Innovative Funding for Sustainable Aviation Fuel at U.S. Airports

This report explores innovative funding mechanisms for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at U.S. airports, using Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) as a primary case study. It argues that while airports cannot legally fund fuel as a commodity, they can fund 'co-benefits' such as carbon reduction and air quality improvements. The report recommends several funding streams, including corporate support and non-aeronautical revenue, to catalyze regional SAF supply chains and reduce the industry's carbon footprint.

• The primary obstacle to the large-scale adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is the significant price gap between SAF and conventional jet fuel, with SAF costing approximately three times as much as fossil-based fuel.
• U.S. airports are legally prohibited from paying for aircraft fuel as a commodity for private firms, but they can fund 'SAF co-benefits,' which include greenhouse gas emission reductions, air quality improvements, and regional economic development.
• Implementing a 1 percent SAF blend at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) would reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 23,300 to 31,000 metric tons on a life-cycle basis.
• The report identifies four most promising funding mechanisms for Sea-Tac, with varying annual revenue potentials: Corporate Support ($1 million to $2.5 million), General Non-Aeronautical Revenue ($1.0 million to $4.0 million), Port Taxing Authority (variable), and Airline Agreements ($380,000 to $2.3 million).
• Airport-led SAF procurement offers advantages over airline-led efforts by ensuring equality among carriers, achieving economies of scale, and stimulating regional economic development.
• Infrastructure investment for regional SAF production can be indirectly supported by the Port of Seattle through medium-to-long-term commitments to procure SAF co-benefits, which reduces risk for private sector investors.
• European airports have already implemented SAF funding models, including the Fly Green Fund (corporate contributions), Avinor's airport incentives in Norway, and a routine provision model in Central Europe where a federal fund covers 80 percent of costs.

APA

Benn, A., Hardenbol, C., Klauber, A., Schiller, C., Toussie, I., Valk, M., & Waller, J. (2017). Innovative Funding for Sustainable Aviation Fuel at U.S. Airports. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/07/RMI_Sustainable_Aviation_Innovative_Funding_SAF_2017.pdf

Chicago

Benn, Annie, Charlotte Hardenbol, Adam Klauber, Craig Schiller, Isaac Toussie, Misha Valk, and Jeff Waller. Innovative Funding for Sustainable Aviation Fuel at U.S. Airports. RMI, 2017. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/07/RMI_Sustainable_Aviation_Innovative_Funding_SAF_2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{benn2017innovative, author = {Benn, Annie and Hardenbol, Charlotte and Klauber, Adam and Schiller, Craig and Toussie, Isaac and Valk, Misha and Waller, Jeff}, title = {{Innovative Funding for Sustainable Aviation Fuel at U.S. Airports}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2017}, month = jul, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/07/RMI_Sustainable_Aviation_Innovative_Funding_SAF_2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }