Port of Seattle, SkyNRG and Carbon War Room launch biojet financing partnership

In Washington state, the Port of Seattle, SkyNRG and Carbon War Room recently announced a groundbreaking partnership to investigate long-term financing mechanisms that could supply all airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) with sustainable aviation fuels. Sea-Tac is the first airport in the world to initiate this step to provide an airport-wide sustainable aviation fuel supply for all routine airline operations.

Currently, biofuel supply agreements in the U.S. are being made through individual, expensive contracts between producers and airlines. This new partnership aims to accelerate the transition of sustainable aviation fuel from an alternative product used by a few select airlines, to a standard product that is used by all airlines at the airport.

CWR and SkyNRG will work with Sea-Tac to evaluate specific funding mechanisms to cover any cost difference between sustainable aviation fuels and conventional fuels. The long-term ambition includes strategizing with decision makers regarding locally sourced fuel and future regional economic investments, identifying supply routes for the sustainable aviation fuel, and ensuring that any alternative fuels used at Sea-Tac are truly sustainable, avoiding both competition with food and impact to habitat.

This is the next step in a process that began late last year by the Port of Seattle with a $250,000 Biofuel Infrastructure Feasibility Study, in partnership with Alaska Airlines and Boeing, that will assess costs and infrastructure necessary to deliver sustainable aviation fuel to aircraft at Sea-Tac. That study is expected to be released in early 2017.