank of America explains what exactly SAF is and how it is assisting in the rise of decarbonization efforts.
Food scraps, forestry and municipal waste, packaging, textiles, and anything else that is considered to be biomass—an umbrella term for organic material—are used to make SAF. Over the course of its lifespan, it reduces carbon emissions by up to 70%.
SAF appears to be a crucial tool in the effort to decarbonize air travel, offering a number of benefits in addition to lowering carbon emissions:
- SAF is a renewable resource because it can be made from nearly any organic waste product.
- Crops used in SAF production can be grown on land that isn't suitable for food-chain agriculture.
- SAF is opening up new economies for farmers, business owners, and others who want to supply biomass.
- Unlike crude oil, SAF ingredients spend a lot of their lives removing carbon from the atmosphere.
Even though scaling SAF is difficult, other industries have overcome similar challenges and made real progress. The market for electric vehicles (EVs) increased by more than 35% annually between 2019 and 2021, and more than 2 million EVs were on American roads in 2022. SAF's success in the aviation industry depends on expanding its scale and increasing production and adoption to support that growth.
SAF is a powerful step into decarbonization that can extend to motor vehicles as well. If you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint, visit Audi Charlotte and see our electric vehicle inventory. Contact us to learn more.
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