Massport pushing to make the state a hub for sustainable aviation fuels
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.
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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.
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'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.
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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
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