Lindbergh Foundation, XPrize, LEC partner for aviation sustainability prize development

In Arkansas, Lee Enterprises Consulting has joined with the Lindbergh Foundation and The XPRIZE Foundation in the Forever Flight Alliance to make aviation permanently sustainable utilizing an all-industry approach to decarbonize aviation using incentive prizes. 

The SAF prize challenge activities will coincide with the Lindbergh Foundation’s 100th anniversary activities of Charles Lindbergh’s historic 1927 Transatlantic flight. 

Founded in 1977 by Neil Armstrong, General James Doolittle and others, the Lindbergh Foundation continues the legacy of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s lifetime of service by spearheading bold solutions and inspiring talent to help balance technology and the environment. Lee Enterprises Consulting was founded in 1995 and has grown to become the world’s premier bioeconomy consulting group, with over 150 bioenergy and biochemical experts worldwide.

The Forever Flight Alliance and LEC will focus on:  

● Global cooperation with industry experts to identify barriers to scale and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel.

● Economic and policy expertise to identify key technologies, policies, economic and social barriers and define prize opportunities.

● Credible and objective definition of prize rules and success metrics to ensure fair competitions, including competition judging.

The Biden Administration has set a SAF Grand Challenge goal of driving US SAF production from 5 million gallons in 2021 to 3 billion gallons by 2030.

Reaction from the stakeholders

“Bringing SAF to scale is a huge challenge but significant advances in aerospace have historically been inspired by incentive prizes, including The Orteig Prize in 1927, won by my grandfather, Charles Lindbergh, and the Ansari XPRIZE in 2004, which jump-started the commercial spac flight industry”, said Erik Lindbergh, Chairman of the Lindbergh Foundation. 

“For more than 25 years, Lee Enterprises Consulting has fostered innovation at the forefront of the bioeconomy and built a reputation as the most trusted group of experts in the bioeconomy”, said Wayne Lee. “We have a shared vision to advance aviation’s future through the availability and sustainability of sustainable aviation fuels.” The Forever Flight Alliance was launched by the Lindbergh Foundation at the 2022 European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland.