Background

Ninety nine percent of all aviation fuels are petroleum-based products from an industry dominated by a handful of vertically integrated companies. Meanwhile, the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation – better known as “CORSIA” – represents a global commitment by commercial aviation to reduce emissions from international flights. Obligations under CORSIA have been voluntarily adopted by over 70 nations beginning in 2021 and will be mandatory for all nations in 2027, other than a few special exemptions. All international flights between participating countries come under CORSIA in 2021, whether or not the carrier’s home country itself is participating.

The use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with a lower carbon footprint and better environmental profile than fossil jet is widely seen as essential for airlines to achieve the GHG reductions required by CORSIA. Considering the projected growth in international air travel, SAF will need to rise to an estimated 30% of total jet fuel consumption by 2040 to meet CORSIA obligations; this is equivalent to today’s total fossil jet consumption of roughly 90B gallons/year. The expanding SAF market requires next generation approaches to produce low carbon fuels at low cost in high volumes. Planning and investment in supply chains and production facilities are needed now in order to develop a robust SAF sector that can meet this rapidly developing demand.

The roundtable will begin with a presentation by Dr. Laurel Harmon, VP Government Relations, LanzaTech, followed by a discussion

Please RSVP at sdsouza@brookingsindia.org and contact zkazmi@brookingsindia.org for media queries.

Profile

Dr. Laurel Harmon
VP, Government Relations, LanzaTech
Harmon provides policy direction and leadership on international legislative and regulatory matters and develops collaborative research and demonstration projects a LanzaTech. Dr. Harmon received her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Michigan and has over 30 years’ experience in policy matters and technology development. She serves on the Boards of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials, the Algae Biomass Organization, and the Advanced Biofuels Association. She also participates in the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) Fuels Task Group, the technical body that is advising ICAO on implementation elements of CORSIA relating to use of sustainable aviation fuel to reduce carbon offset obligations.

LanzaTech
LanzaTech is the global leader in gas fermentation technology, offering novel and economic routes to a variety of products from industrial emissions and other waste carbon streams, including municipal waste and biomass residues. LanzaTech’s technology is operating at commercial scale today, making ethanol from steel mill emissions. LanzaTech is also commercializing technology that produces sustainable aviation fuel from ethanol, providing a new route to jet fuel from any source of ethanol. By recycling carbon from waste streams, LanzaTech’s solutions mitigate carbon emissions from industry and transportation without adversely impacting food or land security. LanzaTech’s unique process, certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) and currently protected by over 400 granted patents, produces sustainable fuels and platform chemicals that serve as building blocks for everyday products such as rubber and plastics.