Unless Elon Musk can solve the energy density problems associated with batteries and hydrogen, it seems highly improbable that passenger planes will be powered by either in anyone’s lifetime.
Batteries are too heavy to be a practical solution for flying long distances with heavy cargoes, and hydrogen has a different problem: It’s so light that you would need massive amounts of compressed or liquefied hydrogen to power a passenger plane, which would dramatically increase its fuel storage capacity requirements.
These reasons are why sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is considered the most practical option for decarbonizing air travel, which in Canada accounts for about four per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Biofuels made from plant oils, animal fats or wood waste can lower fossil fuels’ carbon intensity and can be used as a drop-in fuel that would require no major modifications to airplanes.
B.C. has all of the conditions and resources needed to develop a sustainable aviation fuel industry, according to a panel discussion held last week on SAF by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT).
The province has plenty of wood waste, a potential feedstock, coercive government decarbonization imperatives (including carbon taxes and low-carbon fuel standards), an oil refinery in Burnaby that has already demonstrated its ability to produce biofuels, and willing buyers. Airlines at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) that are already buying sustainable aviation fuel in an attempt to lower their emissions profile.
“I think the more we can get, the more we’re happy to have going through YVR,” said Wendy Avis, YVR’s director of climate and environment.
But right now, most of the SAF those airlines are buying comes from suppliers in the U.S. and Europe.
Despite the efforts of companies like Parkland Corp., a sustainable aviation fuel production industry is having a hard time getting off the ground in Canada.
It all comes down to costs, and the Americans can produce SAF at a more cost competitive price than Canadian producers can, thanks in no small part to subsidies in the U.S.
Parkland is already producing biofuels in small amounts at its refinery in Burnaby. Since 2017, it has been producing biofuels from canola oil and oil derived from animal fats, and last year started producing SAF on a pilot scale, with Air Canada agreeing to buy the fuel.
Jack Saddler, head of forest products, biotech and bioenergy at the University of British Columbia, suggested wood waste could be used as an alternative to other feedstocks, like canola.
“One of the things that I get asked is that we export about three million tonnes of [wood] pellets a year to decarbonize Europe, so why aren’t we using those pellets to make biogen fuel, sustainable innovation fuel?” he asked.
In 2022, Parkland announced plans to invest $600 million in a new commercial-scale biorefinery, but shelved the plan in 2023.
Asked why the plans were cancelled, Simon Scott, Parkland’s vice-president of corporate affairs, said the biorefinery plan wasn’t economic, given the costs and competition from the U.S.
“A couple of things changed,” Scott said. “Back then, we were seeing significant escalation in costs, which began to strain the economics of the facility. But probably more importantly…at precisely that time the U.S. launched a series of incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act, which significantly advantaged U.S. producers.
“We took the economic position that it would be more cost-effective to buy renewable diesel from U.S. providers rather than invest the capital on our own.”
As BIV has previously reported, subsidized biofuel production in the U.S. has collapsed a carbon credit market for renewable fuels, which now threatens a new biodiesel refinery in Prince George: Tidewater Renewables.
Despite provincial carbon taxes and low carbon fuel standards to incentivize biofuel use, Canada simply can’t compete with the U.S. when it comes to production.
“The U.S. raced ahead with some of their incentive measures, and they’re reaping the benefits of that now with an influx of capital,” Scott said.
One advantage that SAF has over other decarbonization technologies is that it is a low-carbon drop-in fuel that works in conventional engines and does not require any major modifications to the aircraft.
A big challenge is cost. Per litre, canola costs more than oil and refined petroleum products, and consumers are not willing to pay a premium for it.
“SAF comes at such a premium, no one wants to pass that cost on to consumers, and nor should we,” Scott said.
“You have a number of other countries around the world that have significantly incentivized production of this type of sustainable aviation fuel, and you have to do that because of the cost differential between conventional jet and sustainable fuel,” Scott said.
He said the industry needs “policy support” to make SAF cost competitive with conventional jet fuel.
“We are entirely dependent on overseas imports, and that’s because other countries have more competitive incentive regimes—incentives that help make production of staff commercially viable,” Scott said.
“And if we don’t step up, B.C and Canada will continue to be relying on buying sustainable fuel from other countries, and we will lose the opportunity to build our own industry and benefit economically with jobs and tremendous opportunity across the province.”
