Enviva, Alder strike deal on biomass for sustainable aviation fuel

Enviva

06/09/2022 12:00

WASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Enviva Inc  EVA.N  and
privately held Alder Fuels have agreed to partner on the
long-term supply of biomass byproducts from timber for making a
biofuel for aviation, a key part of cutting carbon emissions
from air travel, the companies said on Tuesday.
    Under the agreement, Enviva, a U.S. producer of woody
biomass, will supply up to 750,000 tonnes per year of what it
said is sustainably sourced forest byproducts like treetops and
tree limbs to Alder, which is building a facility in the U.S.
Southeast to make an energy-dense liquid that can be refined
into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). They expect the agreement
to begin in 2024.
    The biomass under the deal can make about 37 million gallons
a year of SAF, a replacement for petroleum-based jet fuel, and
is the largest such U.S. agreement, Bryan Sherbacow, the chief
executive and president of Alder, told Reuters. The companies
did not reveal the terms of the deal.
    Sherbacow said the biggest problem with SAF has been
scalability, but that Alder will provide lower-cost fuel that
can also incorporate sources such as regenerative grasses and
sugarcane waste.
    Thomas Meth, president of Enviva, said about half of the
timber harvest is a byproduct, much of which can supply
facilities to make SAF. A decline in the North American paper
industry during the digital age has freed up some of that woody
biomass byproduct for fuel making, he said.
    The White House wants to cut aviation's carbon emissions by
20% by 2030, with a goal of boosting SAF production to 3 billion
gallons per year by 2030, and to meet 100% of aviation fuel
demand of about 35 billion gallons a year by 2050. The climate
law President Joe Biden signed last month boosted tax credits
for making SAF, but more incentives will be needed to meet those
goals.

 (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
 ((timothy.gardner@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 380-8348 (Twitter
@timogard); Reuters Messaging:
timothy.gardner.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))