Canada must put in place favorable conditions to develop the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry, otherwise this expertise risks slipping away to the United States, warns an aviation industry group.
There are several industrial processes to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel, but these fuels have in common the fact of emitting “at least 50%” less greenhouse gas emissions. These processes are more expensive than that of traditional fuel, which complicates the development of this sector without government support.
“The profitability isn’t really there for the suppliers,” explains the director of the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF), Geoff Tauvette, in an interview. We need a little help from the government to put an action plan in place to help us stimulate production. »
The association, which brings together some 60 national and international air carriers, has developed a roadmap with proposals to support the development of sustainable aviation fuel in Canada.
The federal government has regulatory provisions for the allocation of carbon credits for users of SAF, for example, but the Canadian industry needs a global policy, pleads Mr. Tauvette. “In Canada, we don’t really have a concrete policy to support FAS as such,” he laments.
Meanwhile, the Biden government has launched the “SAF Challenge” which aims to produce 3 billion liters of sustainable aviation fuel annually by 2030 in the United States.
Without a Canadian response, the industry will depend on imports to decarbonize the industry. “We risk becoming simply a supplier of clean materials (necessary for the manufacture of fuel) to regions that have implemented incentives, such as the United States,” warns the director.
C-SAF’s goal is to achieve annual sustainable aviation fuel production of 1 billion liters by 2030 in Canada. It asks the federal government to put in place policies that promote the production and use of SAF.
C-SAF also calls on the government to find a way to prioritize the aviation sector in the production of sustainable fuel. The process for making renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel from organic matter is relatively similar, but requires additional steps in the case of aviation, says Tauvette.
There are several biofuel projects in the pipeline that could produce aviation fuel in whole or in part, C-SAF points out. In theory, the conversion could achieve production of 500 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, half of its goal, according to information in its roadmap.
This is an “optimistic” scenario, agrees the association, which points out that some projects could still decide to produce aviation fuel with the right incentives.
Why move biofuel from one sector to another? Unlike other forms of transportation, sustainable aviation fuel would be the only way to reduce emissions from the airline industry, Tauvette replies. “All the other modes have more options that can be set up faster. We have no choice. All other modes have choices. »
Reluctance in Quebec
In Quebec, the Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, remains to be convinced on the relevance of granting energy blocks for the development of sustainable fuel projects in the aviation sector. “We haven’t decided yet,” he said in mid-May.
Faced with the end of energy surpluses and strong industrial demand, Quebec has no choice but to choose between new major projects that want to connect to the Hydro-Quebec network. “SAF is a bit like hydrogen. It takes hydrogen to make SAF. We have to be careful because the energy capacity (of Quebec) is limited,” said Minister Fitzgibbon.
In Montreal, the SAF+ Consortium project, which counts Air Transat and Airbus among its partners, relies on “power to liquid (PtL)” technology. This type of sustainable fuel is produced by capturing CO2 large industrial emitters, which is then synthesized with renewable hydrogen.
This sector is less advanced than the production of sustainable fuel from agricultural and forestry materials, nuance Mr. Tauvette.
For his part, the general manager of Consortium SAF +, Jean Paquin, had also stressed that his project was not immediate, in an interview with The Canadian Press recently to respond to the minister’s remarks.
The Montreal project should go on sale in 2028. This time window would give some flexibility to Hydro-Québec, which plans to increase its energy capacity by then. “The project isn’t for tomorrow,” insisted Mr. Paquin.
In any case, the Government of Quebec would however have an interest in ensuring that it develops its own sector of sustainable aviation fuel, argues Mr. Tauvette. “The airline and aerospace industries are major sources of wealth creation in Quebec. By supporting the decarbonization of industry, it keeps us competitive. I think it’s in the public interest. »