Black & Veatch (Overland Park, Kan.) and DG Fuels LLC – an emerging leader in cellulosic drop-in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) – announced they signed and began a binding agreement for Black & Veatch to perform a front-end loading (FEL-3) engineering report for DG Fuels’ launch project to be located in Louisiana.
The report involving a possible low-emission fuel manufacturing facility in St. James Parish along the Mississippi River is expected to be completed in eight to nine months, consistent with Washington, D.C.-based DG Fuels’ goal of reaching a final investment decision (FID) on the project in early 2024.
“The DG Fuels facility is expected to create more than 600 new permanent union operating jobs and up to 2,100 construction jobs over three years,” said Michael C. Darcy, CEO of DG Fuels. ”If fully scaled up, the initial facility is projected to have a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production capacity of approximately 180 million gallons per year, which represents a carbon dioxide (CO2) savings of approximately 1.65 million metric tons compared to conventional jet fuel.”
DG Fuels has developed an innovative design system for utilizing renewable energy sources, such as agricultural and timber waste feedstock, to reduce aviation fuel’s carbon intensity score by 140 percent when compared to industry standards. DG Fuels estimates the facility would produce 120 million gallons of SAF per year on average, which would remove approximately 1.5 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually.
This project aligns with the federal government sponsored SAF Grand Challenge, which aims to help reduce cost, enhance sustainability and expand production of domestic SAF. The program looks to produce 3 billion gallons domestic sustainable aviation fuel per year, achieving a minimum of a 50 percent reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) compared to conventional fuel by 2030 and 100 percent projected aviation jet fuel use – or 35 billion gallons of annual production – by 2050.
“Developing and expanding infrastructure in decarbonization and this important project involving biomass and creating clean, sustainable aviation fuel are key aspects of a global energy transition,” said Doug Miller, a Black & Veatch vice president and managing director. “Black & Veatch remains committed to delivering solutions that lower carbon footprints in air travel, leveraging our experience from across the energy industry to more clean transportation fuels for the future.”