Sustainable Fuel Explained
Jan 30, 2024 7:00 am
Sustainable Fuel Explained
2 min read
According to Statista, transportation is responsible for 20% of global CO2 emissions. With that figure remaining high and EVs not being phased in quickly enough, there is a need for an alternative solution. Enter sustainable fuel.
Sustainable fuels are fuels that are made from renewable biological resources such as:
- Waste oils from animals and plants
- Paper textiles and packaging
- Agricultural residues
- Non-fossil carbon dioxide
Sustainable fuels do not add to the overall carbon in the atmosphere, but they also do not decrease it. This is because the same amount of carbon that is taken out of the environment is the same amount of carbon that is put back into it. This makes sustainable fuel carbon neutral. It is also easy to implement as it can be introduced using the existing fuel infrastructure.
There are also other sustainable fuels such as biofuels and hydrogen fuel. Sustainable fuel can be used in aircrafts and cars. The sustainable fuel that is used to power aircrafts is called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). According to BP, any aircraft certified for using the current specification of jet fuel can use SAF.
How SAF is made
- Extract carbon from responsible sources. These include feedstocks such as waste oils (like used cooking oil), agricultural waste, fast growing plants or carbon from the atmosphere, or non-food biomass, or household waste.
- These gases will be put through various complicated chemical reactions.
- Through these chemical reactions, they are turned into liquid hydrocarbons, or synthetic fuel.
Formula One plans on powering its hybrid vehicles with 100% sustainable fuel from 2026 onwards. This is part of their Net Zero 2030 goal. The sport calls the new sustainable fuel that they will be using “Drop-in” because it will be suitable for use in daily transportation vehicles as well.
Challenges with sustainable fuel
- Planes can’t run on 100% SAF. International regulations don’t allow for flights to use more than 50% SAF. This is because the 100% use of SAF has yet to be extensively tested and proven to be fully safe.
- Price. U.S. jet fuel costs around $2.85 per gallon while SAF costs around $6.69 per gallon (according to data from commodities and energy pricing agency Argus Media)
- Supply issues. David Lee, a professor of atmospheric science at Manchester Metropolitan University, says that it would be difficult to power a flight with 100% SAF today because “You just can’t get hold of the damn stuff… If we want to do engine tests, we have difficulty purchasing the fuel.” The International Air Transport Association estimates that we would need 450 billion litres of SAF to decarbonise aviation, while only 300 million litres were produced in 2022.
As of this year, SAF has fuelled hundreds of thousands of flights while being blended with fossil fuels. Although sustainable fuel is still in the developmental stages and is having its full implementation delayed by some challenges that come with it, it is already shaping up to become a promising solution to the carbon emissions and finding renewable fuels.
What do you think of sustainable fuel? Do you think that it will become a widely used renewable fuel? Share your thoughts by replying to this email.
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