Tallgrass — an energy infrastructure company with corporate offices in Leawood, Kan. — recently joined with United Airlines Ventures and Green Plains in an initiative to develop new Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) through a combined investment of $50 million.
“At Tallgrass, we are striving to innovate how we deliver the energy that powers our nation and enables our quality of life,” said Tallgrass Vice President of Business Development Alison Nelson in a press release. “Air travel uniquely connects people and improves lives, and the advancement of this novel SAF technology presents a meaningful opportunity to reduce emissions from aviation. We are excited to partner with industry leaders United Airlines and Green Plains on this initiative.”
United, Tallgrass, and Green Plains will each provide their unique industry expertise to help develop the joint venture. Under this collaborative approach:
- Tallgrass will manage research and development of the technology — including pilot plant development — and will manage the construction of the production facility.
- Green Plains will supply the low-carbon ethanol feedstock and use its ethanol industry expertise to manage operations once the pilot facility is constructed.
- United Airlines will assist with SAF development, fuel certification and into-wing logistics, and has also agreed to purchase up to 2.7 billion gallons of SAF produced from the joint venture.
United entered an offtake agreement with Blue Blade Energy for up to 135 million gallons of ethanol based SAF annually and up to 2.7 billion gallons in total. SAF uses non-petroleum feedstock, offering up to 85 percent lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.
“The production and use of SAF is the most effective and scalable tool the airline industry has to reduce carbon emissions and United continues to lead the way,” said United Airlines Ventures President Michael Leskinen in a press release. “This new joint venture includes two expert collaborators that have the experience to construct and operate large-scale infrastructure, as well as the feedstock supply necessary for success.”
If the technology is commercialized, easy access to low-carbon feedstock will be made available from Green Plains’ Midwest ethanol production facilities. While the initial SAF facility intends to use ethanol, the technology has the capability to work with any alcohol-based feedstock as its fuel source.
“Our transformation to a true decarbonized biorefinery model has positioned Green Plains to help our customers and partners reduce the carbon intensity of their products by producing low-carbon proteins, oils, sugars and now decarbonized ethanol to be used in SAF,” said Todd Becker, president and CEO of Green Plains in a press release. “This partnership with world class organizations like United Airlines and Tallgrass, shows the value creation that is possible with our low-carbon platform. The potential impact of this project is a gamechanger for US agriculture, aligning a strong farm economy and a robust aviation transport industry focused on decarbonizing our skies.”
The partnership to develop SAF reflects Tallgrass’s ongoing decarbonization efforts. The energy infrastructure company continually focuses on safely, reliably and sustainably delivering energy and services that fuel homes and businesses, while creating a cleaner energy future.
