BOEING LOOKS TO TURN PLANT WASTE INTO JET FUEL

Read Time: 4 minutes, 2 seconds

Hi! This is Climate Tech Today, the newsletter that highlights the solutions, companies and innovators that have a fighting chance at making a significant dent in the fight against climate change.

We are rational optimists. We believe in the ingenuity of our fellow humans to save the planet, but we evaluate those humans and their ideas with data.  

In this email:

• Boeing announces a partnership to scale biofuels globally

• Quick Bursts: Americans agree on climate more than you'd think

• Cool Stuff: John Deere is helping farmers farm more eco-friendly

BOEING LOOKS TO TURN PLANT WASTE INTO JET FUEL

THE FACTS

In January of 2021 Boeing made a big announcement.

They committed that all new planes will be ready to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2030.

Last week Boeing gave us a clearer picture on how they plan to meet this goal. The company announced a partnership with Adler Fuels. Adler developed a process that can take biomass and turn it into “green crude”.

What is biomass? It’s any organic material that can be used to generate energy. Usually by burning it.

Existing fuel refineries can then use this material to produce carbon-negative jet fuel. Boeing will be testing and ensuring the quality of Adler’s green crude and the fuel it generates. The two companies will also be working together to grow the supply of SAF globally.

In parallel, Boeing plans to advocate for policies that speed up the aviation industry’s transition to renewable energy. 

WHY THIS MATTERS

Aviation impacts global warming in a complex way.

It accounts for 1.9% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 2.5% of CO2 emissions. But that’s not the only way airplanes contribute to global warming.

Airplanes increase ozone in the short-term, but decrease it in the long-term. They decrease methane. But they also emit water vapor, soot, sulfur, aerosols, and water contrails.

Some of these things have a warming effect and some have a cooling effect. The warming effect is stronger.

When you add it all up, aviation accounts for 3.5% of global warming effects. But, only a third of this is due to carbon emissions. Sustainable aviation fuel only addresses this third.

OUR TAKE

This is a tough one. If Boeing and Adler can help scale biofuels globally, they can cut 1.9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, this covers less than half of the effect that flying has on global warming.

We celebrate this significant stride in cutting out carbon emissions from aviation! We are also curious to understand what innovations exist to address the other effects of the industry on global warming.

In July we covered a company that is working to scale a process that turns carbon into jet fuel. If enough carbon goes into that process, it may offset the other warming effects.

Adler also states that their fuel is carbon negative, but we’re not sure if it’s enough to offset a flight completely.

Beyond the climate impact, there are some open questions about how this scales:

• Does this biomass based fuel cost the same or less than traditional jet fuel?

• If not, will scaling production reduce costs?

• Is there enough biomass supply globally to support the entire aviation industry?

• Does the infrastructure exist today to support a biomass to jet fuel supply chain?

• If not, what investments do we need and who will bear those costs?

The impact this solution alone can have is relatively small. It does not have the ability to address the global warming impact of the industry 100%. But, we need to cut all emissions to zero to maintain safe temperatures globally. And this is a significant step towards that path.

This may support the argument that neutralizing carbon emissions will not be enough. We'll likely need some level of carbon capture, proactive cooling, or removal of other elements to stabilize global warming.

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Aviation may only account for 1.9% of global carbon emission. But, if you travel frequently it's going to account for a large percentage of your personal carbon footprint. The difference is large because of the low percentage of people around the world who travel by plane. You can use Google flights to book flights that have lower emissions:

Sort by “emissions” and you will see the lowest impact flights first.

To further help you make decisions, we’re going to do a deeper analysis on sustainable aviation fuels. We’ll share that with you when it’s ready. If you were forwarded this email or you’re reading online, subscribe here to get the latest updates.

QUICK BURSTS

Reality check: Turns out most Americans not only believe climate change is real, but think that the government should do something about it! New research shows that while most people think that about 40% of the country favors climate policies, the actual figure is about 66% to 80%.

COOL STUFF

Thought provoking: John Deere helps farmers take advantage of incentives to implement sustainable farming practices. Using digital tools and data collected from tractors, the company is figuring out how to help farmers to make the transition.

MEME OF THE WEEK

Thanks for reading! See you next week!