Hawaiian Airlines Partners with Gevo for SAF
Hawaiian Airlines has signed a deal with Gevo, Inc., a biofuel company, to procure 50 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) within five years.
The SAF is expected to be supplied by Gevo's new facility, which will be located in the Midwestern United States, with deliveries to Hawaiian's gateway cities in California beginning in 2029.
Peter Ingram, Hawaiian's CEO, expressed his excitement about the offtake agreement, stating that it brings them closer to their target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. He further mentioned that they will continue to invest in SAF, which is a crucial factor in minimising their impact on the environment.
Gevo CEO Dr. Patrick Gruber also expressed his pleasure in welcoming Hawaiian Airlines to their customer family of airlines working towards net-zero goals. Dr. Gruber added that they are committed to working with airlines in achieving their goals by accounting for all the carbon emissions analysed using Argonne's GREET method (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation).
The GREET model developed by Argonne National Laboratory measures the greenhouse gas emissions of fuels, including their production, combustion, and feedstock usage.
To produce SAF, Gevo plans to use residual starch from inedible field corn grown through regenerative farming practices. The fuel production process will also use renewable electricity and renewable natural gas, resulting in low-carbon fuels with significantly lower carbon intensity than standard petroleum fossil-based fuels throughout their life cycle.
Gevo aims to maximise value and minimise waste by using the same acre of farmland to produce both animal feed and renewable fuels while also sequestering atmospheric carbon through photosynthesis.
The fuel sales agreement is conditional on certain prerequisites, such as Gevo's construction, financing, and development of the facility to produce the SAF mentioned in the agreement.
Over the years, Hawaiian Airlines has implemented various sustainability initiatives, including a partnership with Par Hawaii, the largest energy products provider in Hawaii, to examine the commercial feasibility of producing SAF within the state.
Source: Hawaiian Airlines
