Massport pushing to make the state a hub for sustainable aviation fuels
Among the suggestions: Pass legislation to create tax credits that would encourage sustainable aviation fuel blends, storage, and production infrastructure, and new kinds of fuel technologies. While Massport has already asked the US Department of Energy to study the region's current sustainable aviation fuel assets, the task force also wants to identify existing state programs that could be used to support and grow the industry.
Davey said he hopes Massachusetts can become a big player in this emerging industry, by fostering startups that can engineer more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional petroleum-based jet fuel, and by prompting the airlines that use Massport-run Logan Airport to increasingly blend sustainable aviation fuels, primarily biofuels, with their conventional fuel.
Advertisement
Current technology and regulations allow for up to 50 percent biofuel in jet engine tanks. While its use is rapidly rising, biofuels still represent less than 2 percent of all jet fuel in the US market.
Advertisement
'We're not going to stop flying,' Davey said. 'On the flip side, we have a [climate] crisis we need to address.'
Davey pitched the idea of creating a sustainable aviation fuel hub to Healey soon after he started as Massport chief executive last year.
'What we found in this journey is that this is not only about improving or reducing gas emissions in Massachusetts,' Davey said. 'It's also an economic development play.'
Toward that end, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has access to newly created tax credits and capital grants tailored specifically for climate-tech businesses, funded by a $4 billion economic development bond bill that the Legislature passed last year. The working group would like to augment those subsidies with tax credits that could be applied against the state's jet fuel tax to encourage the big airlines to add more biofuels to their tanks. (Airlines paid around $50 million in jet fuel taxes in Massachusetts last year.) Davey said the legislation could include a cap on how much is spent each year, like what has been done in several other states that already offer these incentives.
'I'm cognizant that while we want to solve this problem, the state budget right now is a bit murky,' Davey said. 'We need to balance that uncertainty and all the services we provide [from state government] with this potential incentive.'
Some research and development in sustainable aviation fuels is already happening here. Chief growth officer Ben Downing pointed to two startups affiliated with the nonprofit incubator and accelerator where he works, The Engine in Cambridge: Lydian Labs, which is creating carbon-neutral aviation fuels, and Sora Fuel, which aims to make fuel out of carbon removed from the air.
Advertisement
Downing said Massport's leadership should help spur similar startups, in part because of the opportunities that the port authority could provide to commercialize sustainable fuel technologies by working with suppliers and airlines.
'We've seen Rich and his team lead [on this issue],' Downing said. 'There's a proactive nature to their approach that puts Massachusetts in a really interesting position to be not just a place where these things get invented but potentially where these companies grow. ... That's a model for other key anchor institutions and it's really hopeful and promising for this sector.'
Jon Chesto can be reached at
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Trump deploys National Guard as Los Angeles protests against immigration agents continue
President Donald Trump's administration said it would deploy 2,000 National Guard troops on Saturday as federal agents in Los Angeles faced off against demonstrators for a second day following immigration raids. The security agents confronted around 100 protesters in the Paramount area in southeast Los Angeles, where some demonstrators displayed Mexican flags and others covered their mouths with respiratory masks. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News that the National Guard would be deployed in Los Angeles on Saturday evening. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the decision "purposefully inflammatory." "If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs, which everyone knows they can't, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. The protests pit Democratic-run Los Angeles, where census data suggests a significant portion of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Trump's Republican White House, which has made cracking down on immigration a hallmark of his second term. In the late afternoon, authorities began detaining some protesters, according to Reuters witnesses. There was no immediate official information of any arrests. Video footage showed dozens of green-uniformed security personnel with gas masks lined up on a road strewn with overturned shopping carts as small canisters exploded into gas clouds. "Now they know that they cannot go to anywhere in this country where our people are, and try to kidnap our workers, our people - they cannot do that without an organized and fierce resistance," said protester Ron Gochez, 44. A first round of protests kicked off on Friday night after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted enforcement operations in the city and arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner and the White House deputy chief of staff, wrote on X that Friday's demonstrations were "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States." On Saturday, he described the day's protests as a "violent insurrection." The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement about Friday's protests that "1,000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer funded property." Reuters could not verify DHS's accounts. Angelica Salas, executive director of immigrants' rights organization Chirla, said lawyers had not had access to those detained on Friday, which she called "very worrying." Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, with the White House setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day. But the sweeping immigration crackdown has also caught up people legally residing in the country, including some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges. In a statement on Saturday about the protests in Paramount, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said: "It appeared that federal law enforcement officers were in the area, and that members of the public were gathering to protest." Salas of Chirla said protesters gathered after an ICE contingent appeared to be using parking lots near a Paramount Home Depot store as a base. ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to requests for comment on the protests or potential immigration sweeps on Saturday. Television news footage on Friday showed unmarked vehicles resembling military transport and vans loaded with uniformed federal agents streaming through Los Angeles streets as part of the immigration enforcement operation. Raids occurred around Home Depot stores, where street vendors and day laborers were picked up, as well as at a garment factory and a warehouse, Salas of Chirla said. Bass, the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, condemned the immigration raids. "I am deeply angered by what has taken place," Bass said in a statement. "These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this."
CNBC
5 hours ago
- CNBC
Protesters rally against ICE for second day in Los Angeles
Federal agents in Los Angeles on Saturday faced off against demonstrators protesting immigration raids following Friday's protests that senior White House aide Stephen Miller condemned as an "insurrection" against the United States. The security agents on Saturday engaged in a tense confrontation with protesters in the Paramount area in southeast Los Angeles, where one demonstrator was seen waving a Mexican flag and some covered their mouths with respiratory masks. A live video feed showed dozens of green-uniformed security personnel with gas masks lined up on a road strewn with overturned shopping carts as small canisters exploded into gas clouds. A first round of protests kicked off on Friday night after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conductedenforcement operationsin the city and arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that "1,000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer funded property." Reuters was unable to verify DHS's accounts. Miller, an immigration hardliner and the White House deputy chief of staff, wrote on X that Friday's demonstrations were "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States." The protests pit Democratic-run Los Angeles, where census data suggests a significant portion of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Trump's Republican White House, which has made cracking down on immigration a hallmark of his second term. Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, with the White House setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day. But the sweeping immigration crackdown has also included people legally residing in the country, including some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges. In a statement on Saturday about the protests in Paramount, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said: "It appeared that federal law enforcement officers were in the area, and that members of the public were gathering to protest." ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to a request for information about the protests or potential immigration sweeps on Saturday. Television news footage earlier on Friday showed unmarked vehicles resembling military transport and vans loaded with uniformed federal agents streaming through Los Angeles streets as part of the immigration enforcement operation. The Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, in a statement condemned the immigration raids. "I am deeply angered by what has taken place," Bass said. "These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this." The LAPD did not take part in the immigration enforcement. It was deployed to quell civil unrest after crowds protesting the deportation raids spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the walls of a federal court building and gathered outside a nearby jail where some of the detainees were reportedly being held. In a statement, DHS criticized Democratic politicians including Mayor Bass, saying their anti-ICE rhetoric was contributing to violence against immigration agents. "From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. FBI deputy director Dan Bongino posted on X that they were reviewing evidence from the protests. "We are working with the U.S. Attorney's Office to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice," Bongino said.
Business Insider
20 hours ago
- Business Insider
Cathie Wood Adds Elon Musk's Neuralink to ARK Fund as Trump Alliance Crumbles
ARKX just added Neuralink. Cathie Wood reposted it. And now the Musk- Trump feud has another wrinkle. Confident Investing Starts Here: On June 5, ARK Funds publicly announced that its ARK Venture Fund — ARKVX (ARKVX) — has invested in Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain-interface company, as part of its Series E funding round. The post, shared to X and reposted by Cathie Wood herself, ranks Neuralink as the fund's #2 holding, right behind SpaceX and ahead of OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic. Neuralink is labeled 'NEW' on the portfolio chart. But what's not new is the growing friction between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Support for Musk as Trump Turns Cold? Cathie Wood didn't say anything when she reposted ARK's announcement, but the timing is hard to ignore. The Trump-Musk split has dominated headlines for days, with Trump reportedly calling Musk 'crazy,' threatening to cut federal contracts, and even considering selling his red Tesla as a public break with the billionaire. At the same time, here's one of Musk's most high-profile supporters, Wood, amplifying news of her fund backing Neuralink, an Elon-run company often viewed as his most speculative moonshot. So, is this a portfolio move — or a power statement? It's worth noting that Neuralink's Series E round hasn't been officially disclosed in terms of size, valuation, or lead investor. But ARK's decision to highlight the company so prominently, especially in the top three alongside SpaceX and OpenAI, sends a message: they're still betting on Elon. The Holdings Breakdown SpaceX Neuralink (new) OpenAI xAI Hammerspace Anthropic Lambda Labs That's four Elon-affiliated ventures (SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI, and OpenAI — he was a co-founder) in the top seven. And they're ahead of Anthropic and Lambda Labs, two rising players in the AI arms race that often compete directly with Musk's initiatives. No one's saying Cathie Wood is choosing Musk over Trump. But with Neuralink now sitting in ARKVX's #2 slot — and with Wood herself boosting the news — the investment world may be saying plenty without a single word. Investors can track Elon Musk on TipRanks. Click on the image below to find out more.
